Skip to main content

Full text of "Journal of American folklore [serial]"

See other formats 


JOURNAL  OF 
AMERICAN 
FOLKLORE 


If 

Digitized  by  Google 


iSlTY 


ERICAN 
JOLOGY 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 

VOLUME  XVII 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

#iibU^e^  (or  Cl)e  ISmrriran  f  oTh Hore  j&octetp  bp 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
LONDON:  DAVID  NUTT,  270,  271  STRAND 
LEIFSIGt  OTTO  HARRASSOWITZ,  QUERSTRASSE,  14 

miooocnr 


Diqitized  by  Google 


BvTBB  AMBRICAM  lOLXnLORB  S0CXBT7. 

AU  rigkU  ruirvtd. 


Digitized  by  Google 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORR 

Vol.  XVII.— JANUARY-MARCH,  1904.— No.  LXIV. 


'4^        THE  FOLK-LORE  OF  THE  ESKIMO. 

T  T 

The  Eskimo  inhabit  the  whole  Arctic  coast  of  America  and  many 
islands  of  the  Arctic  Archipelago.  Their  habitat  extends  on  the 
Atlantic  side  from  East  Greenland  to  southern  Labrador,  and  thence 
westward  to  Bering  Strait.  A  few  colonics  arc  even  located  on  the 
Asiatic  shore  of  Bering  Strait,  Their  culture  throughout  this  vast 
area  is  remarkably  uniform.  A  certain  amount  of  differentiation  may 
be  observed  in  the  region  west  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  where  the 
oeighboring  Indian  tribes,  and  probably  also  the  tribes  of  the  adj<»ti> 
ing  parts  of  Asia,  have  exerted  some  influence  upon  the  Eskimo, 
whose  physical  type  in  this  region  somewhat  approaches  that  of  the 
oeighboring  Indian  tribes.  The  foreign  influences  find  esqiression 
particularly  in  a  greater  complexity  of  social  life^ — in  a  higher 
development  of  decorative  art,  in  the  occurrence  of  a  few  inventions 
unknown  to  the  eastern  Eskimo  (such  as  potteiy  and  the  use  of 
tobacco),  and  in  religious  observances,  beliefs,  and  current  tales  not 
found  in  more  eastern  districts. 

Unfortunately  the  folk-lore  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Mackenrie 
River  is  only  imperfectly  known,  so  that  we  cannot  form  a  very  clear 
idea  of  its  character.  Judging,  however,  from  the  fact  that  quite  a 
number  of  Eskimo  tales  which  are  known  east  of  Hudson  Bay  are 
known  to  the  Chukchee  of  northeastern  Siberia*^  we  are  justified  in 
assuming  that  these  tales  must  also  be  known — or  have  been 
Imown — to  the  Alaskan  Eskimo. 

The  present  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  Eskimo  warrants  us  in 
assuming  that  the  most  typical  forms  of  Eskimo  culture  are  found 
east  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  so  that  we  may  be  allowed  to  base  our 
description  of  Eskimo  folk-lore  on  material  collected  in  that  area 
A  clear  insight  into  the  main  characteristics  of  the  folk-lore  of  the 
western  Eskimo  cannot  be  obtained  at  present,  owing  to  the  scanti- 
ness of  the  available  material. 

1  Waldemar  Bogorns,  The  Folk-Lore  of  Northeastern  Asia  as  compared  with 
that  of  Northwefttem  America  "  {Amtruan  Anthrop^U^t^  Now  Series,  vol.  iv. 
pp.  577-683> 


Digitized  by  Google 


2 


journal  of  American  Folk^Lane* 


The  collections  of  eastern  Eskimo  folk-lore  consist  principally  of 
H.  Rink's  Greenland  Series,^  G.  Holm's  tales  from  East  Greenland,* 
A.  L.  Krocber's  account  of  Smith  Sound  traditions,^  F.  Boas  s  records 
from  Baflfiin  Land  and  Hudson  Bay,^  and  Lucien  M.  Turner's  collec- 
tions from  Ungava  Bay.*  From  the  region  of  the  Mackenzie  River 
and  farther  west  we  have  to  consider  principally  the  tales  collected 
on  the  Mackenzie  River  by  £.  Petitot,*  and  those  recorded  by  £.  W. 
Nelson,^  Francis  Bamum,'  and  Jolin  Murdoch  *  in  Alaska. 

The  most  strildng  feature  of  Eskimo  folk-lore  is  its  thoroughly 
human  character.  With  the  exception  of  a  number  of  trifling  tales 
and  of  a  small  number  of  longer  tales,  the  events  which  form  the 
subject  of  their  traditions  occur  in  human  society  as  it  exists  now. 
There  is  no  dear  concept  of  a  mythical  age  during  which  animals 
were  men  capable  of  assuming  animal  qualities  by  putting  on  their 
blankets,  and  consequently  there  is  no  well-defined  series  of  creation 
or  transformation  legends.  The  world  has  always  been  as  it  is  now ; 
and  in  the  few  stories  in  which  the  origin  of  some  animals  and  of 
natural  phenomena  is  related,  it  is  rarely  clearly  implied  that  these 
did  not  exist  before. 

I  wOl  first  of  all  discuss  the  group  of  tales  that  may  be  interpreted 
as  creation  legends.  Most  important  among  these  is  the  legend  of  the 
"Old  Woman."  It  seems  that  all  the  Eskimo  tribes  believe  that  a 
female  deity  resides  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea ;  and  that  she  furnishes, 
and  at  times  withholds,  the  supply  of  sea-mammals,  the  chief  source 
of  subsistence  of  the  Eskimo.  The  Central  Eskimo  say  that  at  one 
time  she  had  been  a  woman  who  escaped  in  her  father's  boat  from 

>  H.  Rink,  EMmaiski  Ewmtyrcg  Sagth  Kopenhagen,  1866  (second  put),  1871; 

Ta/gs  and  Traditions  of  the  Eskimo,  London,  1875  (translation  of  part  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  Danish  edition;  unless  otherwise  stated,  this  translation  is  quoted). 

*  G.  Holm,  ^  Sagn  og  FortaelUnger  fra  Angmagsalik  "  {^MeddeUser  om  GreiUaud^ 
vol.  z.). 

*  A.  L.  Kroeber,  Tales  of  die  Smith  Soond  Eskino  "  (ybtimal  cfAmtriean 

Folk-Lortf  vd.  xii.  1899,  PP-  scg.). 

*  F.  Boas,  "The  Central  Kskiino  "  {Sixth  Annua!  Report,  Bureau  of  Ethnolo^^ 
Washington,  1888,  pp.  399-(/k>  ;  quoted  Boas,  i.);  F.  Boas,  "The  Kskimo  of 
Baffin  Land  and  Hudson  V^^y"  {Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History^ 
vol  zv.  New  York,  1901,  pp.  1-370  ;  quoted  Boas,  ii.). 

*  Luden  M.  Tomer,  **  Ethnology  of  the  Ungava.  District,  Hudson  Bay  Terri- 
tory ^{ElevmA  AnmtuU  J^mrt^  Burmm  ^Ethm^ogy^  Washington*  1894,  pp.  159 
*tseq:). 

'  E.  Petitot,  Traditions  indiennes  du  Canada  nord-ouest,  Paris,  1886. 
'  £.  W.  Nelson,  "  The  Eskimo  about  Bering  Strait "  {Eighteenth  Annual  Report, 
Bmnam  0/ Ethnology,  Washington,  1899,  pp.  l-5t8)b 
'  Francis  Barmunt  GrammtUiati  fkmdiiumigb  cfikg/tmmf  Langiu^  BoB> 

ton,  1901,  384  pp. 

*  John  Murdoch,  "  A  Few  Legendary  Fra^^ments  from  the  Point  Barrow  Eski* 
mos"  {American  Naturalist^  1886,  pp.  593-599). 


Digitized  by  Google 


t 


The  Folk- Lore  of  the  Eskimo.  3 

her  bird-husband,  and  who,  on  being  pursued  by  her  husband,  was 
thrown  overboard  by  her  father.  When  she  clung  to  the  gunwale  of 
the  boat,  her  father  chopped  off  her  finger-joints  one  after  another. 
These  were  transformed  into  seals,  ground-seals,  and  whales  (in  the 
Alaska  version,  into  salmon,  seals*  walrus,  and  the  metacarpals  into 
whales^).  After  this  had  happened,  she  was  taken  to  the  lower 
world,  of  which  she  became  the  ruler.  In  South  Greenland,  where 
this  tale  also  occurs,^  the  "Old  Woman  "  plays  an  important  part  in 
the  beliefs  and  customs  of  the  people,  since  she  is  believed  to  be  the  . 
protrectress  of  sea-mammals.  Evidently  the  tale  is  known  to  all  the 
tribes  from  Greenland  westward  to  Alaska,  since  fragments  have  been 
recorded  at  many  places. 

In  another  tale  the  origin  of  the  walrus  and  of  the  caribou  are 
accounted  for.  It  is  said  that  they  were  created  by  an  old  woman 
who  transformed  parts  of  her  clothing  into  these  animals.  The 
caribou  was  given  tusks,  while  the  walrus  received  antlers.  With 
these  they  killed  the  hunters,  and  for  this  reason  a  change  was  made 
by  which  the  walrus  received  tusks,  and  the  caribou  antlers.' 

The  different  races  of  man,  real  and  fabulous,  are  considered  the 
descendants  of  a  woman  who  married  a  dog,  by  whom  she  had  many 
children  who  had  the  form  of  dogs.  Later  on  they  were  sent  in  dif- 
ferent directions  by  their  mother;  and  some  became  the  ancestors  of 
the  Eskimo,  others  those  of  the  Whites,  while  still  others  became  the 
ancestors  of  the  Indians  and  of  a  number  of  fabulous  tribes.* 

In  a  legend  which  is  common  to  all  the  Eskimo  tribes,^  it  is  told 
that  Sun  and  Moon  were  brother  and  sister.  Every  night  the  sister 
was  visited  by  a  young  man  who  made  love  to  her.  In  order  to 
ascertain  the  identity  of  her  lover,  she  secretly  blackened  his  back  with 
soot  while  embracing  him.  Thus  she  discovered  that  her  own  brother 
was  her  luvcr.  She  ran  away,  carrying  a  lighted  stick  for  trimming 
the  lamps,  and  was  pursued  by  her  brother.  Both  were  wafted  up  to 
the  sky,  where  she  became  the  sun,  and  he  became  the  moon.* 

It  would  seem  that  in  the  beginning  man  was  immortal  Accord- 
ing to  Egede,  a  dispute  arose  between  two  men  regarding  the  advan- 
tages of  having  man  die.    Since  that  time  man  is  mortal.^  This 

>  Boas,  ii.  p.  359.    I  give  in  the  following  footnotes  references  to  this  book, 
ill  which  the  versions  from  various  regions  have  been  collected, 
t  H.  Rink.  Th*  Eskimo  THitSt  Copeohageo,  1891,  p.  17. 

*  Boas,  ii.  p.  361. 

*  /Mil  p.  359. 

'  This  stof}'  is  also  widely  known  among  Indian  tribes.  See  James  Mooney  in 
NiiutUHtk  Annual  Report  of  tkt  Bureau  of  Ethnology^  Washington,  1900,  pp.  256, 

*  Boas,  iL  p.  359. 

^  .According  to  Egede.  See  Rink,  p.  41 ;  also  David  Cranz,  ^Ar/«rM  «w»  C^viM- 
Uttd^  Barby,  1765,  p.  262. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


4 


y&ufnal  of  American  Folk-Lane. 


legend  is  not  quite  certain.  If  correct  it  roust  be  related  to  the  tra- 
dition of  the  origin  of  day  and  night  told  on  the  west  coast  of  Hudson 

"Biy}  and  to  the  numerous  analogous  Indian  tales. ^ 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  insignificant  stories  of  hunters,  of 
people  quarrelling,  etc.,  who  were  wafted  up  to  the  sky  and  became 
constellations.^  Thus  an  old  man  who  was  being  teased  by  a  boy 
tried  to  catch  him,  and  both  rose  up  to  the  sky,  where  they  became 
stars.  A  number  of  bear-hunters,  their  sledge,  and  the  bear  which 
they  were  pursuing,  rose  to  the  sky  aad  hecAme,  the  constellation 
Orion.* 

Similar  to  these  are  a  number  of  trifling  stories  telling  of  the 
origin  of  certain  animals,  and  in  which  peculiarities  of  these  animals 
are  explained.  Examples  of  these  are  the  story  of  the  Owl  and  the 
Raven,  in  which  it  is  told  that  the  Raven  makes  a  spotted  dress 
for  the  Owl,  while  the  latter,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  pours  the  contents  of 
a  lamp  over  the  Raven,  making  him  black  ;^  and  the  story  of  the 
grandmother  who  kept  on  walking  along  the  beach  while  her  grand- 
son was  drifting  out  to  sea  until  the  soles  of  her  boots  turned  up  and 
she  became  a  loon.^  All  these  stories  are  briei,  almost  of  the  char- 
acter of  fables  or  anecdotes. 

There  a  few  creation  stories,  in  which  the  creation  of  a  certain 
animal  appears  as  an  incident  of  a  purely  human  story.  Here  belongs 
the  tradition  of  the  origin  of  the  narwhal  A  boy,  wishing  to  take 
revenge  on  his  mother,  who  had  maltreated  him  while  he  was  blind, 
pushed  her  into  the  sea,  where  she  was  transformed  into  a  narwhal, 
her  topknot  becoming  its  tusk.^  SimOar  in  general  character  to  this 
is  the  tradition  of  the  girl  who  was  maltreated  by  her  parents,  and 
who  was  gradually  transformed  into  a  black  bear.* 

Here  may  also  be  mentioned  the  tale  explaining  how  thunder  and 
lightning  are  produced  by  two  women  who  live  by  themselves ;  and 
the  story  that  in  olden  times  children  were  not  bom,  but  found  in 
the  snow,  and  that  the  new  order  of  things  originated  when  a  child 
climbed  into  the  womb  of  a  woman  along  her  shoe-strings,  which 
had  become  unfastened. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  none  of  these  creation  legends  is  there 
any  inner  connection  between  the  whole  trend  of  the  story  and  the 
incident  of  creation.  It  is  not  clearly  stated,  and  in  many  of  these 

^  Boas,  ii.  p.  306. 

s  G.  B.  Grinnell,  Blackfoot  Lo^  Talts^  pp.  138,  272;  W.  Matthews,  NavaJio 

Legends,  p.  77 :  A,  L.  Kroeber,  "  Cheyenne  TaJcs  "  {Journ.  Am.  Folk-Lore,  vol.  xiii. 

p.  161);  C.  G.  Du  Bois,  "Mythology  of  the  Dieguefios  "  {Jbid.  vol.  xiv.  p.  183); 

James  Mooney,  "  Myths  of  the  Cherokee  '*  {NineUenih  Annual  Report  of  tki 

BmnoM  rfEti^logVt  p.  43(9* 

»  Boas,  ii.  p.  174.  *  Ibid.  p.  360.  »  Hid,  ppu  220^  3aa 

•  iHd,  p.  318.  V  JM.  p.  168.  •  Ikid.  p.  171. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Folk- Lore  of  the  Eskimo, 


5 


stories  It  is  not  even  necessarily  implied,  that  the  animals  created  did 
not  exist  before  the  creation  recorded  in  the  story.  The  animals 
created  are  rather  individuals  than  the  first  of  their  species.  The 
general  conditions  of  life  supposed  to  prevail  at  the  time  of  the  story 
are  the  same  as  the  conditions  of  life  at  the  present  time.  This  is 
exemplified  in  the  story  of  the  origin  of  the  sea-mammals,  in  which 
it  is  in  no  way  stated  that  the  game  animals  were  created  to  supply 
the  needs  of  man.  So  far  as  the  story  shows,  these  animals  might 
have  existed  before  they  were  created  from  the  finger-joints  of  the 
"Old  Woman."  Neither  does  it  appear  from  the  tale  of  the  origin 
of  the  sun  and  moon  that  there  was  no  daylight  before  this  event. 

The  complete  absence  of  the  idea  that  any  of  these  transformations 
or  creations  were  made  for  the  benefit  of  man  during  a  mythological 
period,  and  that  these  events  changed  the  general  aspect  of  the 
world,  distinguishes  Eskimo  mythology  from  most  Indian  mytholo- 
gies. Almost  all  of  these  have  the  conception  of  a  mythological 
period,  and  of  a  series  of  events  by  means  of  which  conditions  as  we 
know  them  now  were  established.  It  is  true  that  in  Indian  legends 
also  the  story  implies  natural  and  social  surroundings  similar  to  those 
in  which  the  Indians  live,  and  that  this  sometimes  leads  to  contra- 
dictions of  which  the  Indians  do  not  become  conscious,  the  fact  being 
forgotten  that  a  number  of  things  necessary  for  life  had  not  yet  been 
created.  Nevertheless,  the  fundamental  idea  in  Indian  legends  is,  on 
the  whole,  the  relation  of  the  thing  created  to  human  life,  which 
point  of  view  does  not  appear  at  all  in  the  myths  of  the  Eskimo. 

The  thsence  of  the  idea  that  during  the  mythological  period  ani- 
mals h  I  i  li  :man  form,  that  the  earth  was  inhabited  by  monsters,  and 
that  man  did  not  possess  all  the  arts  which  made  him  master  of 
animals  and  plants,  is  closely  connected  with  the  striking  scarcity 
of  animal  tales.  While  the  bulk  of  Indian  myths  from  almost  all 
parts  of  our  continent  treat  of  the  feats  of  animals,  such  stories  are 
rare  among  the  Eskimo.  The  creation  legends  referred  to  before 
can  hardly  be  classed  in  this  group,  because  the  anhnals  do  not  appear 
as  actors  possessed  of  homan  qualities  —  excepting,  perhaps,  the 
story  of  the  woman  who  married  the  dog.  Here  belongs,  however, 
the  legend  of  the  man  who  married  a  goose,^  which  story,  in  its  general 
character,  is  closely  related  to  the  swan-maiden  legends  of  the  Old 
World.  A  man  surprises  a  number  of  girls  bathing  in  a  pond.  He 
takes  away  their  feather  garments  and  marries  one  of  their  number, 
who  later  on  resumes  bird  shape  by  pladng  feathers  between  her 
fingers,  and  flies  back  to  the  land  of  the  birds,  which  is  situated 
beyond  the  confines  of  our  world,  on  the  other  side  of  the  hole  in 
the  sky. 

>  Boas,  iL  p.  360.  Referaices  to  the  loUowiog  stories  will  be  fbond  at  the 
sancpiaGe. 


Digitized  by  Google 


6 


yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lon, 


The  incident  in  the  story  of  the  origin  of  the  narwhal,  where  the 
goose  takes  a  blind  boy  to  a  lake  and  dives  with  him,  thus  restoring 
his  eyesight,  also  belongs  here.  Furthermore,  we  must  count  here 
the  widespread  Eskimo  story  of  the  girls  who  married,  the  one  a 
whale,  the  other  an  eagle,  and  who  were  rescued  by  their  relatives; 
that  of  the  woman  who  invited  the  animals  to  marry  her  daughter, 
but  declined  the  offers  of  all  until  finally  the  foxes  came  and  were 
admitted  to  the  hut,  where  they  were  killed ;  and  the  tale  of  the  man 
who  married  the  fox,  which,  on  taking  off  its  skin,  became  a  woman, 
with  whom  he  lived  until  she  was  driven  away  by  his  remark  that 
she  smelled  like  a  fox.  Besides  these,  hardly  any  animal  stories  are 
found  east  of  Alaska,  excepting  a  very  considerable  number  of  trifling 
fables.  These  show  a  gradual  transition  to  the  more  complex  animal 
stories  such  as  were  mentioned  before.  An  instance  of  this  kind  is 
the  Greenland  story  of  the  man  who  was  invited  in  first  by  the  Raven, 
then  by  the  Gull,  and  who  was  given  such  kinds  of  food  as  these  birds 
eat.  This  story  occurs  in  a  much  more  trifling  form  in  Baffin  Land.^ 

It  is  veiy  remaricable  that  almost  all  the  important  animal  stories 
are  common  to  the  Indian  tribes  and  to  the  Eskima  The  dog-mother 
tradition  is  known  over  a  large  part  of  North  America,  along  the 
North  Pacific  coast  as  far  south  as  Oregon,  and  on  the  Plains  in  the 
Mackenzie  Basin,  and  on  the  Missouri  and  Upper  Mississippi.  The 
second  legend  of  the  series,  that  of  the  man  who  married  a  goose» 
occurs  among  the  Chukchee,  and  was  found  by  Dr.  John  R.  Swanton 
among  the  Haida  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  At  present  its  occur- 
rence in  British  Columbia  seems  isolated,  but  probably  it  will  be 
found  among  the  tribes  of  southern  Alaska  and  among  the  Athapas- 
can, since  many  stories  appear  to  be  common  to  this  area.  The 
whole  first  part  of  the  story  of  the  origin  of  the  narwhal,  which  con- 
tains the  incident  of  the  boy  whose  eyesight  is  restored  by  a  goose, 
is  common  to  the  Eskimo^  to  the  Athapascan  of  the  Mackenzie  area, 
and  to  the  tribes  of  the  central  coast  of  British  Columbia.'  I  do  not 
know  the  story  of  the  girls  who  married  the  whale  and  the  eagle  from 
any  tribe  outside  of  the  Eskimo  and  Chukchee ;  while  the  next  one, 
the  legend  of  the  woman  who  called  one  animal  after  another  to 
marry  her  daughter,  reminds  us  forcibly  of  the  Tsimsbian  story  of 
Gauo's  daughter.^  The  first  part  of  the  tale  of  the  man  who  married 
the  fox  is  identical  with  analogous  tales  of  the  Algonquin  and  Atha- 
pascan of  the  north.^  It  is  the  story  of  the  faithless  wife  who  was 
surprised  by  her  husband  when  visiting  her  lover,  a  water-monster. 

1  Rink,  p.  451 ;  Boas,  ii.  p.  2t6.  '  See  Boas,  ii.  p.  366. 

*  See  F.  Boos,  Tsiwukiam  Ttxts,  Washington,  190%  p.  aai ;  indUmiselU 
von  der  Nordpac^scken  KUsU  Anun'kas,  p.  281. 
4  Rink,  p.  143 ;  Boas,  ii.  p.  233 ;  Petitot,  /.  e*  p.  407. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Folk-Lore  of  the  Eskimo, 


7 


The  second  part,  ia  which  it  is  told  that  the  man  married  a  fox  who 
had  taken  off  its  skin,  also  finds  its  counterpart  in  a  group  of  tales  of 
similar  character  that  belong  to 'the  Athapascans.^ 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  every  single  pure  animal  story  of  the 
Eskimo^  with  the  exception  of  one,  finds  its  counterpart  in  Indian 
folk-lore.  Their  total  number  is  six.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
number  of  such  tales  in  Alaska  is  much  greater,  since  we  know  from 
Nelson's  and  Barnum's  records  that  many  of  the  animal  tales  of  the 
Indians  of  the  North  Pacific  coast  and  of  the  Athapascans  have  been 
introduced  among  them.  A  few  additional  animal  tales  have  also 
been  found  on  the  west  coast  of  Hudson  Bay,  but  these  are  also  of 
Indian  origin  throughout,  being  evidently  borrowed  comparatively 
recently  by  the  Eskimo  from  their  neighbors ;  otherwise  they  would 
have  spread  more  widely  among  the  Eskimo. 

I  think  it  is  justifiable  to  infer  from  these  facts  that  the  animal 
myth  proper  was  originally  foreign  to  Eskimo  folk-lore.  The  con- 
cept that  animals,  during  a  mythic  age,  were  human  beings  who,  on 
pnttini:^  on  their  garments,  became  animals,  and  whose  actions  were 
primarily  human,  does  not  seem  to  have  formed  a  fundamental  part 
of  their  concepts. 

This  does  not  exclude,  however,  the  clearly  developed  notion  that, 
even  at  the  present  time,  animals  may  become  the  protectors  of  men, 
to  whom  they  will  give  instruction ;  and  that  man,  by  means  of 
magic,  may  assume  the  form  of  animals.  We  also  find  that  animals 
are  conceived  of  as  human  beings  ;  who,  however,  always  retain  ani- 
mal characteristics  in  all  their  actions.  A  good  example  of  this  con- 
cept is  the  tale  of  the  transmigrations  of  the  soul  of  a  woman,^  in 
which  the  manner  of  life  of  various  animals  is  described.  The  soul 
of  the  woman,  upon  entering  an  animal,  converses  with  other  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  species  as  though  they  were  human  beings,  and 
their  actions  are  like  those  of  human  beings.  Another  story  of  a 
similar  kind  describes  a  family  wintering  in  a  village  of  bears.' 
Stories  of  girls  marrying  monsters  *  may  also  be  mentioned  as  exam- 
ples of  the  anthropomorphic  concept  of  animals. 

The  characteristic  point  in  all  these  stories  seems  to  be  that  the 
actions  of  the  anthropomorphized  animals  are  strictly  confined  to 
anthropomorphic  interpretations  of  animal  activities ;  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  tale  of  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  of  the  woman,  to  expla* 
nations  of  how  the  walrus  dives  and  how  the  wolves  run,  and  in  the 
tale  of  the  bear,  to  remarks  on  the  huge  size  and  v<»acity  <^  the  bear 
people:   There  do  not  seem  to  be  any  stories  of  undoubted  Eskimo 

*  Boas,  •*  Traditions  of  the  Ts'ets'a'ut "  {jfoum.  Am.  Folk-Lore^  vol.  ix.  pp.  263, 
365) ;  Petitot,  /.  f.,  p.  MO. 

*  Boas,  itppi  332,321.        •  Rink,  pp,  177  ^  MLip^MHstq. 


Digitized  by  Google 


8 


yaumal  of  American  FoU^Lore, 


origin  in  which  animals  appear  really  as  actors  in  complex  adventures, 
as  they  do  in  the  coyote,  rabbit,  or  raven  stories  of  the  Indians,  or 
in  the  fox  stories  of  the  Japanese,  or  in  other  animal  stories  of  the 
Old  World,  in  which  the  peculiarities  of  the  animal  determine  onlv 
the  general  character  of  its  human  representative,  while  the  scope 
of  the  adventures  is  entirely  outside  the  range  of  animal  activities, 
the  stories  being  based  on  a  variety  of  incidents  that  might  happen 
in  human  society. 

I  consider  this  restriction  of  the  field  of  animal  tales  one  of  the 
fundamental  features  of  Eskimo  folk-lore,  and  am  inclined  to  believe 
the  few  tales  of  di^erent  character  as  foreign  to  their  ancient 
culture. 

The  great  mass  of  Eskimo  folk-lore  are  hero-tales  in  which  the 
supernatural  plays  a  more  or  less  important  rdle.  In  this  respect 
Eskimo  folk-lore  resembles  that  of  Sibcnan  tribes ;  although  the 
adventures  arc,  on  the  whole,  of  a  quite  distinct  character,  which  is 
determined  by  the  general  culture  of  the  Eskimo. 

Many  of  these  stories  appear  to  us  so  trifling  that  we  might  be 
Indiiied  to  conalder  them  as  quite  recent,  and  as  tales  of  incidents 
from  the  life  of  ab  individual  not  long  since  dead»  distorted  by  the 
Imagination  of  the  story*teller.  That  this  assumption  is  not  tenable 
is  shown  by  the  wide  distribution  of  some  of  these  stories.  A  very 
strikmg  eanmple  of  this  kind  is  the  story  of  lavaranak,  which  is 
known  in  Greenland,  Cumberland  Sound,  and  in  Labrador.^  It  tells 
of  a  girl  of  a  tribe  of  inlanders  who  lived  among  the  EskimOi  and 
who  betrayed  them  to  her  own  tribesmen.  One  day,  whfle  the 
Eskimo  men  were  all  absent,  sh^  led  her  friends  to  the  Eskimo  vil- 
lage, where  all  the  women  and  children  were  killed.  She  returned 
inland  with  her  friends,  but  eventually  was  killed  by  a  party  that  had 
gone  out  to  take  revenge.  Still  more  remarkable  is  the  tale  of  Siku-  - 
liarsiujuitsokt'which  occurs  both  in  Labrador  and  Cumberland  Sound, 
It  is  told  that  a  very  tall  man,  who  was  so  heavy  that  he  did  not  dare 
to  hunt  on  new  ice,  was  much  hated  because  he  took  away  the  game 
from  the  villagers.  One  day  he  was  induced  to  sleep  in  a  very  small 
snow-house,  in  which  he  lay  doubled  up,  and  allowed  his  limbs  to 
be  tied  in  order  to  facilitate  his  keeping  quiet  in  this  awkward  posi- 
.  tion.  Then  he  was  killed.  A  third  story  of  this  character  is  that  of 
Aklaujak,^  which  is  also  known  both  in  Labrador  and  in  Cumber- 
land Sound.  It  is  the  story  of  a  man  whose  wife  was  abducted  by  his 
brothers.  He  frightened  them  away  by  showing  his  great  strength. 
While  sitting  in  his  kayak,  he  seized  two  reindeer  by  the  antlers  and 
drowned  them.   Even  the  names  of  the  heroes  are  the  same  in  these 

1  Rink,  pp.  I74f  175 ;  Boas,  h*.  p.  ao7*  '  Rid,  p.  449;  Boas,  ii.  p.  ago. 

*  Ibid,  p.  449;  Boas,  iL  p.  270. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tke  Folk-Lore  of  the  Eskimo, 


9 


tales.  Since  intercourse  between  the  regions  where  these  tales  were 
collected  is  very  slight,  —  in  fact,  ceased  several  centuries  ago, — we 
must  conclude  that  even  these  trifling  stories  are  old.  In  fact,  their 
great  similarity  arouses  the  suspicion  that  many  of  the  apparently 
trifling  tales  of  war  and  hunting,  of  feats  of  shamans  and  of  starva- 
tion, may  be  quite  old.  The  conservatism  of  the  Eskimo  in  retain- 
ing such  trifling  stories  is  very  remarkable,  but  is  quite  in  accord 
with  the  conservatism  of  their  language,  in  which  the  names  of  ani- 
mals that  occur  in  southern  latitudes  are  retained  in  the  far  north, 
where  these  animals  are  absent,  and  where  the  names,  therefore, 
receive  an  altered  meaning.  Thus  the  names  agdlaq  ("  black  bear"), 
sigssik  ("squirrel"),  umingmak  ("musk-ox"),  are  known  on  the 
west  coast  of  Baffin  Bay,  although  none  of  these  animals  occurs  in 
that  area.  The  amaroq  ("wolf")  and  the  avignaq  ('Memming "), 
which  are  not  found  in  West  Greenland,  are  there  considered  as 
monsters.  In  the  same  way  the  adict,  the  name  for  "  Indians,'* 
occurs  in  Greenland  and  Baffin  Land  as  a  designation  of  a  fabulous 
inland  tribe. 

The  same  conservatism  manifests  itself  in  the  faithful  retention 
of  historical  facts  in  the  folk-lore  of  the  people.  In  South  Greenland 
the  memory  of  the  contests  between  the  Eskimo  and  the  Norsemen 
wluch  took  place  between  1379  and  1450  survives.^  In  southern 
Baffin  Land  the  visits  of  Frobisher  in  1 576-1 578  are  still  remem. 
bered.* 

The  fabulous  tribes  described  in  Eskimo  folk-lore  are  very  numer- 
ous. Those  most  frequently  mentioned  are  the  tomit,  the  adlet  or 
erqigdlit,  and  the  dwarfs.'  The  tomit  are  described  as  a  race  of 
great  strength  and  stature^  but  rather  awkward*  who  at  an  early  pe- 
riod inhabited  the  country  jointly  with  Jthe  Eskimo,  but  who  were 
ultimately  driven  out  On  the  wholes  they  are  good-natured,  and  the 
stories  tell  mostly  of  friendly  visits,  although  hostile  contests  also 
occur.*  The  adlet  or  erqigdltt  are  described  as  having  the  lower 
part  of  the  body  like  that  <2  a  dog,  while  the  upper  part  is  like  that 
of  man.  They  are  ferocious  and  fleet  of  foot,  and  encounters  be- 
tween them  and  Eskimo  visitors  always  terminate  in  a  fierce  battle, 
which  generally  ends  with  the  death  of  the  adlet  In  some  cases  the 
visitors  are  saved  by  the  kindness  of  a  single  individual.^  The 
dwarfs  are  of  enormous  strength;  they  carry  short  spears,  which 
never  miss  their  aim.*  They  sometimes  visit  the  villages.  There 

<  Rink,  pp.  308  stq. 

*  Hall,  Lift  with  tlu  Espdmaux,  London,  1865,  p.  247. 

'  Rink,  pp.  46  ei  seq. 

*  Boas,  ii.  pp.  2og  et  seq.,  315 ;  Rink,  pp.  47,  217,  438. 

*  Rink,  p.  116;  Boas,  ii.  pp.  203  et  seq. 

*  lUd.  p.  48;  Boas,  ii.  pp.  200  et  seq.^  316. 


lo  ycumal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

are  talcs  of  intermarriages  of  all  these  fabulous  people  with  the 

Eskimo. 

Besides  these  fabulous  tribes,  giants  and  cannibals  are  often  men- 
tioned in  the  tales.  There  are  giants  ^  of  such  size  that  they  scoop  up 
hunters  and  their  boats  in  the  hollow  of  their  hands.  Their  boots  are 
so  large  that  a  man  can  hide  in  the  eyelet  through  which  the  shoe- 
lacing  is  drawn.  In  tales  of  marriages  between  giants  and  man  the 
incongruity  of  their  sizes  forms  the  subject  of  coarse  jokes. 

The  tales  of  monsters  relate  of  hunters  who  vanquish  them  after 
fierce  combats  ^  and  of  girls  married  to  monsters.^ 

The  tales  of  quarrels  and  wars  give  us  a  clear  insight  into  the  pas- 
sions that  move  Eskimo  society.  The  overbearance  of  five  brothers 
or  cousins,  the  middle  one  being  the  most  atrocious  character,  or 
simply  of  a  number  of  men,  their  tyranny  over  a  whole  village,  and 
their  hostility  against  the  suitor  of  their  sister,  form  a  favorite  theme.* 
We  find  also  many  tales  of  a  powerful  man  who  holds  the  whole  vil- 
lage in  terror,*  and  who  is  finally  slain.  Often  those  who  attack  the 
overbearing  brothers  or  the  master  of  the  village  are  intioduced  as 
visitors  from  a  distant  place  to  which  they  have  fled  or  which  is  their 
home.  They  are  first  hospitably  treated,  and  afterwards  the  custom- 
ary wrestling-match — which  is  a  test  between  the  residents  and  the 
new-comers — is  arranged/  and  in  this  match  the  quarrel  is  fought 
out  J  Sometimes  the  theme  of  the  tale  is  the  maltreatment  of  a  poor 
orphan  boy  by  the  whole  village  community,  who  are  eventually  pun- 
ished for  their  malice.*  In  many  cases  the  poor  boy  is  described  as 
living  with  his  grandmother  or  with  some  other  poor  old  woman,  or 
with  an  old  couple.  While  he  is  growing  up^  he  secretly  trains  his 
body  to  acquire  strength,  and  is  admonished  by  those  who  take  care 
of  hun  not  to  forget  his  enemie&'  Tales  of  poor  maltreated  children 
who  later  on  become  very  powerful  are  a  frequent  and  apparently  a 
favorite  subject  of  story-tdlers. 

A  very  peculiar  trait  of  Eskimo  tales  is  the  sudden  springing  up  of 
hatred  between  men  who  had  been  the  best  of  friends,  which  results 
in  treacherous  attempts  on  life.^  The  causes  for  this  sudden  change 
from  love  to  hatred  are  often  most  trifling.  In  one  of  the  stories 
quoted  here  the  reason  given  is  the  failure  of  one  of  the  friends  to 
come  back  from  the  interior  in  season  to  take  his  share  of  the  seals 
caught  by  his  friend.  In  the  second  story  the  reason  is  that  one  man 
shoots  the  dog  of  another  on  being  requested  to  do  sa  In  the  third 
no  reason  whatever  is  given. 

>  Boas,  ii.  p.  360 ;  Rink,  p.  430.  >  Rfaik,  p.  II6.  '  Ibid,  p.  t8& 

<  Ibid.  pp.  346,  351,  362;  Boas,  ii.  p.  28& 

•  Ibid,  p.  135;  Boas,  ii.  pp.  283,  290. 

•  Boas,  ii.  p.  1 16.  '  Rink,  pp.  206^  211.    *  IHd,  p.  83. 

•  md  pp.  203, 339^  347t  364.  IHd,  pp.  \\%  21$,  333. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Folk- Lore  of  the  Eskimo, 


II 


No  less  curious  is  the  boldness  of  visits  of  men  to  their  enemies, 
whom  they  intend  to  kill,  and  among  whom  they  settle  down  and  live 
ttntil  finally  the  struggle  begins.' 

The  reasons  for  quarrels  are  generally  disputes  over  property 
rights,  jealousies,  tale-bearing  of  old  women,  and  often  resentment 
against  tyranny.  Many  stories  begin  with  an  incident  of  this  kind, 
and  end  with  the  tale  of  revenge.  In  a  few  cases  the  reason  for  a 
person  becoming  a  murderer  is  his  despair  over  the  loss  of  a  rela- 
tive.' 

Tales  of  shamans  are  quite  numerous.  Some  tell  of  their  visits  to 
other  worlds,  while  others  illustrate  their  supernatural  powers.  These 
stories  presuppose  a  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  mythical  con- 
cepts of  the  Eskimo,  who  believe  in  a  number  of  worlds  above  and 
below  to  which  the  spirits  of  the  dead  go.  The  mistress  of  the  lower 
world  is  the  "  Old  Woman,"  the  mother  of  sea-mammals,  whom  she 
withholds  whenever  she  is  offended  by  man.  Therefore  many  tales 
tell  of  the  shaman's  visit  to  her  abode,  whither  he  goes  to  propitiate 
her.  His  body  is  tied  with  thongs  ;  he  invokes  his  guardian  spirits, 
and  his  soul  departs.  The  difficulties  of  approach  to  her  are  described 
in  great  detail  in  the  Greenland  traditions.^  It  is  worthy  of  notice 
that  some  of  the  dangers  the  shaman  has  to  pass  on  his  way  to  her 
are  described  also  by  the  Central  Eskimo  as  found  on  the  trail  to  the 
country  of  the  birds  beyond  the  hole  in  the  sky.*  The  Greenland 
tradition  mentions  that  the  dwellings  of  the  happy  dead,  an  abyss, 
and  a  boiling  kettle  have  to  be  passed,  and  that  terrible  monsters 
guard  her  house,  while  in  the  entrance  of  her  house  is  an  abyss  that 
must  be  crossed  on  the  edge  of  a  knife.  The  dangers  on  the  trail  to 
the  land  beyond  the  sky  are  the  boiling  kettle,  a  large  burning  lamp, 
the  guardian  monsters,  two  rocks  which  strike  together  and  open 
again,  and  a  pelvis  bone.  The  principal  office  of  the  shaman,  after 
reaching  the  "  Old  Woman,"  is  to  free  her  of  the  unconfessed  abor« 
tiODs — the  greatest  sin  in  the  eyes  of  the  Eskimo —  which  infest  her 
and  cause  her  anger.* 

Other  shaman's  tales  relate  of  a  visit  to  the  Moon,^  who  is  described 
as  a  man  who  lives  in  a  houses  in  the  annex  of  which  the  Sun  resides. 
The  visitor  has  to  witness  the  antics  of  an  old  woman  without  laugh- 
ing, otherwise  she  will  cut  out  his  entrails  and  give  them  to  her  dogs 
to  eat 

The  shamans  perform  their  supernatural  feats  by  the  help  of  theur 
guardian  spirits,  who  are  mostly  animals,  but  also  the  spirits  of  the 
dead  or  those  residing  in  certain  localities  or  in  inanimate  objects. 

^  Rink,  p.  205.  *  IbUt.  p.  3i  5  ;  Boas,  ii.  p.  299.  *  Ibid.  p.  40. 

*  Boat,  ii.  p.  337.       *  Rink,  p.  40 ;  Boas,  ii.  pp.  lao  et  $tq, 

*  Boss,  voL  iL  p.  359. 


Digitized  by  Google 


12 


yourmU  of  American  Folk'Lare. 


The  guardian  spirit  appears  on  the  summons  of  the  shaman,  and 
takes  him  away  to  distant  countries  *  or  assists  him  against  his  ene- 
mies.^ Amulets  consisting  of  pieces  of  skin  of  animals  enable  the 
wearers  to  assume  the  form  of  the  animal.^  Shamans  are  able  to 
change  their  sex,*  and  to  frighten  to  death  their  enemies  by  tearing 
the  skin  off  their  faces  and  by  other  means.^  Many  talcs  also  deal 
with  witchcraft  and  with  shamans  overcoming  the  wiles  of  witches.® 
Witchcraft  is  practised  by  means  of  spells  or  by  means  of  bringing 
the  food  of  an  enemy  into  contact  with  a  corpse,  which  results  in 
making  the  person  who  eats  it  a  raving  maniac.^  Spiders  and  insects 
are  also  used  for  purposes  of  witchcraft 

The  sexual  element,  which  plays  a  very  prominent  part  in  the  tales 
of  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific  coast,  is  present  only  to  a  very  slight 
degree  in  the  Eskimo  tales.  Among  the  whole  mass  of  Eskimo  tra- 
ditions collected  and  retold  without  omission  of  passages  that  in  our 
state  of  society  would  be  deemed  improper,  very  few  obscene  inci- 
dents are  found. 

All  the  ideas,  the  most  important  of  which  I  have  briefly  described 
here,  are  welded  into  the  hero-tales  of  the  Eskimo.  The  tales  them- 
selves may  be  roughly  grouped  into  those  describing  visits  to  fabu- 
lous tribes  and  encounters  with  monsters,  tales  of  quarrels  and  wars, 
and  those  of  shamanism  and  witchcraft.  Of  course,  all  these  ele- 
ments appear  often  intimately  interwoven  ;  but  still  the  stories  may 
readily  be  grouped  with  one  or  another  of  these  types. 

The  first  group,  the  tales  of  visits  to  fabulous  tribes,  embraces 
many  Iegend3  of  the  adventui'es  of  hunters  who  travelled  all  over  the 
world.  The  best  known  of  these  is  perhaps  the  story  of  Kiviuk,* 
who  went  out  in  his  kayak,  and,  after  passing  many  dangerous  ob- 
structions, reached  a  coast,  where  he  fell  in  with  an  old  witch,  who 
killed  her  visitors  with  her  sharp  tail,  by  sitting  on  them.  After 
escaping  from  her  by  covering  his  chest  with  a  flat  stone,  he  came  to 
two  women  who  lived  by  themselves,  and  whom  be  assisted  ui  obtain- 
ing fish.  Finally  he  travelled  home  and  found  his  son  grown  up. 
Characteristic  of  Greenland  are  the  numerous  traditions  of  visits  to 
a  country  beyond  the  sea,  and  of  adventures  there.  These  do  not 
seem  to  be  so  common  among  the  central  tribes,  although  among 
them  similar  tales  are  not  missing,*  An  example  of  these  is  the  tale 
of  two  sisters  who  were  carried  away  by  the  ice  to  the  land  be3rond 

'  Rink.  p.  41;.  *  Boas,  ii.  p.  184. 

'  Kink,  pp.  7,  16,  23.  *  Boas,  ii.  pp.  248,  249. 

*  Rink,  p.  52  ;  Boas,  ii.  pp.  249,  255.  •  Ibid.  p.  69.  '  Ibid.  p.  6. 

*  IM.  p.  1 57 ;  Boas,  ii.  p.  182 ;  Kroeber,  /.  p.  177.  See  also  Riak,  p.  asa  \ 
Holm,  p.  48. 

*  Ibid,  pp.       248, 270;  Boas,  iL  p*  191. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tke  Folk-Lore  of  tki  Eskimo.  1 3 

the  sea,  where  they  subsisted  for  some  time  on  salmon  and  seals 
which  they  caught  They  were  discovered  by  two  men  whom  they 
married.  They  gave  birth  to  two  daughters,  whereupon  the  husband 
of  the  one  threatened  to  kill  his  wife  if  she  should  give  birth  to  an- 
other daughter.  Therefore  they  made  their  escape  back  to  their  own 
country  across  the  ice.  Their  brother,  induced  by  their  talcs  of  the 
abundance  of  <;ame  in  the  country  across  the  sea,  set  out  on  a  visit, 
giving  his  boat  three  coverings,  which  he  cut  off  in  succession  when 
they  became  wet.  He  caught  much  game,  and  killed  the  men  who 
bad  threatened  his  sisters  by  causing  them  to  drink  water  mixed  with 
caribou-hair  taken  from  the  stocking  of  a  dead  person.  By  this  means 
the  enemies  were  transformed  into  caribou,  which  he  shot.^ 

The  most  famous  among  the  tales  of  cannibals  is  that  of  the  man 
who  fattened  his  wives  and  ate  them,  until  the  last  one  made  good 
her  escape  and  reached  her  brothers,  who  killed  the  cannibal.* 

Among  all  these  hero-tales  very  few,  if  any,  stories,  or  even  ele- 
ments of  stories,  are  found  which  are  common  to  the  Eskimo  and 
to  their  Indian  neighbors,  while  some  of  these  tales  are  quite  similar 
to  those  of  the  Chukchee  and  even  of  the  Koryak,  whose  culture  has 
been  directly  influenced  by  that  of  the  Eskimo.  We  may,  there- 
fore, consider  them  the  most  characteristic  part  of  the  Eskimo  folk- 
tales. They  reflect  with  remarkable  faithfulness  the  social  conditions 
and  customs  of  the  people.  They  give,  on  the  whole,  the  impression 
of  a  lack  of  imaginative  power.  I  indicated  before  that  the  few  ani- 
mal tales  of  the  Eskimo  are  largely  the  common  property  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  Mackenzie  Basin  and  of  the  Eskimo.  Although 
a  few  of  them — such  as  the  story  of  the  man  who  recovered  his  eye- 
sight —  have  been  found  as  far  east  as  Greenland,  the  greater  num- 
ber of  such  stories  are  found  on  the  coasts  of  Hudson  Bay,  where 
the  Eskimos  are  neighbors  of  the  Athapascans,  and  we  have  seen  that 
they  are  probably  originally  foreign  to  the  Eskimo.  Nevertheless 
they  have  come  to  be  among  the  most  important  and  most  popular 
tales  ol  the  Eskimo  tribes. 

Rmne  Boas, 
s  Rink,  p.  169.  •  Boas,  ii.  p.  36a 


14 


yimmal  of  Ammrkan  Folh'Lore, 


the  significance  of  mythology  and 

traditiJn.i 

It  is  the  recognized  prerogative,  and  perhaps  even  the  duty  of  the 
president  of  this  Society,  in  his  annual  address,  to  withdraw  from  the 
more  concrete  and  special  problems  of  every  day  and  turn  his  atten- 
tion to  a  survey  of  the  general  field.  But  even  general  points  of  view 
are  varied  and  possible  topics  are  numerous.  In  scanning  the  ten- 
dencies and  accomplishments  of  our  society  and  its  colleagues  during 
recent  years,  and  noting  the  attitude  of  critics,  both  competent  and 
incompetent,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  at  this  time  a  word  of  defence 
and  a  word  of  caution  may  not  be  out  of  place.  These,  with  your 
permission,  I  intend  to  speak  to-night. 

Science  is  notoriously  arrogant.  But  it  is  a  melancholy  fact  that 
this  attitude  is  presented  not  solely  to  the  unappreciative  outsider, 
but  perhaps  in  even  an  exaggerated  degree  to  the  fellow  seeker  after 
truth.  Each  branch  of  knowledge,  as  it  becomes  differentiated  from 
the  general  mass  and  attains  its  desired  independence  and  recogni- 
tion»  turns  to  offer  a  supercilious  front  and  forbidding  air  to  the 
younger  aspirants  who  are  struggling  to  reach  the  same  level.  The 
wars  of  zoology  and  its  related  sciences  are  remembered  by  many  and 
are  matters  of  history  to  all  Psychology  has  reached  its  majority 
within  the  memory  of  every  one.  Anthropology,  with  growing 
strength,  is  still  fighting,  but  is  assured  of  success.  And  yet  to  these, 
his  own  kindred,  the  student  of  mythology  and  folk-lore  appeals  for 
recognition  of  his  field  only  to  meet  with  what  is  apt  to  prove  mere 
tolerance,  if  not  positive  denial  In  the  case  of  anthropology  and 
psychology  the  attitude  is  hard  to  understand.  Sources  of  income 
are  usually  regarded  with  tender  solicitude  in  the  scientific  as  well  as 
in  the  secular  world,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  sense  of  benefits, 
past  or  to  be  derived,  would  call  for  more  encouragement  on  the  part 
of  these  elder  sisters  of  ours  than  seems  to  be  forthcoming.  The 
utilitarian  atmosphere  of  our  age  we  may  as  well  admit.  Philosopher 
and  Philistine,  each  is  ready  with  his  **eui  bono  ?  "  Knowledge  for 
knowledge's  sake  is  unpopular  as  a  motive  and  usefulness  must  be 
proven  before  friendliness  is  shown.  •  What,  then,  have  mythology 
and  folk-lore  to  offer  ? 

It  will  probably  be  admitted  by  every  one  that  our  closest  ties  are 
with  those  branches  of  scientific  research  which  have  to  do  with  the 
development  of  man's  culture,  and  as  a  consequence  with  man's  pro- 
cesses of  mind.  In  other  words,  in  the  terminology  of  the  day, 
ethnology  and  comparative  psychology  are  the  subjects  for  which  the 

*  Presidential  Address  at  the  Annual  Meeting  in  Cambridge*  Dec.  29^  1903. 


uiyui^ed  by  Google 


Tke  Significance  of  Mythology  and  Tradition.  15 

study  of  mythology  and  folk-lore  is  most  significant.  In  the  attempts 
of  the  last  fifty  years  to  trace  the  development  of  modern  society 
and  its  institutions  from  more  primitive  conditions,  ethnology  has 
formulated  for  itself  certain  principles  and  problems,  which  have 
become  hackneyed  topics  of  debate  among  those  concerned  with  the 
methods  and  theory  of  the  science.  "  The  psychological  unity  of 
man,"  "the  independent  development  of  culture,"  are  generalizing 
phrases  which  describe  the  successors  to  "monogcnism"  and  "poly- 
genisra  "  as  occupants  of  the  focus  of  anthropological  inquiry.  T^e 
principle  of  essential  uniformity  of  reaction  under  similar  conditions 
of  environment  is  now  tacitly  admitted  by  practically  every  one. 
More  than  that,  the  recognition  of  its  truth  and  that  of  its  corollary, 
the  possibility  of  similar  customs  arising  independently  in  different 
parts  of  the  world,  now  forms  an  essential  part  of  the  working  hypo- 
thesis of  ethnology.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  any  such  gen- 
eralizations the  term  environment  is  used  in  its  broadest  sense.  We 
have  to  deal  not  simply  with  geographical  surroundings  and  dinute ; 
not  simply  with  ease  or  difficulty  of  food  supply.  The  social  environ- 
ment  is  the  more  important  factor,  and  the  effects  of  instruction  and 
imitation  will  predominate  in  determining  the  action  of  the  individ- 
ual and  the  group  in  any  set  of  conditions.  With  the  development 
of  culture*  and  particularly  of  the  means  of  recording  and  retaining 
the  advance  of  any  period,  the  mass  of  knowledge  ready  made  and 
available  for  the  individual  at  birth  becomes  greater  and  greater  and 
more  and  more  complex  and  the  possibility  of  varied  reaction  pro- 
portionally increased.  The  application  of  the  principle  of  uniformity 
of  reaction,  therefore,  has  usually  been  restricted  to  mankind  in  the 
lower  levels  of  cultural  development  I  have  said  that  it  is  a  prin- 
ciple tacitly  admitted,  for  it  is  one  of  those  truths  the  evidence 
for  which  is  so  cumulative  and  varied  that  its  tabulatkm  becomes 
difficult,  and  the  attempt  is  seldom  made.  Now  to  this  mass  of  cor- 
roborative evidence  no  phase  of  study  has  contributed  more  than 
mythology  and  tradition.  Identities  and  similarities  are  nowhere 
more  striking  than  in  these  fields,  and  since  research,  like  any  other 
activity,  naturally  follows  the  line  of  least  resistance  it  is  to  these 
fields  that  the  ethnologist  has  constantly  turned  for  material,  and 
never  with  disappointment 

It  is  not  merely  a  curious  fact  that  the  Transformer  or  Culture 
Hero  appears  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Alaska,  in  Siberia,  Samoa,  and  in 
South  Africa  .  it  is  a  fact  of  immense  significance  and  importance. 

Whatever  the  conclusion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  different  forms  of 
the  myth,  the  similarities  therein  contained,  as  well  as  the  variations, 
offer  a  problem  for  solution,  in  the  analysis  of  which  the  common 
attitude  of  its  owners  becomes  manifest,  and  the  uniform  mental  habit 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 6  yaurnai  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

of  the  savage  is  strikingly  exemplified.  The  myth-maker  was  £ace  to 
iziat  with  conditions  the  antecedents  of  which  were  not  sdf-evident. 
The  naive  wonder  of  the  primitive  wise  man  demanded  satisfaction 
as  well  as  the  more  specialized  spirit  of  inquiry  of  the  physicist  or 
chemist  of  to-day.  The  significant  fact  is  that  approximately  the 
same  conditions  excited  the  wonder,  and  the  methods  of  explanation 
were  approximately  the  same^  wherever  found.  In  this  connection 
the  entire  series  of  nature  myths  has  contributed  its  shares  and  more 
than  its  shares  to  the  general  result 

But  the  recognition  of  the  general  truth  which  the  veiy  mass  of 
the  evidence  has  brought  about  has  also  tended  to  produce  an  error. 
The  ardor  of  the  advocate  has  sometimes  led  to  the  assertion  that  all 
these  expressions  are  indigenous  and  independent  As  usual*  the 
extreme  is  untrue;  In  the  light  of  modem  research,  notably  in  this 
country,  where  much  attention  has  been  given  to  the  point  of  late 
years,  the  ease  with  which  myths  are  disseminated  is  being  eveiy- 
where  recognized.  Again,  let  us  not  foiget  that  the  fact  of  signi- 
ficance is  that  the  common  explanation,  whether  native  or  borrowed, 
met  a  common  need.  I  hold  no  brief  for  those  who  argue  for  the 
unity  of  the  human  race.  It  is  a  question  of  many  aspects  and  not 
to  be  decided  by  appeal  to  any  one  set  of  facts.  The  principle  of 
essential  uniformity  of  reaction  seems  to  me^  however,  practically 
proven  beyond  dispute. 

But  conditions  and  stimuli  are  varied,  and  as  a  consequence  cul- 
ture is  complex.  Its  development  is  demonstrably  not  uniform,  and 
to  trace  the  preliminary  elements  and  forces  which  have  contributed 
to  the  production  of  its  different  phases  is  the  chief  task  of  the 
ethnologist  It  is  a  commonplace  that  in  our  higher  stages  civiliza- 
tion advances  by  communication  and  contact.  The  products  of  in- 
di\ndual  mental  variation  speedily  became  the  property  of  the  world. 
The  tendency  should  hold  good  for  more  primitive  levels,  provided 
the  conditions  be  not  antagonistic.  Granted  the  possibility  of  com- 
munication, the  effect  of  advances  in  one  group  should  be  seen  in 
the  culture  of  its  neighbors.  Dissemination  should  take  place,  and 
as  a  matter  of  fact  does  not  take  place.  The  same  evidence  frpm 
mythology  and  tradition  which  fends  to  prove  the  principle  of  inde- 
pendent development  can  be  drawn  upon  to  show  the  operation  of 
communication. 

While  it  would  be  unjustifiable,  perhaps,  to  trace  causal  connec- 
tions between  the  Micmac  Glooskap,  the  Polynesian  Maui,  and  the 
Zulu  Uthlakanyana  on  account  of  their  enormous  geographical  sepa- 
ration, the  same  objection  may  not  hold  in  more  contracted  areas. 
It  would  certainly  be  more  reasonable  to  expect  a  relation  between 
Alaska  and  Nova  Scotia  than  between  Alaska  and  South  Africa. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tke  Significance  of  Mythology  and  TradiHon,  17 


But  because  the  relation  is  reasonable  is  no  sign  of  its  truth.  The 
detailed  proof  is  needed  and  is  now  for  the  most  part  in  hand.  The 
problem  demands  a  chain  of  similar  myths,  stretching  east  and  west 
across  the  continent,  and  such  a  span  has  been  provided  by  the  re- 
searches in  the  field  which  this  Society  makes  its  especial  care. 
TlitiL^it  and  Athapascan,  Sahaptin  and  Sioux,  Iroquois  and  Algonkin 
have  all  yielded  their  stores.  From  ocean  to  ocean  an  unbroken 
series  of  similar  culture  myths  stretches  its  length,  each  differing 
from  its  neighbors,  each  apparently  modified  by  changing  conditions, 
but  all  presenting  a  striking  similarity  in  general  type  It  would  be 
the  height  of  absurdity  in  such  an  instance  to  deny  the  modifying 
influence  of  one  group  upon  another.  The  extremes  of  the  series 
may  be  as  different  as  the  common  problem  which  the  myths  attack 
will  permit,  but,  with  the  gradual  shading  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  intermediate  groups  into  those  of  their  neighbors^  the  inference 
of  common  origin  is  unavoidable. 

But,  it  will  naturally  be  objected,  is  not  this  the  very  evidence 
that  was  adduced  to  prove  the  contrary  ?  Is  not  the  very  similarity 
which  was  cited  as  an  expression  of  independence  now  offered  as  a 
proof  of  borrowing  ?  Granted  ;  but  the  two  principles  are  not  incom- 
patible, and  the  recognition  of  the  truth  is,  it  seems  to  me,  absolutely 
essential  to  profitable  work  in  our  field.  Independent  development 
as  a  fundamental  principle  with  communication  and  dissemination 
operating  wherever  possible  make  up  our  working  hypothesis. 

The  first-named  principle  is  an  inference  from  a  vast  body  of 
evidence  in  all  fields  of  ethnology ;  the  second  is  a  truth  not  only 
prohaUe  from  an  inspection  of  the  material,  but  demonstrable  in 
actual  historical  cases. 

The  extent  to  which  dissemination  takes  place  is,  I  believe,  one  of 
the  chief  problems  of  the  day.  To  determine  that  extent  with  exact- 
ness is,  however,  a  most  baffling  undertaking.  In  a  broad  way  it  is 
perfectly  feasible^  and  one  ti  the  most  promising  researches  which 
could  be  engaged  in  at  present  would  be  to  investigate  the  correla- 
tion between  the  distribution  of  myths  and  culture  and  the  physical 
geography  of  given  areas.  Water-ways  and  mountain  passes,  trade 
routes  and  habitual  trails  should  all  be  considered  in  their  relation 
to  the  activities  of  the  tribes  in  their  vicinity.  The  limit  of  extension 
of  the  method  it  is  impossible  to  mark,  but  that  its  yiekl  would  be 
prr*fitable  is  beyond  question.  That  geogpraphical  conditions  are  alt 
important  factors  is  clear  to  any  one.  Cultural  areas  are  not  deter- 
mined by  race,  stock,  or  dialect  Climate  and  physical  barriers  are 
the  mediums  of  boundary.  This  truth  is  self-evident.  It  is  the 
details  of  its  logical  extension  to  minor  geographical  features  which 
demand  examination.  The  material  for  such  researches,  it  is  encour- 

VOL.  XVn.  —  NO.  64.  2 


Digitized  by  Google 


l8 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore^ 


aging  to  note,  is  now  rapidly  becoming  available.  From  Alaska  to 
California  we  now  have  recorded  collections  of  tales  and  traditions 
from  both  sides  of  the  Coast  Range  which  afford  an  opportunity  for 
this  work,  as  well  as  for  more  general  synthetic  treatment  such  as 
has  never  heretofore  been  at  hand. 

The  satisfactory  solution  of  our  problems,  however,  demands  more 
than  this,  and  here  we  reach  deficiencies  in  our  scientific  equipment 
which  we  must  face,  humiliating  as  it  may  be  to  our  self-respect.  An 
absolute  requisite  for  any  research  is  a  method.  In  analyzing  and 
comparing  the  elements  and  details  of  myths  and  traditions,  particu- 
larly with  regard  to  their  distribution  and  origin,  we  need  criteria 
and  method  as  a  matter  of  course.  Have  these  been  attained  or  de- 
fined to  a  satisfactory  degree?  Frankly,  they  have  not.  We  have 
no  criterion  for  judginf;  the  dependent  or  independent  character  of 
a  myth  element,  and  it  is  certain  that  much  of  the  value  of  the  mate- 
rial is  lost  for  lack  of  a  satisfactory  scheme  of  classification  of  the 
mass  of  myth  elements  with  which  the  student  soon  finds  himself 
overwhelmed.  It  is  easy  to  say,  "  Devise  one,  then  !  "  Whoever  can 
meet  that  condition  will  earn  the  undying  gratitude  of  all  of  us  who 
are  concerned  in  the  active  working  out  of  the  problems.  Different 
bases  of  classification  have  been  proposed,  sound  enough  in  theory, 
but  not  thoroughly  workable  in  practice^  Let  us  not  be  too  pessi- 
.mtstic.  The  difficulty  is  inevitable  from  the  confusing  nature  of  our 
subject-matter  when  analyzed  into  its  details,  but  patience  wiU  find 
the  path  of  exit.  Much  has  already  been  brought  to  light  with  regard 
to  the  interaction  (tf  contiguous  groups,  and  much  more  is  on  the 
way.  The  Journal  of  this  Society  proposes  in  the  near  future  to  take 
stock  of  the  results  in  America  up  to  date  and  to  present  the  mate- 
rial in  a  series  of  synthetic  discussions  which  will  eschibit  clearly  both 
the  successes  and  shortcomings  at  which  I  have  hinted.  Such  a 
movement  should  be  welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  There  is  no  field 
in  which  the  worker  is  more  apt  to  be  overwhelmed  by  details  and 
to  lose  sight  of  the  ultimate  aim  than  in  ours ;  and  the  encourage- 
ment  of  an  occasional  view  from  a  summit  of  achievement  outweighs 
the  dangers  of  hasty  generalisation  which  such  a  survey  so  often 
carries  with  it. 

This  lack  of  method,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  and  even 
more  the  lack  of  clear  conc^tion  of  aim  and  object  in  collecting  myths 
and  folk  lore  generally,  has  always  had  a  disastrous  effect  upon  the  re- 
sults. The  inevitable  consequence  is  to  produce  curiosity  collectors, 
and  that  means  a  mass  of  badly  observed  and  largely  useless  tabs  of 
information  as  a  result  of  their  labors.  This  is  exactly  the  reproach 
which  is  most  often  brought  against  us,  often  unjustly,  but  often, 
it  must  be  admitted,  with  good  reason.   It  is  a  weakness  not  easy  to 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tfie  Significance  of  Mythology  and  TradiHon,       1 9 


avoid,  but  broader  knowledge  and  clearer  aim  on  the  part  of  the 
worker  will  do  much  to  better  the  conditions.  We  raise  the  alarm 
of  disappearing  material.  We  urge  our  members  to  collect  before 
it  is  too  late.  Collect  ?  Collect  by  all  means  and  everywhere,  but 
collect  with  intelligence  !  Few  facts,  but  the  right  ones,  are  more 
to  be  desired  than  volumes,  and  the  wrong  ones. 

I  have  deplored  the  lack  of  efficient  method.  This,  at  present,  no 
one  seems  able  to  supply,  and  we  are  forced  to  accept  the  conse- 
quences. But  reasonable  preparation  on  the  part  of  our  field  workers 
we  surely  have  a  right  to  ask.  I  am  not  fighting  a  man  of  straw. 
Incompetent  observation  is  the  reproach  of  anthropology  to-day. 
Who  of  us,  in  searching  the  sources,  has  not  experienced  righteous 
anger  at  the  failure  of  the  observer  just  at  the  crucial  points?  And 
why  the  failure  }  Almost  invariably  from  a  want  of  thorough  appre- 
ciation of  the  problems  at  issue.  Our  technical  publications  are 
standing  witnesses  of  the  sin.  The  fact  that  the  fault  is  widespread 
only  makes  it  the  more  serious  and  affords  no  comfort.  The  hope- 
ful sign  is  a  growing  recognition  of  the  guilt,  and  with  the  recogni- 
tion the  improvement  is  bound  to  come.  The  remedy  is  not  far  to 
seek,  and,  as  has  been  hinted,  lies  in  more  thorough  preparation  and 
triiiM.ag  for  the  work  in  hand.  In  our  own  particular  field  we  need 
especially  a  clearer  conception  of  the  ends  in  view  and  more  general 
information  with  regard  to  related  branches  of  knowledge. 

We  have  been  considering  the  value  of  mythology  and  tradition 
for  the  general  problems  of  ethnology.  Have  they  no  significance 
for  the  more  special  phases  ?  That  they  have  is  clear  at  a  glance. 
Let  me  Olustrate.  Possibly  the  question  in  ethnology  which  has 
given  rise  to  more  discussion  than  any  other  in  the  last  twenty-five 
years  has  been  that  of  the  development  of  the  modem  family  into  a 
privileged  social  institution.  Theory  upon  theory  has  been  advanced 
tracing  the  forms  of  marriage  and  family  structure  from  primitive 
promiscuity  to  monogamy,  and  from  monogamy  to  future  promiscuity. 
The  matriarchate  and  the  patriarchate,  polyandry  and  polygyny, 
exogamy  and  endogamy,  inheritance  of  name  and  inheritance  of 
property,  terms  of  relationship^  rites  and  ceremonies^  signs  and  sym- 
bols, have  all  been  inspected  with  regard  to  their  bearing  on  the 
development  of  this  fundamental  social  group.  Suggestions  based 
on  fact  and  suggestions  based  on  fancy  have  been  Inextricably  min- 
ted in  the  construction  of  the  varied  hypotheses  which  the  discus- 
sbn  has  brought  forth.  Confusion  worse  confounded  has  often  been 
the  result.  Now,  whatever  his  prejudice  and  whatever  his  view, 
every  investigator  has  been  struck  by  the  prevalence  of  clan  or  kin- 
ship groups  in  savage  society  and  by  the  presence  of  totemic  83rm- 
boIs»  beliefs,  and  practices  in  connection  with  these  groups.  The 


so  youmeU  of  Amertcan  Folk-Lore. 

origin  of  these  totcmic  systems  has  baffled  every  attempt  at  plausible 
explanation,  and  the  attempts  have  not  been  few.  When,  in  1899, 
a  masterly  piece  of  ethnographic  research  on  the  Australian  natives 
was  published  by  Messrs.  Spencer  and  Gillen,  the  intense  interest 
which  it  aroused  was  due  chiefly  to  their  description  and  discussion 
of  the  totcmic  ceremonies  of  the  tribes  under  discussion.  For  the 
first  time  certain  aspects  of  the  system  were  clearly  shown  and  their 
probable  significance  emphasized.  The  economic  and  utilitarian  bear- 
ing of  the  ceremonies  was  not  only  predominant  but  overwhelming. 
Certain  inconsistencies  were,  however,  so  striking  as  to  demand  at- 
tention and  to  complicate  the  explanation.  At  this  stage  tradition 
entered,  and  became  the  pivotal  point  in  the  discussion.  Without 
it  analysis  had  reached  its  limit  and  solution  seemed  remote.  With 
it,  apparent  inconsistencies  became  intelligible  and  theory  at  least 
plausible.  It  is  of  no  consequence  at  this  time  to  consider  the  legiti- 
macy of  the  explanation,  nor  to  discuss  the  notorious  untrustworthi- 
ness  of  savage  tradition.  It  is  for  us,  at  the  moment,  immaterial 
whether  the  authors  under  discussion  have  solved  a  vexing  problem 
for  a  certain  district  or  whether  they  have  not  The  fact  of  impor- 
tance is  that  in  the  analysis  mythology  and  tradition  yielded  effi- 
cient aid 

The  closest  relation  of  mythology  to  the  mental  activities  of  roan 
is  of  course  on  the  religious  side;  The  study  of  primitive  religious 
beliefs  has  resolved  itself  of  late  years  into  an  inspection  of  animism 
and  its  manifestations.  The  extent  to  which  the  conceptions  in- 
cluded under  that  convenient  term  permeate  the  entire  life  of  the 
savage  is  now  apparent  to  every  one.  Shamanisttc  practices  and 
puberty  ceremonies,  warfare  and  hunting,  even  arts  and  industries, 
all  exhibit  their  dose  dependence  upon  the  esoteric  beliefs  of  the 
primitive  agents. 

As  a  matter  of  course  the  investigation  has  become  widely  ex- 
tended, and  many  special  problems  have  emerged  in  the  process. 
Of  these,  one  of  the  most  interesting  is  the  analysis  of  the  so-called 
"manitou"  beliefs  of  the  North  American  Indians.  "The  Great 
*  Spirit "  and  kindred  terms  are  familiar  to  us  from  childhood,  and  the 
misconception  which  they  express  is  so  firmly  seated  in  the  popular 
mind  that  it  seems  impossible  to  disturb  it.  The  fundamental  con- 
cept of  an  all-pervading  "mystery,"  of  "manitou"  rather  than  a 
manitou,  of  a  superhuman  energy  partaken  of  by  an  indefinite  num- 
ber of  individuals,  living  and  mythical,  is,  however,  fairly  well  under* 
stood  by  ethnologists.  That,  except  possibly  in  special  instances, 
there  is  not  and  never  has  been  among  the  Indians  a  belief  in  a 
Supreme  Being  is  now  almost  certain.  It  is,  of  course,  a  point  of 
fundamental  importance  in  the  analysis  of  Indian  psychology,  and 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Significance  of  Mythology  and  TradUum.  21 


its  implications  reach  far  beyond  the  limits  of  that  race.  To  this 
conclusion  mythology  has  of  necessity  been  the  chief  contributor. 
Special  inquiries  have  shed  their  light,  but  without  the  myths  the 
native  attitude  must  have  remained  forever  unintelligible.  Surely 
the  case  is  clear.  To  ethnology,  mythology  and  folk-lore  are  not 
merely  useful ;  they  are  essential.  The  only  justification  for  men- 
tioning our  claims  is  that  our  credentials  are  so  often  demanded,  and 
that  too  by  our  chief  beneficiaries. 

With  psychology  the  relations  are  as  close  or  closer,  if  perhaps 
less  easily  defined.  The  tendency  of  modern  psychology  is  to  con- 
centrate itself  particularly  upon  the  experimental  investigation  of 
relatively  simple  reactions.  With  this,  possibly,  we  have  iiothinL;  to 
do.  The  experimental  method,  however,  is  only  a  means  to  the 
analysis  of  more  complex  reactions  and  mental  habits.  Its  results 
must  always  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  a  wider  range  of  view. 

In  the  racial  psychology  of  the  day  the  vexed  problem  is  that  of 
the  felative  mental  capacities  of  men  at  different  points  in  the  scale 
of  culture.  That  civilization  is  not  necessarily  a  gauge  of  mental 
evolution  has  long  been  suspected  and  often  asserted.  The  contrary 
is  the  popular  view,  and  as  usual,  has  innumerable  positive  and  un- 
reason ing  adherents.  Dogmatism  has  run  riot  and  both  sides  in  the 
controversy  have  offended  against  scientific  conservatism.  The  so- 
cial and  political  implications  of  the  question  are  so  marked  that  it 
is  kept  constantly  in  the  focus  of  public  attention.  The  anatomical 
development  of  the  brain  is  cited  by  both  sides  with  the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  its  support  of  their  respective  views,  and  the  mere  fact  that 
such  evidence  Is  thoroughly  negative  is,  apparently,  a  matter  of  no 
importance.  Had  we  infinitely  more  anatomical  data  at  our  disposal 
than  we  have,  the  relation  between  cerebral  structure  and  mental 
phenomena  is  so  uncertain  as  to  afford  no  ground  for  inference. 
Such  evidence  might  be  suggestive,  it  is  true^  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  to-day  the  battle-ground  must  be  in  the  psychological  field.  A 
particularly  able  statement  of  this  phase  of  the  problem  was  pre- 
sented in  the  presidential  address  before  this  Society  three  years  ago. 
One  of.  the  points  most  emphasized  by  Professor  Boas  on  that  occa- 
sion was  the  importance  of  the  contents  of  the  mind  in  determining 
cultural  diversity  in  various  environments.  Whether  one  admits  or 
denies  the  logical  inferences  from  the  argument  advanced  at  that 
time,  the  truth  of  the  proposition  that  the  experience  of  the  individ- 
ual will  determine,  to  a  great  extent,  the  action  of  the  individual,  and 
that  the  experience  of  the  group  will  determine  the  action  of  the 
group,  is  obvious  at  a  glance.  Further,  that  in  savage  communities 
the  collective  experience  is  epitomized  in  the  traditions  of  the  com- 
munity, is  also  evident    It  seems  clear,  then,  that  the  reactions  of 


Digitized  by  Google 


22 


yaumal  of  Antencan  Foik-Lor^, 


a  group,  their  customs  and  beliefs,  can  only  be  interpreted  in  the 
light  of  their  collective  experience,  and  hence  in  the  light  of  their 
traditions.  On  account  of  their  relative  exactness,  the  results  of  the 
experimental  investigation  of  the  sensory  acutcncss,  the  reactions  to 
simple  stimuli,  and  the  elementary  mental  processes  of  savages  are 
greatly  to  be  desired.  The  attention  given  to  these  points  in  one  of 
the  best-equipped  anthropological  expeditions  of  recent  years  cannot 
be  commended  too  highly.  But  the  mind  of  the  savage,  like  the 
mind  of  the  lower  animal,  must  always  be  studied  in  the  relatively 
complex  expressions  which  constitute  practically  the  only  available 
avenue  of  approach,  and  his  mental  attitude  can  never  be  understood 
without  a  thorough  knowledge  and  apjveciatlon  of  the  body  o£  tra* 
dition  of  which  he  is  at  once  the  heir  and  slave. 

To  contribute  to  this  and  kindred  ends  is  the  object  of  our  Society. 

What,  then,  in  conclusion,  should  be  the  position  of  mythology 
and  tradition,  their  contents  and  their  study,  in  the  scheme  of  scien- 
tific knowledge?  Mythology  is  an  expression  of  beliefs,  and  espe- 
cially of  earlier  beliefs.  Tradition  is  an  account  of  conditions,  and 
especially  of  earlier  conditions.  The  inference  is  plain.  Often 
inaccurate  and  untrustworthy,  but  always  significant  and  suggestive, 
a  knowledge  of  mythology  and  tradition  is  indispensable  to  both  eth- 
nology and  psychology.  To  constitute  an  essential  feature  in  the 
elaboration  of  those  inseparable  sciences  is,  I  conceive  the  function 
of  our  field.  Let  us  make  no  claim  to  stand  as  the  representatives 
of  an  independent  science.  Until  our  methods  and  our  material 
become  more  definite  such  action  would  be  unwarranted.  I  have 
deprecated  the  attitude  of  many  of  our  colleagues  in  cognate  branches. 
This  is  not  a  matter  of  transcendent  importance.  Recognition  b 
always  desirable,  but  efHciency  is  first  to  be  sought  With  its  attain- 
ment recognition  will  follow  as  an  inevitable  consequence.  Our  im- 
mediate task  lies  within  our  own  borders.  Our  energies  should  be 
bent  upon  the  increase  of  our  own  competency.  Better  preparation 
is  the  crying  need,  and  it  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  all  who  have 
the  interests  of  this  Society  and  its  aims  at  heart  that  the  signs  of 
the  times  indicate  the  approach  of  a  new  era  in  the  pursuit  of  our 
common  interests. 

Livingston  ^arrand. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Some  Skamans  of  Northern  CaU/omia,  33 

SOME  SHAMANS  OF  NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA.^ 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  California  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  ethnologist  is  the  great  diversity  which  is  everywhere 
apparent  The  following  brief  notes  on  the  shamans  of  three  of  the 
stocks  of  the  northern  part  of  the  State  are  offered  merely  as  an  out> 
line  of  the  beliefs  of  these  tribes,  with  the  intention  of  showing  to 
what  an  extent  the  diversity  so  characteristic  of  the  State  appears  in 
this  single  feature  of  their  culture.  The  three  stocks  considered  are 
the  Shasta,  the  Hat  Creek  and  Achomawi,  and  the  Maidu. 

Among  the  Shasta,  the  beginning  of  a  shaman,  the  commence- 
ment of  his  career,  is  in  a  dream  or  dreams.  It  is  said  that  a  man 
suddenly  begins  to  dream  frequently  that  he  is  on  the  edge  of  some 
high  diff,  or  on  the  top  of  a  tall  tree,  and  is  about  to  fall,  when  sud- 
denly he  awakes.  Or  the  dream  may  be  of  being  on  the  bank  of  a 
river,  in  which  the  man  is  about  to  drown,  when  he  awakes  with  a 
sudden  shock.  Both  men  and  women  may  have  such  dreams,  and 
the  dreams  are  a  sign  that  the  person  is  to  become  a  doctor.  So 
soon  as  dreams  of  this  sort  occur,  the  person  at  once  begins  to  exer- 
cise care  in  eating,  restricting  the  diet  to  vegetable  foods,  and  being 
careful  not  to  smell  meat  or  fat  cooking.  They  also  paint  their  faces 
and  bodies  ceremonially.  After  the  dreams  have  continued  for  some 
time,  the  person  suddenly  falls  over  in  a  swoon  ("dies"),  while  en- 
gaged at  some  every-day  duty.  In  this  swoon,  the  person  about  to 
become  a  doctor  sees  what  is  known  as  an  "  Axeki"  (Pain).  The 
Axeki  are  small  in  stature,  but  otherwise  like  men,  and  carry  a  bow 
and  arrow.  The  Axeki  talks  to  the  person,  sings  to  him,  and  he  or 
she  must  answer,  repeating  the  song  sung.  Should  any  one  fail  to 
answer  or  repeat  the  song,  the  Axeld  shoots  and  kills  him.  The 
song  being  repeated,  however,  the  Axeki  declares  that  he  will  be  the 
friend  of  the  person,  and  then  tells  him  his  name  and  where  he  lives. 
This  dwelling-place  is  usually  in  some  large  rock  or  mountain. 

The  novice,  on  recovering  from  the  swoon,  must  dance  for  five 
nights.  In  the  course  of  this  dance  the  novice  performs  several 
tricks  to  show  his  power,  and  is  swung  over  the  fire  by  those  who 
are  in  attendance  at  the  dance.  During  the  whole  period  of  the 
dance  the  Axeki  is  supposed  to  be  present,  visible  only  to  the  novice 
however.  Throughout  the  period  the  Axeki  directs  the  novice  in 
his  actions.  When  he  first  appears  to  the  novice,  the  Axeki  gives 
him  a  ''pain."   This  "pain"  is  a  small  needlelike  object,  about 

*  Read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Folk-Lons  Society,  and  pub- 
lished by  permission  of  the  Trastees  of  the  American  Maseam  of  Natural  His- 
tory, New  York. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


yawnuU  of  Amgncem  Folh^Lart. 


three  inches  long,  and  appearing,  it  is  said,  like  ice.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  five  nights'  dance,  the  new  doctor  exhibits  this  object. 
He  is  supposed  to  keep  it  in  his  own  body  much  of  the  time,  but  it 
can  always  be  produced  at  will  When  a  shaman  is  angry  with  any 
one,  he  throws  a  "  pain  *'  at  them,  and  thus  causes  sickness.  A  doc- 
tor may  have  many  such  pains/'  as  he  may  see  a  number  of  differ- 
ent  Axeki  at  different  times,  and  secure  a  ''pain  "  from  each  one 
Doctors  generally  begin  their  dreams  and  dancing  early  in  the 
winter,  as  it  is  then  that  the  Axeki  are  always  about  the  camp. 

There  are  a  Uu'ge  number  of  these  Axeki  Every  rock  and  diff, 
every  mountain  has  one  in  it  Their  nature  is  apparently  evil,  for 
they  are  always  trying  to  injure  people  by  shooting  a  "pain"  into 
them.  The  doctors  were  the  only  persons  who  could  extract 
"pain."  It  is  not  sucked  out,  but  is  seised  in  the  hand,  and  pulled 
out.  Once  having  extracted  it,  the  shaman  places  his  hands  in  a  bas- 
ket of  water.  After  a  whiles  the  thmg  is  placed  in  a  mussel-shell, 
pitch  is  put  over  it,  and  another  shell  put  on  as  a  cover.  The  whole 
is  then  put  in  the  fire.  Should  it  be  supposed  that  the  "pain  "  was 
sent  by  some  other  doctor  in  spite,  then  the  **  pain  "  is  sent  back  to 
the  sender,  and  told  to  kill  him;  The  "  pains  "  after  being  extracted 
can  talk,  and  always  call  the  shaman  "^ther."  He  speaks  to  them 
as  "  son."  They  tell  him  who  sent  them.  When  a  doctor  dies,  all 
the  "pains  "  he  has  fly  back  to  the  Axekis  who  have  given  them  to 
him. 

Among  the  Achomawi  and  Hat  Creek  Indians,  the  method  of 
acquiring  doctorhood  is  somewhat  different.  Here  it  is  connected 
with  a  period  of  fasting,  bathing,  and  prayer,  which  is  part  of  the  life 
of  every  young  man.  Immediately  after  the  ceremonial  ear-piercing, 
the  youth  runs  away  into  the  mountains,  and  lives  for  some  dnys 
alone,  bathing  frequently  in  remote  mountain  lakes.  He  sleeps  little, 
builds  big  fires,  and  piles  up  rocks  in  heaps,  or  places  them  on  the 
tops  of  larger  stones.  In  the  course  of  this  period  of  fasting  he 
sees  a  vision,  or  dreams  a  dream.  He  never  tells  this  to  any  one, 
and  the  spirit  coming  to  him  in  his  dream  is  his  guide  and  helper 
through  life.  When  he  returns  from  his  vigil,  he  has  to  observe 
many  regulations  in  diet.  Although  all  youths  go  thus  to  the  moun- 
tains for  their  time  of  fasting,  not  all  by  any  means  see  visions,  or 
dream  dreams.  Most  of  those  people  who  do  become  shamans,  and 
no  one  may  become  a  doctor  without  having  had  such  dreams  or 
visions. 

Some  time  after  his  return  he  goes  out  into  the  woods,  and  tries 
to  find  a  "  QaOu."  This  is  a  bunch  of  feathers,  described  as  like  a 
small  feather-duster.  They  are  found  growing  singly  in  remote 
spots.    When  the  novice  finds  a  "  QaQu,"  he  endeavors  to  pick  it, 


Digitized  by  Google 


Softte  Shamans  of  Northern  CaUjornia,  35 

but  cannot  pull  ft  up^  as  when  he  pulls,  the  whole  earth  comes  up 
with  the  "  QaQu."  He  leaves  this,  and  looks  for  another,  which  he 
succeeds  in  pulling  up.  When  uprooted,  the  "  iQ  1 "  drips  blood 
eontinually.  In  doctoring  a  patient  if  the  case  be  serious,  the  sha^ 
man  goes  out  and  finds  a  "  QaQu,*'  and  holds  it  while  dancing  near 
the  patient,  also  using  it  as  an  aspergill,  to  sprinkle  the  sufferer 
with  water.  The  "QaQu"  talk  to  the  doctors,  and  tell  them  in 
what  part  of  the  body  the  "  pain  "  is.  When  he  knows  this,  the 
doctor  sucks  out  the  "pain."  The  "pain  "  is  a  small  black  thing, 
like  a  bit  of  horsehair.  When  removed,  the  doctor  shows  the 
<«  pain  "  to  the  patient  and  to  others,  then  he  chews  it  up,  and  swal- 
lows it,  or  else  spits  it  out  into  a  small  hole  dug  in  the  ground, 
whidi  is  then  filled  up  again,  and  stamped  down  hard.  The  **  pains  " 
were  obtained  from  the  '*  QaQu  "  by  doctors  who  wished  to  injure 
any  one, and  were  then  snapped  toward  the  victim.  The  "pain" 
fl^  very  fast  toward  the  person,  who,  when  the  "  pain  "  struck  him, 
felt  as  if  a  wood-tick  had  bitten  him  on  the  back  of  the  neck.  The 
"pain"  always  struck  at  that  spot,  it  is  said,  and  then  crawled  up 
under  the  hair  to  the  crown  of  the  head,  and  there  bided  its  time,  till 
the  period  set  by  the  doctor  had  elapsed.  Then  the  "  pain  "  entered 
the  man's  head,  and  travelled  to  the  portion  of  the  body  to  which  the 
doctor  had  sent  it.  The  doctor  who  sends  a  "pain"  knows  when 
the  victim  dies.  As  soon  as  this  takes  place,  he  goes  at  once  into 
the  woods,  finds  an  old  stump,  and  places  on  this  a  skin  and  a  cap, 
and  addresses  it  as  a  person.  He  then  begins  to  talk  to  the  "  pain," 
now  free  from  its  victim,  and  returning  to  him  who  sent  it.  He 
soothes  and  pacifies  the  "  pain,"  for,  after  killing  a  person  a  "  pain  "  is 
always  very  bloodthirsty.  The  "  pain  "  returns  flying  rapidly  through 
the  air,  and  strikes  the  stump  which  has  been  dressed  up,  thinking 
it  is  the  doctor,  for  the  "pain  "  always  tries  to  kill  the  doctor  who 
sent  it,  when  it  returns.  Once  the  '*  pain  "  has  struck  the  stump, 
the  doctor  catches  it,  and  quiets  and  soothes  it.  It  is  only  by  these 
means  that  the  doctor  escapes  being  killed  by  the  returning  "  pain." 
Sometimes  the  doctor  who  extracts  a  "pain  "  from  a  patient  gives 
it  back  to  the  one  who  sent  it.  The  latter  then  thanks  him,  and  . 
keeps  the  "  pain  "  carefully  in  a  hollow  bone,  stuffed  with  yellow- 
hammer  feathers.  If  it  was  found  out  that  a  doctor  had  shot  a 
"  pain  "  into  some  one,  then  the  doctor  was  sought  out  and  killed  by 
the  family  of  the  injured  man,  or  by  the  man  himself  if  he  recovered. 
If  a  doctor  failed  to  cure  a  number  of  cases  in  succession,  he  was 
always  killed.  As  a  rule,  doctors  were  more  often  men  than  women, 
but  women  doctors  have  in  some  cases  acquired  a  great  reputation. 

Of  the  Maidu,  only  that  portion  living  in  the  Sierra  in  the  north- 
em  part  of  the  Maidu  territory  are  here  referred  to.    These  show 


Digitized  by  Google 


26  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


again  different  customs.  Here  a  doctor's  position  is  almost  always 
hereditary,  and  should  a  shaman  have  a  number  of  children,  all,  men 
and  women,  become  doctors  after  his  death.  Each  doctor  has  a 
number  of  guardian  spirits,  and  his  children  inherit  these  spirits, 
although  they  always  acquire  other  new  ones  in  addition.  Soon 
after  a  shaman*s  death,  bis  children  begin  to  dream,  seeing  spirits 
and  animals  of  different  sorts.  The  person  dreaming  in  this  way 
becomes  iU,  and  the  dreams  come  more  and  more  frequently.  The 
man  must  answer  these  spirits,  must  talk  to  them,  pay  them  beads 
and  food  and  tobacco,  or  else  they  will  turn  on  him  and  kill  him. 
The  guardian  spirits  a  person  are  always  angry  when  the  person 
dies^  and  some  other  person  inherits  them.  So  soon,  therefore^  as  a 
person  is  in  this  state,  his  friends  and  family  call  a  festival  in  his 
honor,  to  which  several  old  doctors  are  asked.  They  come,  sing  and 
dance,  try  to  aid  him  in  pacifying  the  many  spirits  that  trouble  him, 
and  make  offerings  for  him  of  beads*  food,  and  tobacco.  The  man 
himself  must  also  sing  and  dance,  not  for  a  few  nights  only,  but 
every  other  night,  perhaps  all  winter.  After  one  or  two  winters 
spent  thus  in  dancing  and  singing,  the  man  has  pacified  the  spirits, 
and  begins  to  doctor  people. 

Should  a  person,  whose  parents  had  not  been  shamans,  desire  to 
become  a  doctor,  he  can  do  so.  To  become  ono,  he  must  go  off  by 
himself  into  the  mountains,  fast,  build  fires,  swim  in  lonely  lakes, 
and  make  frequent  offerings  of  beads  and  food,  and  also  of  blood 
drawn  from  his  ears.  These  offerings  are  made  at  spots  known  to 
be  the  dwelling-place  of  spirits.  After  some  time  he  begins  to  have 
ireams  and  visions,  seeing  the  spirits  to  whom  he  has  made  offer- 
ings. He  then  returns  to  his  village,  and  begins  to  dream  regularly 
as  do  those  who  inherit  their  father's  spirits.  Subsequently  he  has 
to  go  through  the  whole  senes  of  ceremonies  and  dances  that  the 
hereditary  doctors  do. 

Doctors  throw  "  pains  "  at  people.  The  "  pains  "  are  like  bits  of 
sharpened  bone  or  ice.  Sometimes,  however,  they  are  like  little 
lizards,  frogs,  mice,  etc.  When  a  "  pain  "  has  been  thrown  at  a  per- 
son, the  only  way  to  recover  health  is  to  have  a  doctor  suck  out  the 
"  pain."  When  the  doctor  gets  it  out,  it  talks  to  him,  and  calls  him 
"  father."  It  tells  him  who  sent  it.  The  doctor  then  either  makes 
it  disappear  by  rubbing  it  between  his  hands,  or  else  buries  it.  The 
doctors  get  these  "pains  "  from  the  spirits  they  meet  far  away  in  the 
mountains,  or  who  come  to  them  in  dreams.  The  "  pains  "  must  be 
kept  very  carefully,  and  are  usually  secreted  in  some  hollow  log,  far 
from  the  village.  There  were  women  doctors,  but  the  men  were 
more  powerful,  and  far  more  important. 

These  outlines  of  the  beliefs  held  in  regard  to  shamans  and  the 


Digitized  by  Google 


Some  Shamans  of  Northern  California,  27 

cure  and  cause  of  disease,  by  the  three  tribes  mentioned,  will  serve 
to  show  the  considerable  differences  existing  in  a  rather  small  area. 
Although  each  of  these  stocks  is  practically  in  contact  with  one  of 
the  others,  there  are  many  rather  interesting  differences.  The 
strongly  hereditary  character  of  the  shaman  among  this  portion  of 
the  Maidu  is  noteworthy,  together  with  the  inheritance  of  the  guard- 
ian spirits.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Hat  Creek  and  Achomawi 
method  of  acquiring  the  position  of  doctor  is  suggestive  of  the  usual 
method  among  tribes  to  the  North  and  East  of  gaining  a  ])ersonal 
totem.  Even  within  single  stocks,  as  for  example,  the  Maidu,  the 
differences  arc  almost  as  great  as  we  find  in  this  case  between  the 
three  different  stocks ;  and  all  the  surrounding  stocks  again  show 
equal  or  even  greater  differences  than  those  noted  here.  The  diver- 
sity which  has  been  shown  to  be  characteristic  for  the  State  in  other 
features  is  thus  seen  to  be  present  here  as  well,  and  offers  a  most 
fmltful  fidd  for  study  and  comparison. 

•  Rokmd  B,  Dixon, 


Digitized  by  Google 


28 


Journal  of  American  Folk^Lort, 


RACE-CHARACTER  AND  LOCAL  COLOR  IN  PROVERBS. 
T  r 

The  data  here  presented  are  from  Wullscfalagel's  <*  Deutsch-Neger- 
englisches  Wdrterbuch"  (Lobau,  185Q  and  Bowen's  ''Grammar  and 
Dictionary  of  the  Yoruba  Language^"  published  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  in  1858^  A  few  proverbs  from  other  sources  are  cited 
where  apposite.  The  Yoruba  and  Negro-English  proverbs  are  set 
off  against  certain  standards  in  English,  so  that  the  curious  and  in- 
teresting variations  which  often  occur  may  be  the  more  readOy 
appreciated. 

1.  Appeonmees  mm  dimtfuL  Corresponding  to  our  "  all  that  glit- 
ters is  not  gold/'  we  have : 

Negro-English :  All  teeth-showing  is  not  laughter.  Not  every  one 
whp  carries  a  long  knife  is  a  cook.  The  parrot  has  fine  feathers,  but 
he  does  n't  go  to  the  dance.  The  rain  does  n't  fall  [from  the  clouds] 
as  black  as  it  looks. 

Yoruba:  The  okun  has  200  hands  and  200  feet,  and  yet  acts 
gently. 

Negro-English.  When  you  hear  the  monkey  on  the  tree  callmg 
kitikot  kitiko^  he  does  n't  cry  because  he 's  meny,  but  because  he 's 
hungry. 

Tsimshian  Indian:  A  deer,  though  toothless,  may  accomplish 

something. 

The  ner;roes  seem  to  be  well  provided  with  variants  of  the  idea 
expressed  in  these  proverbs. 

2.  Night  equalizes.  To  English  and  French  "  by  night  all  cats  are 
gray  "  and  its  American  variant  "  all  'coons  look  alike  to  me,"  cor- 
responds to  Negro-English  :  By  night  the  negro  eats  cowskin. 

3.  Is  thy  servant  a  dog  f  This  idea  is  conveyed  by  Negro-English  : 
I  am  black,  but  I  don't  sleep  in  smoke.  The  gnat  is  small,  to  be 
sure,  but  she  is  not  the  servant  of  the  cow. 

4.  Much  cry,  little  wool.  Corresponding  proverbs  are  the  Negro- 
English  :  The  lump-fish  has  a  big  mouth  but  a  narrow  throat.  When 
you  kill  the  wild  song-birds,  you  find  little  fat  on  them. 

5.  Barking  dogs  do  not  bite.  An  interesting  correspondent  is  the 
Yoruba :  Much  gesticulation  does  not  prove  manliness. 

6.  Half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread.  The  Yoruba  and  Negro- 
English  correspondents  are  wide  apart.  Yoruba  :  He  who  cannot 
build  a  house  builds  a  shed.  Negro-English  :  Halt  an  egg  is  better 
than  the  shell. 

7.  When  the  devil  u  as  sick,  etc.  In  Yoruba  we  find  :  When  fam- 
ine is  sharp  the  cricket  is  fat ;  when  famine  is  relieved  the  cricket 
is  poor.   The  meaning  of  this  proverb  is  that  in  time  of  fomine  the 


Digitized  by  Google 


Rac0-CharacUr  and  Local  Color  m  Provirhs.  29 


cricket  is  eaten  by  the  negroes  just  as  if  he  were  a  fat  and  juicy 
morsel,  but  when  scarcity  of  food  is  past,  it  is  looked  upon  again  as 
poor  and  unfit  to  eat. 

8.  Lay  by  something  for  a  rainy  day.  Quite  characteristic  is  the 
Tsimshian  Indian  :  What  will  you  eat  when  the  snow  is  on  the  north 
side  of  the  tree  ? 

9.  The  young  birds  twitter  as  the  old  birds  sing.  The  Negro-Eng- 
lish correspondent  is :  The  she-goat  brings  no  sheep  into  the  world. 

10.  The  first  step  counts.  For  this  we  find  Yoruba:  The  stirrup 
is  father  of  the  saddle. 

1 1.  Might  is  right.  Very  expressive  is  Negro-EngUsh  :  The  cock- 
roach has  no  rights  in  the  heron's  beak. 

12.  The  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift.  The  Yoruba  say:  Aj6 
(god  of  money)  often  passes  by  the  first  caravan  that  arrives,  and 
loads  the  last  with  blessings. 

13.  They  also  scri'e  who  only  stand  and  wait.  We  find  in  Yoruba : 
The  aro  (a  sort  of  apple)  is  porter  at  the  gate  of  the  gods. 

14.  //  ut  vtr  rains,  but  it  pours.  A  curious  Ncgro-Iuiglish  corre- 
spondent is  :  The  papaja-tree  wept  for  children ;  now  it  has  them  up 
to  the  neck.  The  reference  is  to  the  way  the  fruit  grow  right  up  to 
the  top. 

15.  ThireM  a  tide  in  the  affairs  ofment  etc.  The  Yoruba  have  a 
beautiful  turn  of  this  saying :  The  dawn  comes  twice  to  no  man. 

id  It* son  ill  wind  blows  no  one  any  good  Corresponding  in 
Negro-English  we  have :  When  the  horse  is  dead,  the  cow  gets  fat 

17.  To  some  fortmne  comes  witkoat  asking.  Curiously  expressive 
is  Negro-English:  The  dog  chews  no  orange-toothpicks,  yet  his 
teeth  are  white. 

18.  Rome  was  fit  bmH  in  a  day.  To  this  saying  corresponds 
Negro-English :  The  little  pig  sa)  s :  Mama,  how  happens  it  that 
yon  have  so  long  a  nose  ? 

19L  Haw  could  I  kelp  it  t  For  this  idea  we  find  Negro-English: 
•  My  laughter  is  not  to  blame  for  the  wasp's  body  being  nearly  cut  in 
two.  My  laughter  is  not  to  bhme  for  the  howling  monkey  having  a 
beard.   My  laughter  is  not  to  blame  that  the  rabbit  has  no  tail 

2a  Locking  tke  stable  after  tke  korse  is  stolen.  Expressive  cor- 
respondents occur  in  Negro-English :  Set  the  net  after  the  fish  have 
gone  by.  After  the  cow's  hunger  has  passed  away,  you  stuff  her 
mouth  with  bananarpeelings. 

21.  You  must  get  up  early  to  catch  me.  Of  a  peculiar  turn  is  the 
Negro-English  :  I  am  the  bird ;  before  the  tree  cracks  to  fall  down, 
I  have  already  flown  away. 

22.  When  the  cat 's  away^  the  mice  will  play.  Just  as  expressive 
are  Negro-English :  When  the  cat  was  dead,  the  rat  made  a  drum  of 
its  skin.   When  the  tiger  is  dead,  the  stag  dances  on  his  grave. 


Digitized  by  Google 


30 


y<mmal  of  American  Folk^Lon. 


23.  //  is  easy  to  kick  a  dead  lion.  The  corresponding  saying  in 
Negro-English  is  :  When  the  fire  is  out,  the  negro-children  play  with 

the  ashes. 

24.  There  is  something  to  be  said  on  both  sides.  For  this  we  find 
Negro-English  :  There  arc  wild  aninaals,  but  wild  hunters,  too. 
Yoruba :  A  one-sided  story  is  always  right.  The  Yoruba  also  ex- 
press the  proverb  in  the  following  terms  :  The  partridge  argued  con- 
cerning the  bird-snare  of  cloth,  why  did  the  farmer  bring  cloth  to 
the  farm  ?  He  replied  to  the  partridge,  We  are  accustomed  to  take 
our  overclothes  to  the  hxm  [the  laborers  left  their  wrappers  in  the 
grass,  while  at  work]. 

25.  On*  hand  helps  the  other.  Say  the  Yoruba :  If  the  farm  were 
not  hard  to  cultivate,  the  smith  would  not  make  hoes  to  sell. 

261  One  eamtot  serve  iwo  masUrs,  The  corresponding  saying  in 
Negro-English  is :  The  dog  has  four  legs,  but  he  does  not  run  on 
four  roads. 

27.  Neither  fishtflesht  nor  good  red  herring.  In  Yoruba  we  find : 
The  ajao  is  neither  rat  nor  bird. 

38.  Nothing  new  under  the  sun.  Diverse  but  very  expressive  are 
Negro-English :  What  the  fox  found  out,  the  'possum  knew  long  ago. 
What  the  ebb  takes  out,  the  flood  brings  in. 

29k  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earthy  etc,  A  curious 
variant  is  the  Yoruba :  The  mockingbird  says :  I  sing  200  songs  in 
the  morning,  200  at  noon,  and  200  in  the  afternoon,  and  yet  I  sing 
many  frolicsome  notes  for  my  own  amusement. 

30.  To  throw  a  sprat  to  catch  a  macheret.  We  find  in  Negro-Eng- 
lish :  You  will  throw  the  lemon  away  to  get  an  orange. 

31.  The  fox  said  that  the  grapes  were  sour.  This  idea  is  well  ex- 
pressed in  Negro-English  :  If  you  don't  know  how  to  dance,  you  say 
that  the  drum  (music)  is  bad.  When  the  monkey  can  get  no  ripe 
bananas,  he  says  they  are  sour. 

32.  A  good  excuse  is  never  wanting.  We  find  in  Negro-English  : 
The  stag  said  :  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  dog,  but  his  loud  barking  sets 
me  to  running.  The  mosquito  says :  Yes,  I  'dlike  to  dance,  but  the 
wind  is  too  strong. 

33.  Learn  by  experience.  Quite  peculiar  is  N egro- English  :  If  you 
don't  live  in  the  house,  yon  don't  know  when  it  leaks. 

34.  Men  despise  what  they  do  not  understand.  This  is  well  ren- 
dered by  Yoruba :  One  who  does  not  know  the  oriole  says  the  oriole 
is  noisy. 

35.  Shoemaker,  stick  to  thy  last.  In  Yoruba  we  find :  No  one 
should  ask  the  fish  of  what  happens  on  the  land,  nor  the  rat  of  what 
happens  in  the  water. 

36.  Killing  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg.    The  Yoruba  have 


Digitized  by  Google 


Raci'CkaracUr  and  Local  Color  in  Proverbs,  31 

an  interesting  correspondent :  The  covetous  man,  not  content  with 
gathering  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  took  an  axe  and  cut  it  down. 

37.  Enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast.  In  Negro-EngUsh  we  find: 
He  would  sell  a  gnat  and  say  it  was  a  cow. 

38.  To  put  the  cart  before  the  /torse.  The  Negro-EngUsh  variant 
is  :  To  strike  the  drum  below.  ' 

39.  Pi  uny-wise,  poundfoolish.  In  Yoruba  we  find  :  He  runs  into 
debt  who  cuts  up  a  pigeon  to  sell  by  retail. 

40.  No  rose  but  Ims  its  thorn,  i  he  corresponding  saying  in  Ne- 
gpro-English  is  :  If  you  want  roasted  bananas,  you  must  burn  your 
fingers  first. 

41.  Physician^  heed  thyself.  In  Negro-English  we  find :  If  the 
she-goat  had  known  roedtdne^  her  knee  would  not  be  black. 

42.  A  Hrd  m  the  Aamd,  etc.  The  proverb  corresponding  in  Negro- 
English  values  the  first  bird  much  more  highly :  A  bird  in  the  hand 
is  worth  twenty  in  the  bush. 

43.  People  in  glass  houses  should u*t  throw  stones.  In  Negro-Eng- 
lish we  find :  The  man  says  the  ghost  bothers  him,  and  the  ghost 
says  the  man  bothers  him. 

44.  Cut  your  suit  auording  to  your  eloth.  The  corresponding  say- 
ing in  Yoruba  is :  He  is  a  fool  who  cannot  lift  an  ant  and  yet  tries 
to  lift  an  elephant 

45.  To  kick  awe^  the  ladder  by  which  one  rose.  In  Yoruba  we 
find :  The  marsh  stands  aloofi  as  if  it  were  not  akin  to  the  stream. 

Alexander  F,  Chamberlain, 

Clark  UNivBssiry,  Worcbstbr,  Mass. 


Digitized  by  Google 


3^ 


Journal  of  Atmriean  Folk-Lon. 


4<    A  GHOST-DANCE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

During  ethnological  researches  conducted  on  behalf  of  the  De- 
partment of  Anthropology  of  the  University  of  California,  among 
the  Yurok  and  Karok  Indians  of  the  lower  Klamath  river,  the  writer 
learned  of  the  existence  of  a  ghost-dance  in  this  region  about  thirty 
years  ago. 

The  information  obtained  from  the  Karok,  who  live  along  the  Kla- 
math river  from  Happy  Camp  down  to  Orleans,  is  as  follows :  The 
dance  was  made  in  order  that  the  dead  might  return.  It  originated 
in  the  east.  The  Karok  obtained  it  from  the  Shasta.  In  Karok 
territory  it  was  first  held  at  Happy  Camp.  Then  the  lower  Karok 
went  up  to  Happy  Camp,  learned  the  dance,  and  brought  it  back 
with  them.  Thus  it  was  made  at  Katimin  and  Amaikyara,  two 
villages  near  the  mouth  of  the  Salmon  river.  The  dance  was  not 
prescribed  to  any  particular  spot,  as  are  the  native  dances,  but  could 
be  made  anywhere.  The  participants  danced  in  a  circle.  They 
painted  red.  They  wore  various  regalia  regularly  used  in  the  native 
dances.  It  was  a  woman  who  going  to  Happy  Camp  and  seeing  the 
dance  there,  learned  it  and  instituted  it  at  Amaikyara.  She  was  in 
the  centre ;  the  people  danced  around  her  in  a  ring.  She  told  them 
to  look  down,  not  up.  Before  long  a  munber  of  the  participants 
would  lose  their  senses.  After  the  dance  had  been  made  for  some 
time,  people  began  to  dream  of  the  dead.  Many  Yurok  came  up 
from  the  lower  river,  some  from  as  far  as  the  mouth.  They  brought 
their  woodpecker-head  regalia  and  other  ceremonial  paraphernalia. 
They  were,  however,  told  that  when  the  dead  came  back  these  valua- 
bles would  disappear.  After  a  time  the  Yurok  grew  tired  and  went 
home.  Of  the  neighboring  tribes  besides  the  Yurok,  the  Athabascan 
Tolowa  of  Smith  river  took  up  the  dance,  but  the  Athabascan  Hupa 
of  Trinity  river  did  not 

The  Yurok,  who  live  on  the  Klamath  from  Weitchpec  down  to 
the  mouth,  gave  the  following  information :  The  dance  came  from 
the  Shasta  of  Scott  river.  Then  it  was  made  by  the  Karok  at 
Happy  Camp.  From  there  it  was  brought  both  down  the  river  to 
Amaikyara,  and  across  the  mountains  to  the  Tolowa  on  the  coast. 
From  the  Tolowa  it  came  to  the  Yurok  in  the  following  way :  An 
old  Tolowa  living  at  a  place  called  Burnt  Ranch,  between  Crescent 
City  and  Smith  river,  started  the  movement  From  him  his  nephew, 
a  Yurok  li\  ing  at  Staawin,  ten  miles  up  the  Klamath  from  the  mouth, 
learned  to  dream.  At  first  the  ceremony  among  the  Yurok  was 
directed  by  the  old  Tolowa;  after  be  went  back,  by  his  Yurok 


Digitized  by  Google 


A  Gkost>-Daiue  in  Caii/omia. 


33 


nephew.  The  dance  was  made  at  Kootep^  a  village  near  Klamath. 
The  site  was  then  iminhabited,  the  houses  having  been  destroyed  by 
a  flood  some  years  before.  The  dance  was  brought  to  this  place  the 
summer  after  the  Karok  began  to  make  it.  There  was  talk  of  making 
the  danc^  also  at  Weitcbpec,  the  Yurok  settlement  farthest  up  the 
fiver»  and  nearest  the  Hupa.  The  two  prophets  said  that  the  dead 
of  Weitchpec  would  not  return  if  the  dance  were  not  held  there. 
The  dance  was,  however,  not  made  at  Weitchpec. 

The  dancers  stood  in  concentric  circles,  which  revolved  alternately 
in  opposite  directions.  There  are  said  sometimes  to  have  been  ten 
such  circles.  On  one  occasion  the  dance  was  held  indoors,  and  there 
were  two  circles.  The  old  prophet,  and  later  his  nephew,  made 
medicine  in  a  separate  house.  [This  is  a  feature  found  in  many  cere- 
monies of  the  Yurok  and  Karok.]  Men,  women,  and  children  took 
part  in  the  dances.  Sometimes  they  danced  in  the  morning.  Then 
they  would  eat  their  first  meal  when  it  was  nearly  noon,  for  it  was 
forbidden  to  eat  before  dancing.  [Similar  regulations  are  common 
Yurok  ceremonial  observances.]  Later  in  the  day  the  dancing  would 
begin  again,  and  continue  into  the  night.  Sometimes  they  danced 
all  night. 

The  prophets  dreamed  of  the  dead,  and  then  told  their  dreams  to 
the  people.  They  announced  that  the  dead  would  return  if  the  dance 
were  made.  They  said  that  the  world  would  turn  over  and  end.  As 
to  the  fate  of  the  living,  the  doctrine  varied.  Once  it  was  said  that  all 
would  perish,  again  that  all  would  live,  and  at  other  tiroes  that  only 
those  who  made  the  dance  and  obeyed  its  regulations  would  live. 
Valuables  kept  secreted  would  be  lost:  obsidian  would  turn  into 
common  stone,  dentalium  shells  into  sticks.  But  if  valuables  were 
exposed  during  the  dance*  they  would  remain  unaltered.  Therefore 
the  dancers  held  trays  on  which  lay  their  dentalia,  and  one  man 
who  possessed  a  very  lare^e  obsidian  implement  put  it  into  a  baby- 
basket  and  carried  it  in  the  dance.  The  people  also  pretended  to 
gamble  for  woodpecker-head  ornaments  and  other  valuables  ;  but 
wht-n  they  had  played,  each  took  his  own  again.    All  dogs  were  killed. 

Those  who  disbelieved  were  told  that  they  would  turn  to  rock. 
Men  and  women  were  ordered  to  bathe  together  without  shame,  and 
did  so.  Sexual  intercourse  was  forbidden.  Those  who  disobeyed 
would  find  their  genitalia  turned  to  sticks  or  stone.  Once  one  of  the 
prophets  said  that  all  the  acorns  that  had  been  stored  in  the  house 
in  which  he  made  medicine  had  disappeared,  the  dead  having  come 
and  eaten  them;  again  that  the  dead  had  announced  that  they 
would  come  the  next  day.  On  another  occasion  the  prophet  di- 
rected all  the  wood  on  the  graves  of  the  dead,  and  the  inclosures 

VOL.  xvn.  —  NO.  64.  3 


Digitized  by  Google 


Journal  of  Anuricau  Folk-Lore. 


surnmnding  the  graves,  to  be  taken  away,  tied  in  bundles,  and  car- 
ried into  the  bills,  nis  was  done.  Such  is  the  account  given 
by  the  Yurok. 

Indians  who  now  have  adult  chfldren  declare  that  at  the  time  of 
the  dance  they  were  not  yet  married.  Others,  who  are  above  forty, 
say  that  they  saw  it  as  children.  This  would  point  to  a  period  about 
thirty  years  ago.  A  white  informant  states  that  the  dance  took  place 
not  long  before  the  Modoc  war  of  1872-73 ;  in  the  successful  resis^ 
ance  of  the  Modocs  to  the  whites,  the  Indians  of  the  lower  Klamath 
saw  pnxtf  of  their  new  belsefo.  Stephen  Powers  ^  mentions  the  excite- 
ment as  raging  "all  over  Northern  California,  especially  among  the 
Yurok,  Karok,  and  Shasta,"  in  1871  and  1872,  "until  the  Modoc  war 
broke  out,  in  November,  1872,  when  it  gradually  subsided.*'  He  de- 
scribes some  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  movement,  such  as 
the  belief  that  the  dead  would  return,  that  dancing  would  bring  them 
back,  and  the  dancing  in  a  circle.  He  states  further  that  the  Indians 
believed  that  their  dead  would  sweep  the  whites  from  the  ^rth,  and 
that  at  Scott's  Bar  the  dancing  took  place  about  two  upright  poles 
painted  spirally  red  and  black,  with  handkerchiefs  at  the  top^  the 
dancers'  bodies  being  "painted  in  like  manner."  Powers,  however, 
attributes  the  entire  movement  to  the  legal  execution  of  a  Karok  at 
Orleans  in  1871,  of  which  event  he  gives  a  circumstantial  story. 
There  is  no  reason  for  this  belief  of  the  origin  of  the  movement.  It 
seems  almost  certain  that  the  dance  spread  to  the  Shasta,  and  thence 
to  the  tribes  of  the  lower  Klamath,  from  the  Paiutes  of  Nevada, 
among  whom,  according  to  Mooney,^  there  existed,  somewhere  be- 
tween 1869  and  1872  a  belief  and  a  dance  very  similar  to  those 
established  among  the  same  tribe  nearly  twenty  years  later  by  Wo- 
voka,  from  whom  the  well-known  ghost-dance  movement  of  a  dozen 
years  ago  took  its  origin.  Of  this  later  much  more  widely-spread 
movement  the  Karok  and  Yurok  seem  to  be  ignorant. 

The  exact  territorial  limits  of  this  early  ghost-dance  in  California 
are  uncertain.  The  Shasta,  Karok,  Tolowa,  and  Yiirok  practised 
the  dance.  According  to  the  white  informant  quoted  before,  the 
Yurok  of  Big  Lagoon,  on  the  coast  thirty  miles  south  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Klamath,  held  the  dance  in  that  neighborhood.  The  Hupa 
are  said  not  to  have  made  it,  and  it  seems  probable  that  among  none 
of  the  tribes  farther  south  did  the  movement  obtain  a  foothold. 

The  fundamental  feature  of  this  movement  was  the  belief  in  the 
return  of  the  dead.  In  this,  as  in  many  of  its  other  characteristics, 
both  of  doctrine  and  of  observance,  it  agrees  closely  with  the  later 

1  "Tribes  of  California,"  Contr.  N.  A.  Ethn.,  vol.  iii.  p.  42. 

'  '^The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,"  Ann,  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn^  voL  xiv.  p.  701. 


Digitized  by  Google 


A  Gho$hDaM€€  m  CaUforma, 


35 


ghost-dance.  Several  peculiarities  are  due  to  the  specialized  Karok- 
Yurok-Hupa  culture.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  none  of  the 
information,  except  that  obtained  from  whites,  contains  reference  to 
any  difference  or  opposition  between  Indians  and  whites  or  the  old 
life  and  the  new,  since  such  a  contrasting  is  mentioned  as  part  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Paiute  movement  oi  iS/O^  and  is  at  the  root  of 
the  beliefs  underlying  the  gbost^lance. 

A,  L,  Kroebir, 


36  yommal  of  American  Folh'Lore. 


ITEMS  OF  FOLK-LORE  FROM  BAHAMA  NEGROES. 
T  T 

The  negroes  of  Bahama  are  mixed  as  rcganis  origin^  bat  the^  tales 
are  substantially  the  same,  though  found  in  different  versions.  The 
Congo  people,  of  whom  some  aged  persons  were  bom  in  Africa,  are  re> 
garded  by  negro  natives  as  the  scum  of  society,  and  their  old  women 
enjoy  the  reputation  of  being  witches,  or  '*  hags/'  as  they  are  called. 
Having  freely  mixed  and  conversed  with  these,  I  found  them  inof- 
fensive old  women,  from  eighty  to  one  hundr«l  years  of  age,  who 
seem  to  be  quite  ignorant  of  their  repute  as  "bloodsuckers ; "  accord- 
ing to  common  belief,  these  are  known  as  follows :  — 

When  a  hag  enters  your  house,  she  always  sheds  her  skin.  When 
you  first  see  her,  she  appears  like  the  flame  of  a  candle  floating  about ; 
in  some  way,  she  puts  you  to  sleep,  and  resumes  her  body  (but  with- 
out the  skin) ;  she  then  lies  on  you,  and  sucks  away  every  drop  of 
blood  that  God  has  put  in  you. 

Hags  are  generally  in  search  of  good-looking  babies  or  women,  and 
if  they  cannot  succeed  in  sucking  your  blood,  they  will  disfigure  you 
in  one  manner  or  another. 

If,  as  you  pass  by,  you  see  an  old  woman  looking  at  you  steadfastly, 
she  is  certainly  a  hag ;  get  quickly  out  of  the  way,  or  you  will  swell 
up  like  a  barrel,  and  will  burst  before  getting  home. 

Protection  against  bags  may  be  obtained  by  the  following  methods  : 

If  you  think  you  are  "  hagged,"  say  nothing,  but  eat  assafcetida. 
Keep  some  about  your  clothes,  and  rub  yourself  with  bluing.  Then 
they  can't  do  you  any  mischief. 

If  you  cannot  sleeps  it  is  a  sign  that  hags  are  about ;  take  a  pair  of 
scissors,  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  baslLCt-head  of  your  bed 
(on  the  bolster),  and  the  hag  will  let  you  alone. 

If  you  think  you  are  hagged,  get  quickly  some  of  your  water  into 
a  bottle  (there  are  differences  as  to  the  proper  size,  form,  and  color ; 
the  majority  advocate  a  wide-mnuthcd  black  bottle)  ;  don't  spill  one 
drop  ;  put  in  also  some  guinea  pepper,  several  new  needles  and  pins 
—  not  more  than  six  of  each  —  and  cork  it  tight ;  this  will  give  you 
power  over  the  hag,  and  keep  her  from  making  water.  The  first 
person  you  will  sec  in  the  morning  will  be  your  hag,  who  will  beg 
of  you  bread,  or  something  else,  just  to  make  you  talk ;  if  you  do 
talk,  you  will  loosen  her,  and  she  will  be  free  ;  otherwise,  if  you  keep 
your  mouth  shut,  and  wish  to  make  her  suffer,  she  will  be  obliged  to 
come  to  you,  until  you  speak  to  her  and  free  her  from  the  spell.  If 
you  mean  to  kill  her,  never  speak  a  word  to  her,  and  after  a  while 
her  bladder  will  burst,  and  she  will  die.    If  you  prefer  to  kill  her  in 


Digitized  by  Google 


lUms  of  Faik-Lore  from  Bahama  Negroes.  37 

another  way,  throw  the  corked  bottle  into  the  sea,  and  she  will  go 
and  drown  herself. 

There  is  another  way  to  catch  a  hag.  If  you  think  you  are  being 
hagged,  take  a  pint  of  benne  seed  (as  small  as  mustard  seed)  and 
guinea  corn  (also  a  small  seed) ;  spill  it  all  in  the  four  corners  of  your 
house  ;  tliat  wiii  catch  the  haj;,  as  she  cannot  leave  the  house  before 
she  has  picked  up  all  the  seeds,  one  by  one,  during  the  night.  In 
the  morning  you  will  see  her  in  her  raw  body,  the  skin  being  away ; 
she  will  be  so  ashamed  that  afterwards  she  will  never  come  near 
you. 

Follow  certain  miscellaneous  superstitions  :  — 

To  cure  moles,  tie  the  mole  up  with  a  horsehair,  and  let  it  remain 
until  the  hair  has  consumed  the  mole,  which  will  drop  off. 

For  severe  cold,  drink  the  water  of  one  of  your  family,  of  the  op- 
posite sex,  mixed  with  the  juice  of  wild  oranges ;  this  will  cut  the 
cold  like  a  knife. 

For  nervous  headache^  get  the  water  of  some  person  of  your 
family,  of  the  opposite  sex  always ;  soak  the  ^mole"  (top)  of  your 
head,  tie  it  up  in  a  bandana  handkerchief,  and  you  will  get  a  sweet 
sleep). 

For  severe  headache,  tie  two  live  frogs,  one  on  each  temple,  with 
a  doth  (don't  let  them  die  on  you) ;  when  you  release  them,  they 
will  be  weak  and  die,  and  your  headache  is  gone. 

To  help  in  cutting  a  baby's  teeth«  Tie  rats'  teeth  in  a  bag  of 
bUick  cloth,  hang  it  on  the  baby's  neck,  and  it  wUl  cut  its  teeth  be- 
fore you  are  aware. 

To  strengthen  babies'  backs  (L  e.  kidneys)  and  keep  them  from 
wetting  their  beds,  give  them  roasted  rats»  or  rats'  broth. 

To  test  gold,  rub  the  coin  hard  against  the  wool  of  the  head,  and 
smell  it ;  if  it  gives  00  smell  it  is  gold,  if  otherwise,  brass. 

If  you  call  on  the  name  of  a  dead  person  whom  you  have  not  known, 
and  happen  to  suffer  from  a  sore  eye  or  a  sore  foot  (the  usual  com- 
plaint here),  your  eye  will  get  sorer  and  your  foot  will  swell  and 
give  you  pain;  but  as  the  dead  body  rots  away  in  the  grave  you  get 
easier,  and  when  it  is  wholly  wasted  you  cease  to  suffer  and  the  sore 
is  pone. 

To  cure  a  drunken  husband,  take  a  piece  of  your  undershirt,  wet 
it,  tie  it  across  his  head,  jump  over  his  head  three  times,  and  shake 
your  skirts  at  him ;  he  will  say :  "  My  dear,  I  feel  better,"  and  will 

drink  no  more. 

If  you  have  a  bad  wife,  get  some  new  needles  and  new  pins,  and  a 
clean  handkerchief ;  pin  the  needles  and  pins  crossways  on  the  hand- 
kerchief ;  sew  it  inside  her  pillow,  and  during  the  night  she  will  con- 
fess all  the  faults  she  has  been  committing  against  you. 


Digitized  by  Google 


3S  yaumal  of  AmnrUan  Foik-Lar$. 

Beware  of  "  West-Indians ; "  the  middle  of  their  bodies  is  fish,  the 
remainder  is  meat ;  if  you  meet  one  in  the  "jungles  "  (the  bushes)  he 
will  ask  you :  "  Which  will  you  have,  fish  or  meat  ? "  If  you  say 
"  Meat,"  he  will  let  you  go  ;  if  "  Fish,"  he  will  destroy  you. 

The  Bahama  negroes  have  an  abject  terror  of  Indians.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  all  these  have  not  been  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards,  but 
that  a  remnant  still  lives  in  the  midst  of  the  forests  in  some  of  the 
larger  islands. 

Nassau,  N.  P. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Ths  Ignis  Faiuus, 


39 


THE  IGNIS  FATUUS,  ITS   CHARACTER  AND 
^         LEGENDARY  ORIGIN. 

A  TALE  OF  MARYLAND  NEGROES  AND  ITS  COMPARATIVE  HISTORY. 

The  legend  below  printed  was  obtained  by  Miss  Mary  Willis  Mi* 
nor  of  Baltimore,  from  the  recitation  of  a  negro  servant,  and  forms 
part  of  the  collections  of  the  Baltimore  Folk-Lore  Society,  to  be 
hereafter  published  as  the  Ninth  Memoir  of  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society.* 

;ack-o'-my-lantern. 

Once  dey  wuz  a  man  name  Jack.  He  wuz  a  mighty  weeked  man, 
an'  treat  he  wife  an'  chil'en  like  a  dawg.  He  did  n'  do  nuttin'  but 
drink  from  mawin'  tell  night,  an'  'twarn'  no  use  to  say  nuttin'  'tall 
to  'im  'cause  he  wuz  jes'  ez  ambitious  ez  a  mad  dawg.  Well  sub, 
he  drink  an'  he  drink  tell  whiskey  could  n'  mek  'im  drunk  ;  but  ct  las' 
hit  bu'n  'im  up  inside  ;  an'  den  dc  Debbie  come  fur  'im.  When  Jack 
see  de  Debbie,  he  wuz  so  skeart  he,  leettle  mo'n  er  drapt  in  de  flo'. 
Den  he  bague  de  Debbie  to  let  'im  off  jes'  a  leetle  while,  but  de  Deb- 
bie say,  — 

*'  Naw  Jack,  I  ain'  gwine  wait  no  longer ;  my  wife,  Abbie  Sheens, 
is  speckin'  yo'." 

'  So  de  Debbie  start  off  pretty  bris'  an'  Jack  was  'bleeged  to  foUer, 
tell  dey  come  to  a  grog  shop. 

«  Mr.  Debbie,"  said  Jack,  '<  don'  yo'  wan'  a  drink  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  de  Debbie^  I  b*leeve  I  does,  but  I  ain*  got  no  small 
change ;  Mre  don'  keep  no  change  down  dyah." 

"Tell  yo'  wotcher  do,  Mr.  Debbie,"  said' Jack.  "I  got  one  ten 
cent  en  my  pocket ;  yo'  change  yo'sef  inter  nurr  ten  cent,  an'  we  kin 
git  two  drinks,  an'  den  yo'  kin  change  yo'sef  back  agin." 

So  de  Debbie  change  hisso'f  inter  a  ten  cent,  an'  Jack  pick  'im  up ; 
but  stid  o'  gwine  in  de  grog  shop^  Jack  dap  de  ten  cent  in  he  pocket- 
book  dat  he  had  n't  took  outen  be  pocket  befo',  'cause  he  did  n'  wan' 
de  Debbie  to  see  dat  de  ketch  wuz  in  de  shape  ob  a  cross.  He  shet 
it  tight,  an'  dyah  he  had  de  Debbie,  an'  'twam'  no  use  fur  'im  to 
struggle,  'cause  he  could  n'  git  by  dat  cross.  Well  sub ;  fus'  he  awar 
and  threat'n  Jack  wid  what  he  wuz  gwine  do  to  'im,  an'  den  he  be- 
gan to  bague,  but  Jack  jes'  tu'n  roun'  an'  start  to  go  home.  Den 
de  Debbie  say,  — 

*•  Jack,  ef  yo'll  lemme  out  o*  hyah,  I  '11  let  yo'  off  fur  a  whole  year, 
I  will,  fur  trufe;   Lemme  go  Jack,  'cause  Abbie  Sheens  is  too  lazy 

'  In  regard  to  the  dialect,  I  give  the  speUiag  as  comoranlcated  by  Miss  Anne 
W.  Wbitnejr,  Secretaiy  of  the  BaltisKne  Societjr. 


Digitized  by  Google 


40  yaumal  of  Ammean  FoU^Lon, 

to  put  de  bresh  on  de  fire,  an'  bit  '11  all  go  black  out  ef  I  ain'  dyab 
fo'  long,  to  ten'  to  it." 

Den  Jack  say  ter  hisse'f,  "  I  gret  mine  to  let  'im  go,  'cause  in  a 
whole  year  I  kin  'pent  and  git  'ligion  an'  git  shet  on  im  dat  er 
way." 

Den  he  say,  "  Mr.  Debbie,  I  '11  letcher  out  ef  yo'  'clar  fo'  gracious 
yo'  won'  come  after  me  fur  twel  munt." 

Den  de  Debbie  promise  befo'  Jack  undo  de  clasp,  an'  by  de  time 
Jack  got  he  pocket-book  open  he  wuz  gone.  Den  Jack  say  to  hisse'f, 

Well,  now  I  gwine  to  'pent  an'  git  'ligion  sho' ;  but 't  ain'  no  use 
bein*  in  no  hurry  ;  de  las'  six  munt  will  be  plenty  o'  time.  Whar 
dat  ten  cent  ?  Hyah 't  is.  I  gwine  git  me  a  drink."  When  de  six 
munt  wuz  gone,  Jack  'lowed  one  munt  would  be  time  'nuff  to  'pent, 
and  when  de  las'  munt  come.  Jack  say  he  gwine  hab  one  mo'  spree^ 
an*  den  he  would  have  a  week  er  ten  days  lef  an'  dat  wuz  plenty  o' 
time^  'cause  he  done  beam  o'  folks  'penting  on  dey  death  bade.  Den 
he  went  on  a  spree  £o'  sho',  an'  when  de  las'  week  come,  Jack  had 
'lirium  trimblins,  an'  de  fus'  ting  he  knowed  dyah  wuz  de  Debbie  at 
de  do'»  an'  Jack  had  to  git  outen  he  bade  and  go  'long  wid  'im.  Af- 
ter a  while  dey  pas  a  tree  full  o'  gret  big  red  apples. 

"  Don'  yo'  wan'  some  apples,  Mr.  Debbie  ? "  said  Jack. 
Yo'  kin  git  some  ef  yo'  wan'  em,"  said  de  Debbie,  an'  he  stop 
an'  look  up  in  de  tree. 

'*  How  yo*  speck  a  man  wid  'lirium  trimblins  to  climb  a  tree  ?  " 
said  Jack.  "  Yo'  cotch  hole  de  bough,  an'  I  'U  push  yer  up  in  de 
crotch,  an*  den  yo'  kin  git  all  yo'  wants." 

So  Jack  push  'im  in  de  crotch,  an'  de  Debbie  'gin  to  feel  de  ap- 
ples to  git  a  meller  one.  While  he  wuz  doin'  dat,  Jack  whip  he  knife 
outen  he  pocket,  an'  cut  a  cross  in  de  bark  ob  de  tre^  jes'  under  de 
Debbie,  an'  de  Debbie  holler,  — 

"  Tzip !  Sumpi'  nurr  hut  me  den.  Wotcher  doin'  down  dyah. 
Jack  ?    I  gwine  cut  yo'  heart  out." 

But  he  could  n'  g^t  down  while  dat  cross  wuz  dyab,  an'  Jack  jes' 
sot  down  on  de  grars,  an'  watch  'im  ragin*  an*  swarin*  an*  cussin*. 
Jack  kep'  'im  dyah  all  night  tell  'twuz  gret  big  day,  an'  den  de  Deb- 
bie change  he  chune,  an'  he  say,  — 

"Jack,  lemme  git  down  hyah  an'  I  '11  gib  yo'  nurr  year." 

"  Gimme  nuttin' !  "  said  Jack,  an'  stretch  hisse'i  out  on  de  grars. 
Arfter  a  while,  'bout  sun  up,  de  Debbie  say,  — 

"  Jack,  cut  dis  ting  offen  hyah  an'  lemme  git  down,  an'  I  '11  gib 
yo'  ten  year." 

**  Naw  surree,"  said  Jack,  "  I  won'  letcher  git  down  less  yo'  'dar 
fo'  gracious  dat  yo'  won'  nuver  come  arfter  me  no  mo'." 
When  de  Debbie  fine  Jack  wuz  hard  ez  a  rock,  he  'greed,  an' 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Ignis  FtUuus. 


41 


'dared  fo'  gracious  dat  he  wouldn'  nuver  come  fur  Jack  agin,  an* 
Jack  cut  de  cross  offen  de  tree,  and  de  Debbie  lef  widout  a  word. 
Arfter  dat  Jack  nuver  thought  no  mo'  'bout  'pentin',  'cause  he  warn* 
feared  ob  de  Debbie,  an'  he  did  n'  wan*  to  go  whar  dey  warn'  no 
whiskey.  Den  he  lib  on  tell  he  body  war  out,  an'  he  wuz'  bleegcd 
to  die.  Fus'  he  went  to  de  gate  o'  heaven,  but  de  angel  jes'  shake 
he  hade.  Den  he  wen'  to  de  gate  o'  hell,  but  when  wud  come  dat 
Jack  wuz  dyah,  de  Debbie  holler  to  de  imps. 

"  Shet  de  do'  an'  don'  let  dat  man  come  in  hyah  ;  he  done  treat  me 
scanluus.    Tell  'im  to  go  'long  back  whar  he  come  frum." 

Den  Jack  say,  — 

'*  How  I  gwine  fine  my  way  back  in  de  dark      Gimme  a  lantern." 
Den  dc  Debbie  tck  a  chunk  outcn  de  fire,  an'  say,  — 
"  Hyah,  tck  dis,  and  dontcher  nuver  come  back  hyah  no  mo'." 
Den  Jack  tek  dc  chunk  o'  fire  an'  start  back,  but  when  he  come 
to  a  ma'sh,  he  done  got  los',  an'  he  am'  nuver  fine  he  way  out  scnce. 

This  negro  legend  is  of  European  origin ;  before  citing  parallels,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  phenomenon  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  ignis  fatuus. 

More  than  one  writer  has  observed  the  manner  in  which  American 
negroes  have  appropriated  the  superstition.  Speaking  of  Jack-o^the- 
Lantern,  W.  Wirt  Sikes  observes:  "The  negroes  of  the  southern 
seaboard  states  of  America  invest  the  goblin  with  an  exaggeration  ' 
of  the  horrible  peculiarly  their  own.  Th^  call  it  Jack-muh-lantem, 
and  describe  it  as  a  hideous  creature  five  feet  in  height,  with  goggle- 
eyes  and  huge  mouth,  its  body  covered  with  long  hair,  which  goes 
leaping  and  bounding  through  the  air  like  a  gigantic  grasshopper. 
This  frightful  apparition  is  stronger  than  any  man  and  swifter  than 
any  horse,  and  compels  its  victims  to  follow  it  into  the  swamp,  where 
it  leaves  them  to  di&"  ^  Mary  A.  Owen  mentions  similar  beliefs  as 
prevalent  among  aged  negresses  in  Missouri,  who  relate  extravagant 
tales  respecting  "Jacky-mi-Lantuhns"  or  *'Wuller-Wups.'*  There 
is,  she  exphiins,  both  a  "  man-jacky  "  and  a  *'  woman>jacky ; "  persons 
unfaithful  in  the  marriage  relation  are  tied  by  the  devil  in  bladders 
and  flung  into  the  swamp^  where  they  endeavor  to  drown  the  victims 
who  by  magical  influence  are  compeUed  to  follow  their  steps.  Such 
spirits  often  issue  from  churchyards,  and  the  notion  is  mingled  with 
superstitious  ideas  answering  to  those  concerning  vampires.  They 
are  as  tall  as  cottonwood  trees.* 

The  negro  conceptions  are  not  so  peculiar  as  has  been  asserted, 

>  BrWMk  GMms^  London,  1880^  p.  18. 
«  VeMlo9  Tales,  New  York,  1893,  c  zriiL 

* 


Digitized  by  Google 


42 


ybumal  of  AnurUan  Foik'Lort. 


but  on  the  contrary  do  not  essentially  differ  from  ideas  current  in 
Europe,  whence  they  have  doubtless  been  derived.* 

Even  with  persons  scientifically  inclined,  the  ignis  fatuus  still 
passes  for  an  external  reality.  Thus  the  Century  Dictionary  defines 
the  word:  "A  meteoric  light  that  sometimes  appears  in  summer 
and  autumn  nights,  and  flies  in  the  air  a  little  above  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  chiefly  in  marshy  places  near  stagnant  waters,  and  in 
churchyards.  It  is  generally  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  spon- 
taneous combustion  of  small  jets  of  gas  (carburetted  or  phosphuretted 
hydrogen)  generated  by  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  or  animal  mat- 
ter. .  .  .  Before  the  introduction  of  the  general  drainage  of  swamp- 
lands, the  ignis  fatuus  was  an  ordinary  phenomenon  in  the  marshy 
districts  of  England."  Murray's  Dictionary  uses  corresponding  lan- 
guage, and  adds :  '*  It  seems  to  have  been  formerly  a  common  phe- 
nomenon, but  is  now  extremely  rare.  When  approached,  the  ignis 
fatuus  appears  to  recede,  and  finally  to  vanish,  sometimes  reappear- 
ing in  another  direction.  This  led  to  the  notion  that  it  was  the 
work  of  a  mischievous  sprite."  The  most  recent  en^dopsBdist  of 
meteorology  remarks :  '*Many  have  expressed  doubts  concerning  the 
actuality  of  the  phenomenon,  yet  the  accounts  of  its  appearance  are 
so  well  attested  that  its  reality  must  be  conceded."  He  gives  a 
number  of  mentions,  beginning  with  an  elaborate  account  of  1807, 
but  rejects  chemical  explanations*  assuming  spontaneous  combustion 
of  illuminating  gases  as  out  of  line  with  correct  theory.^  On  the 
other  hand,  many  observers,  after  taking  all  possible  pains»  have 
failed  to  satisfy  themselves  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  the  gleams. 
I  am  not  aware  that  phenomena  of  the  sort  have  attracted  attention 
in  the  United  States ;  at  least;  in  a  marshy  district  where  I  spend 
much  of  my  time  I  have  not  heard  of  any  comment  on  similar 
displays. 

The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  the  credit  given  to  the  igms  fatuus  is 
in  great  measure  owing  to  the  imposing  Latin  title  which  gives  it  an 

*  In  Switzerland  the  eyes  of  an  irrlicht  are  compared  to  fiery  bushel-basketi. 
E.  L.  Rochbolz,  Schiveitzersa^en  aus  der  Aart^att,  1856,  ii.  84.  Their  size  is  va- 
riable, from  dwarfish  to  gi<;antic  ;  they  may  be  as  t^U  as  forest  trees.  F.  Schon- 
werth,  Aus  der  Obcrpfais,  Augsburg,  1858,  ii.  90.  Untrue  women  walk  after 
deadi ;  if  an  adulterous  nan  meet  them,  he  must  dance  with  diem  until  he  sinks 
exhausted.  A.  Wuttke,  Deutsche  Volksaberglauii^  2d  ed^  Berlin,  1869^  p.  445. 
The  motion  of  ignes  fatui  by  leaps  and  bounds  is  everywhere  usual. 

*  S.  A.  Arrhenius,  Lehrbuch  der  kosmischcn  Physik,  Leipzig,  1903,  pp.  879-80. 
Arrhenius  does  not  mention  the  observations  of  J.  Allies,  who  succeeded  in  finding 
tlie  igiusfatuit  which  he  describes  as  rising  several  feet  and  falling  to  earth,  as 
moving  horitontally  like  the  flights  of  the  green  woodpecker,  being  bluer  than  a 
candle,  and  some  as  large  as  Sinus.  On  tki  J^gmt^FatmUt  ^  tViU^'HU'Wi^ 
and  tAi  FairUs,  London,  1839^ 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tke  Ignis  Fahtus.  43 

air  of  verisimilitude.  Whatever  illuminations  may  occasionally  be 
perceived,  and  whether  these  be  electrical  or  chemical,  those  ac- 
credited by  folk-lore  are  not  referable  to  actual  occurrences,  but  are 
either  purely  imaginaiy,  or  else  fanciful  interpretations  of  every-day 

happenings. 

This  proposition  becomes  clear,  when  the  belief  is  taken  in  con- 
nection with  kindred  opinions  in  which  similar  lights  play  a  part. 
These  are  divisible  into  several  categories.  First  may  be  mentioned 
the  so-called  "  corpse-candles,"  supposed  to  precede  and  prognosticate 
a  death.  If  luminous  appearances  of  the  sort  issue  from  the  room 
of  a  sick  person,  and  are  seen  to  enter  the  churchyard,  it  is  taken 
for  granted  that  the  illness  will  be  fatal,  and  that  the  sufferer  will 
shortly  be  borne  to  his  rest  along  the  path  followed  by  the  appari- 
tion. The  movement  of  the  flame  answers  to  that  which  may  be 
expected  from  the  living  man  ;  if  the  pace  be  brisk,  as  that  of  a  youth 
skipping  or  running,  the  death  of  a  child  is  indicated  ;  if  slow  and 
even,  of  an  elderly  person.  In  this  case  the  vision  is,  so  to  speak,  a 
present  reflection  of  the  future  event ;  inasmuch  as  it  formerly  was 
usual  to  inter  by  night,  and  in  consequence  torches  or  candles  were 
borne  by  the  mourners,  such  lamps  belong  to  the  funeral  procession, 
which  appears  in  an  anticipatory  reflex.  So  another  sort  of  flames, 
those  indiicatinj^  the  presence  of  buried  treasure,  may  represent  the 
flickering  of  the  funeral  pyres  anciently  employed  in  cremation ;  the 
dead  was  laid  in  the  barrow  with  his  goods  about  him,  whence  a  bold 
hand  might  win  riches.  Lights,  again,  may  be  expected  in  any  meet- 
ing with  ghosts,  since  the  astral  body  of  a  spirit  is  in  itself  luminous.^ 

According  to  early  religious  conceptions,  the  cultivated  land,  the 
farm  and  croft,  belongs  to  mankind  and  to  the  deities  whose  homes 
have  therein  been  established ;  beyond  this  territory  lies  the  wilder- 
ness, where  dwell  spirits  who  in  the  desert  pursue  a  life  similar  to 
that  of  humanity,  live  by  the  produce  of  the  forest,  and  have  to  wild* 
animals  a  relation  answering  to  that  which  man  bears  to  the  flocks 
and  herds.  Mountain  and  bog  are  supposed  to  abound  in  spiritual 
nelghtiors,  often  hostile  and  always  capricious,  who  live  like  men  in 
communities  and  &miltes,  have  proper  names,  individual  form,  char- 
acter, and  function,  yet  remain  unknown,  save  in  so  far  as  accident 
brir.gs  some  particular  being  into  contact  with  the  villagers.  Mys- 
teriious  gleams  perceived  in  untilled  ground  are  interpreted  as  evi- 
idendng  the  presence  of  such  strangers,  who  may  be  of  any  age  and 
.  either  sex,  will  be  engaged  in  tasks  and  enterprises  answering  to 

*  For  the  subject  of  ghostly  lights,  see  several  papers  in  recent  volumes  «rf  Feih- 
i  Lart  (LoadoQ);  M.  J.  Walhonse,  vol  ▼.(1894),  pp.  H.  F.  Fdlbeig,  vi. 

(1895),  2S8-300;  R.  C  Mad^pn,  "Ghost  I^ts  ol  the  West  Hit^daads,**  vliL 


Digitized  by  Google 


44 


youmal  of  Anmican  Foik-Lore. 


those  which  would  employ  the  perceiver,  will  be  taken  for  friendly 
or  malevolent  as  the  impression  dictates,  and  in  general  take  toward 
the  farmer  and  his  community  about  the  same  atiuudc  as  the  latter 
have  to  the  distrusted  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  village.  The 
presence  of  such  neighbors  will  be  indicated  by  the  same  signs  which 
ordinarily  mark  the  approach  of  human  wanderers ;  the  spirits  will 
need  and  use  lights  for  all  tasks  in  which  lights  are  needed,  while 
the  nature  of  the  lamp  will  answer  to  that  which  is  common  in  the 
locality,  torch,  rush-candle,  or  lantern ;  the  bearer  will  naturally  of  ten 
be  accompanied  by  others  of  his  aupematuial  kind,  with  whom  he 
will  engage  in  games,  revels,  and  industries ;  if  busy  with  toils  of 
agriculture,  he  may  be  desirous  of  profiting  by  human  experience, 
and  after  the  general  habit  of  tfllers  of  the  soil  borrow  the  tools  he 
requires.  In  this  manner  arise  hmumerable  variations  of  appearance 
and  possibilities  of  conception,  in  different  localities  associated  with 
different  presentations  of  such  imagined  existences. 

As  for  the  external  cause  which  supplies  the  perception,  this  is  a 
matter  of  secondary  consequence.  The  flash  of  a  firefly,  or  a  watery 
reflection  of  a  star,  the  sunset<gleam  returned  from  a  window,  moon- 
light in  the  forest,  the  flight  of  a  luminous  insect,  or  simply  the  re- 
action of  the  eyeball  against  extreme  darkness,  will  be  all-sufficient 
to  create  elaborate  and  circumstantial  visions,  of  which  the  intellect- 
ual element  is  projected  from  the  fancy.  Imagination  creates  expe- 
rience ;  during  the  period  of  ts  existence  a  superstitious  belief  never 
lacks  the  support  of  ocular  testimony,  and  is  never  discredited  by 
failure  to  observe  a  corresponding  reality.  The  ignis  fatuus  is  one 
aspect  of  a  universal  faith ;  that  it  alone  has  continued  to  pose  as  a 
separate  entity  is  an  example  of  the  way  in  which  a  high-sounding 
title  promotes  recognition. 

For  these  lights,  names  are  numerous.  Ignis  fatuus  is  universal 
in  European  literature,  but  has  the  appearance  of  a  relatively  mod- 
em and  rationalistic  designation.  English  testimonies  are  from  the 
sixteenth  century;  the  word  is  explained  as  meaning  "foolish"  or 
"  false  "  fire.  The  term  "fool's  fire  "  is  also  English.  Corrc.spond- 
ing,  but  in  what  manner  is  not  perfectly  clear,  is  the  French  feu 
foUet.  Another  Latin  title  is  ignis  erraticns,  to  which  answet  the 
English  '*  wandering  fire,"  "  walking  fire,"  German  irriickt} 

*  For  the  English  words,  sec  testimonies  io  Murray,  New  English  Diction\3.ry^ 
and  the  Sinn  ford  Dictionary.  Italian  uses  especially  the  \t\\xr^,fuochi  faiui. 
The  Old  French  foUt  signifies  elf.  fairy ;  feu  follet,  therefore,  ought  to  mean 
fairy  fire,  corresponding  to  English  ei£-tire  (seventeenth  century),  Welsh  ellylddn 
(E.  Owen,  WtUh  Fdk-Zm^  Oswestry,  1887-96,  p.  U2\  Gaelic  feine  sttJk 
(J.  G.  Campbell,  WU^er^  and  Second-Sight  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of 
Scotland,  Glasgow,  1902,  p.  171).  Feu  font-t,  therefore,  may  be  the  original  from 
which,  by  mistranslation,  has  come  ignis  fatuus.  FoUi  1  take  to  be  from  fol^ '  " 

S 

I 

.Digitized  by  Coo^U' 


TAe  Ignis  Fdiuus. 


45 


For  the  ghostly  fire  English  hterature  has  accepted  two  proper 
names,  Jack-of-the-lantern  (Jack-a-lantern,  lantern-Jack,  etc.)  and 
Will-o'-the-wisp  (Will-a-wisp,  Will-in-a-wisp,  etc.).  But  to  the  light 
belongs  many  other  personal  names:  Jenny-with-the-lantern,  Peg-a- 
lantern,  Hob-with-a-lantern  (Hoberdy's  lantern,  etc.),  Kit-with-the- 
canstick,  Kitty-candlestick,  Joan-in-the-wad,  Jacket-a-wad,  Gillion-a- 
bumt-tail.  We  perceive  that  the  sprite  might  have  any  common 
Christian  name,  out  of  which  two  have  found  literary  reception,  and, 
as  usual,  superseded  and  extinguished  less  favored  appellations.' 

The  ignis  fatuus  may  also  be  named  from  locality,  as  in  the  Eng- 
Ibh  example  of  "Syleham  lights."  Such  title  implies  a  story,  the 
nature  of  which  may  be  conjectured  from  an  Iri.sh  instance.  In 
Scottish  islands  the  phenomenon  has  been  called  "  Uist  Light "  {So- 
lus Uithist)^  a  name  derived  from  a  legend  variously  told.  A  girl 
from  Bcnbecula  is  said,  by  misconduct,  to  have  brought  on  her  head 
the  maternal  curse.  She  disappeared  (being  probably  drowned^,  and 
her  spirit  becomes  a  "great  fire"  {teinc  mhor)? 

The  idea  underlying  these  personal  and  local  appellations  is  that 
wandering  flames  belong  to  the  souls  of  persons  well  known  and  re- 
cently deceased,  of  whom  can  be  related  histories  explanatory  of  the 
reason  which  caused  them  to  undergo  such  transformation.*  Among 
an  infinite  number  of  such  tales,  certain  ones,  because  of  their  in- 
trinsic interest,  attained  a  circulation  beyond  the  limits  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  became  widely  famous,  as  is  the  case  with  the  particu- 
lar narrative  o£  which  we  have  an  American  vernon  from  the  lips  of 
a  Maryland  negra  It  should  be  added  that  such  legends  are  gener- 
ally not  of  local  invention,  hut  far-wandered  heliefs  which  here  and 
there  strike  independent  root,  develop  into  a  new  species,  and  in 
their  turn  travel  and  vary. 

The  extent  to  which  the  fiery  apparitions  vaty  in  aspect  is  indi* 
cated  by  the  English  names.  In  the  cases  of  Jack  and  Will,  we 
have  only  spectral  men  who  carry  lanterns  or  torches,  as  sensible 

tanadvdy,  as  a  being  that  befools  (by  spiritual  poMesrion) ;  fm  fatUt  may  have 
ODce  carried  such  connotation,  a  befooling  fire. 

^  For  names  of  the  /V'^  faiuus^^te  the  lenmed  paper  of  G.  L.  Kittredge.  "  The 
Friar's  Lantern  and  Friar  Rush,"  PublicatioTt^  of  thf  Afodtrn  Language  Associa- 
tion of  America^  xv.  (1900X415-41.  Kittredge  shows  that  Rush  bad  nothing  to 
do  with  the  lantem-beaiing  friar  of  Milton's  VAibgrt,  Alto,  C.  P.  G.  Scott, 
**Tbe  Devil  and  hit  Impt,**  jyam&eHms  cf  ike  Amniem  PkUohgUal  Asiodoi' 

Hon.  Txvi.  (1895).  79-146. 

*  Campbell,  op.  cit.,  p.  171  ;  Maclagan.  op.  cit.^  p.  227  ;  J.  MacRury,  in  TranS' 
actions  of  tfu  Goilic  Society  of  Inverness^  xix.  (1893),  1 58-1 71  ;  Folk-Lore^  xiii. 
(1902X  43- 

*  Thos  in  Aama,  Switaeiland,  the  iUimfoation  was  thought  to  be  the  sool  of  a 
srillerdBoeaBsdtiMatjryBaisbefbra.  Rochhols,  i;^. ii.  84. 


Digitized  by  Google 


46  yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lon* 


people  do  on  dark  nights.  In  all  countries  poctumal  gleams  are  sim- 
ilarly interpreted.^  But  the  glow  may  proceed  from  the  person  of 
the  wanderer,  in  a  number  of  different  ways.^  Gill-of-the-burnt-tail 
evidently  draws  the  flaming  streak  behind  her.^  As  for  Joan-in-the 
wad,  the  flaming  bundle  of  cloth  envelops  her  person,  so  that  she 
must  appear  as  a  pyramid  of  fire  ;  just  so  rcvcnants  who  come  from 
Hell  or  Purgatory  are  dressed  in  blazing  garments. 

Being  ghosts,  the  night-roamers  are  likely  to  be  closely  connected 
with  their  mortal  remains ;  if  the  Will-o'-the-wisp  be  seized,  only  a 
bone  is  left  in  the  grasp.*  A  particularly  weird  manner  of  concep- 
tion is  that  the  skeleton  should  walk  with  a  light  in  the  breast,  so  that 
the  ribs  are  darkly  silhouetted  on  the  radiance,  and  are  therefore 
compared  to  baskets  containing  a  lamp.*  In  Ireland,  such  a  skele- 
ton is  thought  of  as  winged,  and  wings  are  elsewhere  assigned  to  an 
ignis  fatuus^  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  local  element  of  the 
descriptions  is  relatively  limited ;  West  European  ideas  so  closely 
coincide  that  an  observation  in  Norway,  Germany,  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, France,  Brittany,  or  England  will  probably  have  had  parallels 
in  the  other  lands,  and  after  dialectic  variation  and  divergence  of 
name  is  allowed  for,  observations  from  one  region  may  be  cited  as 
likely  to  hold  in  all.  If  English  folk-lore  does  not  furnish  examples 
of  all  the  different  ways  of  imaging  the  lustres,  such  deficiency  is 
to  be  set  down  to  poverty  of  record  much  more  than  to  any  original 
difference ;  in  this  respect,  as  in  others.  West  European  folk-lore 
forms  a  body  of  popular  knowledge  which  is  nearly  uniform. 

Since  ignes  fahd  are  only  illuminated  spirits,  and  every  spiritual 

^  Among  examples  of  ecclesiastics  who  carry  a  friar's  lantern  "  may  be  added 
<liat  of  dia  iMnmr  in  Uf^or  Brittany,  who  b  always  looking  for  the  sactamai- 
tal  wafer  wUdk  he  has  dropped  in  wstor.  Sndi  OlvBiiiiatoiB  may  be  asked  to  give 
lijght,  widi  a  forauda : 

Bttab^muif  Pcirard; 
J*vas  fdoniur  deux  Hards. 

P.  S^billot,  Traditions  et  supersiUious  <U  la  HauU-Breiagne,  Paris,  1882,  i.  150. 

*  The  evil  spirit  appears  as  a  hone  with  fieiy  tail.  Folk-Lore,  x.  (1899),  362. 
Pertiaps  Gin  may  have  had  aa  equine  form. 

*  Fiery  men  ^ow  themselves  as  all  fire,  spitting  fire,  or  bearing  fire  on  the 
back,  as  a  burning  parcel  of  straw  or  fiery  column,  drawing  a  streak  of  flame,  OF 
as  a  fiery  skeleton,  with  head  under  arm.    Rochholz,  op.  cit.,  p.  446. 

*  A.  Kuhn  and  W.  Schwartz,  NordtUittscht  Sagen,  etc.,  No.  260. 

*  So  regolariy  in  Swiss  belief  Rochholz,  lee.  cit, ;  like  Irish  representatioa,  Mao- 
lagan,  229;  the  fire  is  ia  the  heart  of  the  girl ;  the  same  comparison  to  a  basket 

*  For  the  lights  as  winged,  Irish,  Maclagan,  loc.  cit.y  Campbell,  op.  cU.^  p. 
171.  In  Flanders,  les  lunurottes  are  souls  of  infants  who  die  unbaptized,  and 
appear  as  a  bird  which  bears  in  its  beak  a  diamond  whence  proceeds  the  light 
J.  Lemoine,  Lt  ^^tk4mrt  Walbm^  ISient,  1892,  p.  131.  The  Idea  ksIb  on  the 
general  representatioB  of  such  sods  aa  birds*  A.  Le  Bras,  L»  ligmtk  dt  Ut  mart 
m  BMU'BrtU^tUt  Paris,  1883,  p.  370  %  Griaun,  Trntonk  MytiM^,  829^  91& 


Digitized  by  Googfp 


The  Igms  Faiuus. 


47 


being  may  at  one  time  or  another  be  lustrous,  it  is  only  natural  that 
many  classes  of  supernatural  beings  should  be  represented  among 
the  nocturnal  light-givers  whom  the  Latin  name  t^tis  Jatuus  has 
grouped  in  one  family. 

Flaming  wanderers  may  be  gods  or  saints,  as  with  Maria  stclla 
maris  and  Saint  Elmo,  to  whom  the  British  mariner  formerly  at- 
tributed the  "composant  "  ("  corpus  sant,"  corpo  santo)  whose  shining 
was  regarded  as  protective.* 

Or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  incandescence  may  be  considered  as 
demonic,  proceeding  from  the  devil,^  or  from  goblins,^  or  diabolic 
animals.* 

*  These  fires,  as  is  known,  were  by  Hellenic  antiquity  attributed  to  the  Dioscuri 
Castor  and  Pollux,  and  their  sister  Helena  ;  the  name  of  the  latter  sur\Mves  in 
Saint  Elmo,  Henne,  etc. ;  in  Brittany  still  Saint  Helena.  See  P.  S^billot,  LdgenUes^ 
cnyamettat9^»'siiihmsdtla  mur^  Paris,  i886»  ii.  pp.  87  E ;  F.  S.  Bassett,  Legends 
mmdSt^€niUmm9  oftkt  Sm  and  ofSaihn^  Chicago,  1885,  pp^  3O8>*3a0b  These 
hvtres  have,  I  believe,  always  been  considered  as  interpretations  of  a  particular 
electric  marine  phenomenon;  but  this  doctrine  will  not  hold  ;  application  to  such 
supposed  illuminations  is  at  the  most  only  secondary;  the  tires  of  St.  Elmo  are 
not  to  be  distinguished  from  the  ignis  Jatuus^  of  which  they  iorm  a  single  species. 
Aoconting  to  Pliny,  the  starry  lights  manifested  diemselves  also  on  the  heads  of 
favored  individuals;  a  relic  of  such  sopentition  survives  in  the  Italian  fuochtfahii 
lambenii.  (Dictionary  of  Tommaseo  and  Bellini.)  S(fbillot  observes  that  in  Tre- 
guier  the  feux  follets  of  marshes  are  subject  to  identical  superstitions,  p,  107. 
That  a  spirit  of  the  marsh  may  be  active  also  at  sea  is  shown  in  the  case  of  the 
Irish Bog-sprite**  or  <*  Watei^ieeerie,*'  an  ignis  fatmts  ivho  is  thought  to  wave  a 
wisp  of  liglited  straw.  Some  think  him  a  disembodied  tpirit  and  gnaidian  of  Ind-  . 
den  treasures.  He  exhibits  all  the  transitions  common  to  such  spirits,  flies,  stands 
still,  becomes  extinct,  revives,  is  seen  in  churchyards,  but  also  by  mariners  on  the 
masts,  spars,  or  sails.  "  Lageniensis  "  (J.  O'HanlonX  Irish  Folk-Lore,  Glasgow, 
1870,  p.  1 70.  The  recorder  adds  that  a  single  apparition  is  considered  to  betoken 
danger,  two  or  more  safetjr.  The  same  belief  ia  mentioned  by  Pliiqr,  Nai.  Hist  ii. 
37 (see  Brand,  y4M//i7«fiK&r,iii-  349)-  A  Sicilian  legend  explains  the  fire  of  St.  Elmo 
as  the  shining  of  a  lantern  given  by  Christ  through  St,  Christopher.  G.  Pitre,  Usi 

e  costumi  del  popolo  Siciliano,  Palermo,  1889,  iii.  66.  In  Cornwall  "  Jack  Harry's 
lights  "  appear  on  a  phantom  vessel  resembling  that  of  which  the  loss  is  indicated 
Onalead  of  on  the  ahip  of  the  navigators).  M.  A.  'Courtney,  Comisk  Fiosts  and 
AOkC^  Penaance,  1890^  p.  134.  Again,  on  the  same  coast,  a  wreck  is  foieshown 
by  the  appearance  at  sea  of  a  lady  who  carries  a  lantern,  and  who  is  supposed 
to  be  in  search  of  her  drowned  child.  Courtney,  p.  135.  In  Italian  and  Spanish, 
Santelmo,  according  to  the  dictionaries,  is  used  as  a  name  of  the  ignis  fatuus^ 
appearing  on  trees  as  well  as  on  the  water.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  maritime  lights 
cannot  lie  taken  by  themselves,  bnt  are  only  a  modification  of  the  terrestrial  supei^ 
stition. 

'  A  Hcs.sian  legend  explains  the  irrwisch  as  the  body  of  a  dead  usurer,  whom 
the  devil  flays,  stu^s  with  straw,  and  makes  fly  as  a  burning  wisp.  Wolf's  ZiU-^ 
sckrift  fiir  Deutscfu  Mytkologit^  ^-(1853),  246. 

*  Light  proceeds  from  plides  with  shining  heads  on  fir^  like  tiie  rising  moon. 
Folk-Lore,  xi.  1900,  214. 

«  The  liigbt  ia  aacribed  lo  wehrwohreai  firodrakes,  ate.  Kittredge,  tp,  tU^ 


Digitized  by  Google 


48 


Journal  of  Am$ruan  Foik-Lore, 


Howcx'cr,  the  light-bearers  with  whom  I  am  especially  concerned, 
and  who  play  the  more  extensive  part  in  European  record,  are  neither 
celestial  nor  devilish,  but  those  spirits  of  the  departed  which,  accord- 
ing to  universal  European  popular  belief,  are  denied  entrance  equally 
to  heaven  and  the  inferno,  and  compelled  to  perform  their  penance 
by  long  wanderings  on  earth.  For  such  destiny  the  reasons  might 
be  either  ethical  or  ritual 

If  the  soul  of  the  deceased  had  in  life  committed  any  wrong  which 
might  be  undone^  or  undertaken  any  vow  possible  to  carry  out,  it 
would  probably  be  unable  to  repose  untU  atonement  had  been  made. 
A  crime  of  this  sort,  from  Babylonian  antiquity  especially  abhorred, 
was  the  removal  of  the  boundary  stones  which  determined  the  owner- 
ship of  land.  A  Swiss  legend  relates  that  a  youth,  who  at  nightfall 
happens  to  pass  by  the  edge  of  a  wood,  sees  a  ''burning  man"  in 
whom  he  recognises  his  godfather  Gotti.  On  the  morrow  with  pick 
and  shovel  he  resorts  to  the  spot,  and,  aided  by  the  ghost,  is  able  to 
restore  the  stone  to  its  original  site ;  the  fiery  soul  obtains  peace  and 
is  seen  no  more,  while  the  lad*  who  has  been  promised  Paradise  as 
his  guerdon,  shortly  expires.^  Again,  the  person  who  has  hidden 
away  a  treasure  must  roam  until  he  can  find  means  of  restoring  it 
to  his  heirs.' 

For  ritual  reasons,  the  revenants  who  shine  at  night  are  those 
who  have  not  received  the  offices  of  the  church,  have  been  cast  out 
uninterred,  been  drowned  or  otherwise  irregularly  disposed  of.  A 
touching  belief  sees  among  such  the  souls  of  children  who  have  died 
unbaptized ;  these  are  not  hopelessly  exiled,  but  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances may  attain  salvation.  If  buried  under  the  eaves  of  the 
church  (according  to  German  ideas),  the  rain  which  falls  during  the 
christening  of  a  living  infant  will  serve  for  their  water  of  baptism. 
These  spirits  have  such  object  always  in  mind,  and  particularly  ap- 
proach their  parents  in  order  to  sue  for  their  aid.  So  in  the  case  of 
older  persons  who  are  buried  out  of  holy  ground,  and  therefore  have 
become  "burning  men,"  the  carrying  of  the  cross  which  marks  their 
burial-place  into  "  God's  acre  "  will  be  enough  to  deliver  the  sufferer. 
If  English  folk-lore  does  not  exhibit  similar  features,  the  absence,  I 
suppose,  is  owing  solely  to  the  impression  on  popular  fancy  produced 
by  the  Protestant  reformation  ;  mediaeval  notions  were  the  same  in 
England  as  in  France  and  Germany.^ 

*  Rochholz,  op.  cit.y  ii.  78;  F.  Chapiseau,  folk  lore  la  Beauet  et  dm P€r€k$t 
Pans,  1902,  ii.  244,  Une  dme  en  peine  ou  les  homes  deplac6es. 

'  Rochholz,  p.  78.  la  Brittany  souls  of  rich  men  who  have  made  bad  gaios, 
thieves,  etc^  must  wander  antll  restoration  is  made.   Le  Bras,     at.,  p.  388. 

'  As  testimonies,  I  may  refer  to  the  citations  made  by  Brand*  AMiqmiiitt^  cdi> 
tion  of  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  1870.  iii.  34.S,  from  works  published  in  1704  and  1723,  to  the 
effect  that  the  people  believed  igncs  fntui  to  be  souls  in  a  Hamei  COme  irom  pur- 
gatory, to  move  others  to  pray  for  their  entire  deliverance. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tike  Ignis  Faiuus,  49 

The  usual  fluctuation  in  folk-thought  appears  in  the  manner  of 
conceiving  the  activity  of  similar  beings.  Their  malice  or  good- 
nature would  of  course  depend  on  the  character  of  the  particular 
man  who  had  become  a  fiery  ghost. 

Ignes  fatui  share  with  other  spirits  the  habit  that  they  are  influ- 
enced by  sacriflces,  and  demand  in  return  for  their  ser\uce  some  pre- 
sent, though  it  may  be  a  very  small  one,  as  a  small  coin,  or  even  a 
crumb.  For  the  purpose  of  imploring  their  aid  are  used  formulas, 
much  the  same  in  all  countries  of  Western  Europe;  an  English 
CJtaraple  is :  — 

Jack  of  the  lantern,  Joan  of  the  lub, 

Light  me  home,  and  I  '11  give  you  a  crub  (crumb).^ 

After  the  service  has  been  rendered,  the  proper  expression  is: 
"Thank  'ee,  Jack."  Here  the  German  has  better  preserved  the  ori- 
ginal intention;  the  person  assisted  should  say  **  CrZ/j-  Gott"'^  on 
which  the  soul  undergoing  purgation  is  likely  to  be  released,  the  idea 
being  that  merit  and  earning  the  gratitude  of  men  shortens  the  term 
of  penance. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  class  of  malicious  ghosts,  of  whom 
salvation  can  hardly  be  predicated,  and  who  take  an  evil  pleasure  in 
misleading  night-wanderers  ;  and  it  is  this  character  which  has 
prevailed  in  literature,  and  is  reflected  in  the  history  of  Jack  or 
Will.  Experience  showed  that  those  who  followed  the  lanterns  of 
the  sprites  and  were  lost  in  the  bog  were  likely  to  be  persons  fond 
of  the  bowl ;  as  like  seeks  like,  this  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
ghost  was  that  of  a  drunken  person;  thus  Will-o'-the-wisp  is  said  to 
have  a  face  like  a  brandy-bottle ; '  and  this  is  the  character  given  the 
spirit  in  the  legend  now  in  question. 

After  this  brief  exposition,  necessary  in  order  to  render  the  matter 
intelligible,  I  proceed  to  trace  the  comparative  history  of  the  Mary- 
land narrative. 

Of  the  legend  in  England,  I  have  met  only  with  an  abbreviated 
version,  credited  to  Shropshire. 

"There  came  to  a  blacksmith's  shop  late  one  night  a  traveller, 
whose  horse  had  cast  a  shoe,  and  he  wanted  the  blacksmith  to  put  it 
on  for  him.  So  Will  (that  was  the  man's  name)  was  very  ready,  and 
he  soon  had  it  on  again  all  right.   Now  the  traveller  was  no  other 

^  In  Devon,  Folk-Lore,  xi.  (1900),  2x2.  Grimm,  TtUiPme  Mytiudogy^  180I ; 
Sch  on  worth,  ii.  100.    For  French  formula,  see  above. 

•  Schonwcrth,  ii.  94. 

*  Fotk-Ur*^  zL  314.  In  Brittany,  PooHk  ht  shod  tan  (Boy  with  the  lighted 
torch)  flies  like  a  butteifly  over  prairies  and  narsheiH  mtoleading  and  even  drown- 
iqg  drunken  folk,  or  rash  peisont  who  piintte  him.  F.  M.  Liuel,  VuiUes  hn- 

Ummes,  Morl.iix  1879^  P*  ^ 

VOL.  XVU.  —  NO.  64.  4 


Digitized  by  Google 


50 


yaumal  of  American  Folk^Lare. 


than  the  Apostle  St.  Peter  himself,  going  about  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel ;  but  before  he  went  away,  he  told  the  smith  to  wish  a  wish^ 
whatever  he  chose,  and  it  should  be  granted  him.  '  I  wish,'  says 
Will,  *  that  I  might  live  my  life  over  again.'  So  it  was  granted  him, 
and  he  lived  his  life  over  again,  and  spent  it  in  drinking  and  gam- 
bling, and  all  manner  of  wild  pranks.  At  last  his  time  came,  and  he 
was  forced  to  set  out  for  the  other  world,  thinking  of  course  that  he 
.would  find  a  place  in  hell  made  ready  for  him ;  but  when  he  came  to 
the  gates,  the  Devil  would  not  let  him  in.  No,  he  said,  by  this  time 
Will  had  learnt  so  much  wickedness  he  would  be  more  than  a 
match  for  him,  and  he  dared  not  let  him  in.  So  away  went  the 
smith  to  heaven,  to  see  if  St.  Peter,  who  had  been  a  good  friend  to 
him  before,  would  find  him  a  place  there ;  but  St.  Peter  would  not, 
it  was  n't  very  likely  he  would  !  and  Will  was  forced  to  go  back  to 
the  Old  Lad  again,  and  beg  and  pray  for  a  place  in  hell.  But  the 
Devil  would  not  be  persuaded  even  then.  Will  had  spent  two  life- 
times in  learning  wickedness,  and  now  he  knew  too  much  to  be  wel- 
come anywhere.  All  that  the  Devil  would  do  for  him,  was  to  give 
him  a  lighted  coal  from  heU-fire  to  keep  himself  warm,  and  that  is 
how  he  comes  to  be  called  WUl-o'-the-wlsp.  So  he  goes  wandering 
up  and  down  the  moors  and  mosses  with  his  light,  wherever  he  can 
find  a  bit  of  boggy  ground  that  he  can  'tice  folks  to  lose  their  way 
in  the  bog  and  bring  them  to  a  bad  end,  for  he  is  not  a  bit  less 
wicked  and  deceitful  now  than  he  was  when  a  blacksmith." ' 

The  Shropshire  narrative  shows  the  essential  feature,  lost  in  the 
American  version,  according  to  which  the  three  wishes  are  conferred 
by  Chrbt,  in  exchange  for  hospitality  offered  to  the  Lord  and  his 
Apostles,  in  the  course  of  their  earthly  wanderings. 

I  think  it  likely  that  the  remnant  of  another  English  version  is 
to  be  found  in  an  Irish  story  attributed  to  Carleton,  regarding  one 
Billy  Dawson,  who  is  regarded  as  a  notorious  and  an  incorrigible 
scamp  who  lived  a  riotous  and  drunken  life  This  caused  his  nose 
to  become  very  inflammable,  and  when  an  archenemy  seized  it  with 
red-hot  tongs,  a  flame  at  once  burst  forth.  This  continued  to  bum 
on,  winter  and  summer ;  while  a  bushy  beard  which  he  wore  helped 
to  feed  the  fuel.  Hence,  the  northern  country  people  say  that  Billy 
Dawson  has  been  christened  Will  of  the  Wisp,  and  that  he  plunges 
into  the  coldest  quagmires  and  pools  of  water  to  quench  the  flames 
emitted  from  his  burning  nose.  It  is  a  remnant  of  his  mischievous 
disposition,  however,  to  lead  unthinking  and  tipsy  night-travellers 
into  bogs,  where  they  are  likely  to  be  drowned.^ 

'  C  S.  Burne,  Shropshin  F^Lm^  London,  1883,  pp.  34-5.  Taken  from  the 
Sluwsbuiy  y^urmait  1877. 

*  "  Lageniensis/*  op.  cit.,  p.  170.  I  have  in  vain  sought  for  the  psusage  in  the 
works  of  William.  Carleton  to  which  I  have  aocessi 


L^iyiiizcij  Uy 


Tkt  Ignis  Fahms. 


51 


The  tale  has  obtained  currency  in  Gaelic  speech,  being  localized 
in  the  Hebrides.  A  poor  smith,  who  has  vainly  striven  to  support 
his  family,  is  reduced  to  such  despair  that  he  professes  himself  will- 
ing  to  accept  help  from  God  or  the  Devil.  A  little  old  man,  with 
feet  like  pig's  hoofs,  calls  at  the  smithy,  and  promises  aid,  on  condi- 
tion th^  the  smith  shall  be  ready  to  go  with  him  at  the  end  of  a 
year ;  meanwhile  he  shall  always  find  gold  in  his  right  pocket,  and 
silver  in  his  left.  During  the  interval  another  man  calls,  is  hospit- 
ably entertained,  and  as  a  reward  grants  the  smith  three  wishes. 
The  latter  desires  that  any  one  who  helps  him  at  the  forge  must 
remain  during  his  pleasure,  that  whoever  sits  on  his  chair  shall  not 
remove  until  given  leave,  and  that  any  piece  of  money  in  his  pocket 
must  remain  there  until  he  takes  it  out.  The  stranger  says  the  de- 
sires shall  be  granted,  but  it  is  a  pity  the  wisher  had  not  asked 
mercy  for  his  soul.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Satan  appears ;  the 
smith  induces  him  to  work  at  the  forge,  where  the  demon  remains 
fixed,  and  is  obliged  to  grant  another  year ;  on  a  second  visit  the 
fiend  is  made  to  sit  in  the  chair,  with  a  like  result ;  on  a  third  visit, 
Satan  is  challenged  to  prove  his  power  by  turning  himself  into  a 
sixpence  which  the  smith  pockets  ;  the  coin  is  restless,  and  the  smith 
has  it  hammered  at  the  forge,  till  the  purse  is  reduced  to  dust,  and 
the  devil  goes  up  the  chimney  in  sparks  of  fire.  The  hero  of  the 
tale  is  now  free,  but,  though  no  longer  pestered,  goes  down  in  the 
world,  and  at  death  is  cast  out  unburied ;  knowing  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  apjily  at  the  gate  of  heaven,  his  soul  takes  the  road  to 
hell,  but  the  Devil  refuses  admittance:  "There  is  not,"  saitl  he, 
"your  like  within  the  bounds  of  my  kingdom  ;  I  light  a  fire  never  to 
be  quenched  in  your  bosom.  And  I  order  thee  to  return  to  the 
earth,  and  wander  up  and  down  until  the  day  of  judgment.  Thou 
shalt  have  rest  neither  day  nor  night  Thou  shalt  wander  on  earth 
among  every  place  that  is  wetter,  lower,  lonelier,  and  more  dismal 
than  another.  And  thou  shalt  be  a  disgust  to  thyself,  and  a  harm 
to  every  living  creature  thou  seest." 

From  the  smith,  whose  name  is  Sionnach  (Fox),  the  "  great  fire  " 
is  called  Uim  Stotmackain} 

That  the  history  has  been  current  in  Wales  is  shown  by  a  dis- 
torted version.  Sion  Dafydd  (John  David)  of  the  Bwlch  of  Ddauafen 
in  the  Arvon  hills  has  converse  with  demons,  quarrels  with  them 
and  beats  two  devils  in  a  bag  which  flies  to  pieces ;  the  fiends  take 
refuge  in  the  village  of  Rhiwgyfylchi,  which  from  that  time  has  an 
evfl  repute.  In  return  for  present  riches,  he  sells  himself,  with  the 
condition  that  he  may  escape  provided  that  he  has  the  power  to  ad. 
here  to  anything ;  when  the  demon  comes  after  him,  he  asks  leave 

1  Madagta,  pp»  Ht^  p.  333. 


Digitized  by  Google 


I 


52  yaumal  0/  American  Foik-Lore, 

to  get  into  his  apple-tree,  and  hangs  on  in  despite  of  all  efforts  to 
pull  him  away.    After  death  he  is  changed  into  a  yac-y-laiUcrn} 

No  doubt  other  Welsh  versions  could  have  been  found  which  would 
have  precisely  answered  to  the  English. 

With  numerous  variations,  the  tale  is  everywhere  current  in  Eu- 
rope.^ 

A  Norwegian  version  recites  that  a  smith  makes  a  bargain  with 
the  Devil,  in  which  he  agrees  to  belong  to  the  fiend  at  the  end  of 
seven  years,  provided  that  in  the  interval  he  may  be  the  most  skilful 
of  his  craft.  In  the  course  of  wanderings,  Christ  and  St.  Peter 
enter  the  forge;  as  a  recompense  for  his  free  service,  the  smith U 
granted  three  wishes.  Neglecting  intimations  that  be  ought  to 
quest  eternal  peace,  the  smith,  who  has  been  troubled  by  thieves, 
desires  that  whoever  dimbs  bis  pear-tree  may  be  unable  to  descend 
without  permission,  that  whoever  sits  in  bis  chair  must  remain,  and 
that  aught  which  enters  his  sted  purse  must  stay  there.  The  Devil 
is  caught,  and  obliged  to  grant  successive  respites.  The  details  are 
related  with  much  humor,  and  application  of  old  proverbs.  The 
Devil  is  induced  to  enter  the  purse  in  order  to  examine  its  links, 
and  reports  them  sound ;  but  the  smith  remarks  that  it  is  wdl  to  be 
slow  and  sure,  and  proceeds  to  weld  a  doubtful  link.  In  the  sequel 
the  smith  dies,  is  turned  away  from  hdl,  and  goes  to  heaven,  where 
he  finds  the  door  ajar,  and  throws  his  hammer  into  the  crack ;  if  he 
did  not  get  in,  the  narrator  knows  not  what  became  of  him.* 

The  smith  debarred  from  heaven  and  hell,  and  hence  obliged  to 
wander  etemaUy,  is  known  also  in  numerous  German  versions.  In 
the  Upper  Palatinate  it  is  related  that  a  smith  gives  woik  to  an 
applicant,  apparently  a  poor  journeyman,  but  who  proves  so  skil- 
ful that  he  is  able  to  detach  the  foot  of  a  horse,  adjust  the  shoe, 
and  restore  the  leg  to  its  original  condition.^  When  the  time  comes 
for  parting,  the  former  servant  grants  his  master  three  wishes.  The 
smith  has  been  annoyed  by  thieves  who  steal  the  nails  from  hLs  bag, 
defile  his  stone,  and  rob  his  apple-tree ;  he  therefore  desires  that 
whoso  inserts  a  hand  in  the  bag  may  be  unable  to  remove  it,  that  a 
man  who  sits  on  the  stone  may  stick  there,  and  that  any  one  who 
cUmbs  his  apple-tree  cannot  get  down.  After  the  departure  of  his 
servant,  the  smith  falls  into  poverty,  and  makes  a  compact  with  the 

^  Cymru  fu,  Wrexhain,  1862,  pb  385,  from  oral  traditioo.  Abstncted  by  Wirt 

Sikcs,  of>.  cit.,  p.  204. 

Grimm,  Kindtr-  und  Hausmdrchen^  Nos.  81,  82,  and  Notes  :  R.  Kohler, 
KUinere  Schtifteny  Weimar,  1898,  i.  67  et  al.^  see  index ;  A.  Voigt,  Zeitschrift fUr 
verglekkendi  Utferaturgeukiehte^  v.  (1892),  62. 

^  S  \V  Dasent,  Papular  Tales  from  the  Norst^  Edinburgh,  i8s9»  No.  16. 

*  The  tale  has  been  "contaminated"  by  the  storyof  the  Master-mitb  (the 
legend  of  St.  £loi}.   See  Kohler,  op.  cU^  p.  ^)6. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Ignis  Faiuus. 


53 


Devil  (in  the  form  of  a  green  man),  in  virtue  of  which  he  is  to  be 
enriched,  on  condition  of  an  enigmatical  cession  ;  the  object  to  be 
yielded  proves  to  be  his  unborn  son.  After  seven  years,  the  Devil 
sends  subordinate  demons  to  obtain  the  prize,  and  take  the  smith, 
who  has  offered  his  own  life  to  redeem  that  of  the  child.  The  three 
fiends  are  successively  shut  in  the  bag,  fastened  to  the  stone,  and 
attached  to  the  tree,  and  in  each  case  well  hammered  by  the  smith 
and  his  men.  The  principal  devil  then  comes  in  person,  and  carries 
off  the  smith ;  but  on  the  way  to  hell  he  meets  a  priest  carrying  the 
sacrament  to  a  sick  person,  and  in  order  to  hide  himself  from  the 
terrifying  presence  of  the  halidome,  creeps  into  the  bag,  where  he  is 
detained,  and  obliged  to  promise  the  captive  immunity.  When  the 
smith  comes  to  die,  he  is  rejected  at  the  gates  of  heaven  and  hell ; 
he  does  indeed  obtain  temporary  admission  into  the  former  place« 
but  by  a  stratagem  is  cast  out  He  is  obliged  to  roam  between  the 
homes  of  rest  and  torment ;  some  persons  call  him  the  Wandering 
Jew  {Der  r^vige  yude)} 

The  three  comical  wishes  of  the  tale  seem  originally  to  haye  been 
that  thieves  might  be  imprisoned  respectively  in  the  sack,  the  chair, 
and  the  fruit-treei  Instead  of  the  chair,  a  variety  substituted  a  pack 
o£  winning  cards ;  thus,  in  a  Roman  story,  a  host  who  has  liberally 
entertained  Jesus  and  his  disciples  is  promised  whatever  gift  he  may 
desire ;  however,  as  the  beneficiary  is  a  person  of  a  contented  mind, 
who  has  no  family  and  a  thriving  trade,  he  is  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
he  should  ask.  At  last  it  occurs  to  him  that  he  is  fond  of  cards,  and 
he  desires  that  he  may  be  able  always  to  win.  Two  wishes  remain,  and 
St  Peter  performs  his  duty  by  making  his  usual  suggestion,  namely, 
that  the  proper  course  is  to  request  the  salvation  of  the  asker's  soul ; 
but  unheeding  this  intimation,  the  host  desires  'that,  inasmuch  as 
his  figs  are  always  stolen,  whoever  climbs  the  tree,  may  be  obliged 
to  remain  until  liberated*  and  that  he  may  have  a  life  of  four  hun- 
dred years.  Finally,  at  the  advice  of  the  saint,  he  does  run  after 
the  Lord,  and  request  his  soul's  salvation,  which  is  granted  as  a 
fourth  boon.  After  the  term  has  expired,  Death  arrives,  but  is 
caught  in  the  tree,  and  forced  to  cede  another  four  hundred  years. 
When  these  are  expired.  Death  takes  the  man,  and  according  to  the 
final  promise  .of  the  Saviour  is  about  to  convey  him  to  Paradise,  but 
on  the  way  (according  to  a  common  mediaeval  conception)  is  obliged 
to  pass  the  gate  of  Hell,  where  the  Devil  is  standing.  The  inn- 
keeper proposes  a  game  of  cards,  the  stake  being  his  own  soul, 
against  that  of  the  damned  who  had  just  been  admitted  ;  by  virtue  of 
the  winning  pack,  he  gains  all  the  souls,  with  which  he  repairs  to 
the  gate  of  heaven.    "  Who 's  there  ? "  asks  St  Peter.    "  He  of 

&  Scbdnwerth,      cit^  iii.  77. 


Digitized  by  Google 


54 


yaumal  of  Ameriean  Folh-Lort. 


the  four  hundred  years."  "And  what 's  all  that  labblc  behind  you  ?** 
"Souls  that  I  have  won  for  Paradise."  "  Oh,  that  won't  do  at  all, 
here,"  replies  St.  Peter.  In  the  end,  the  saint  consents  to  refer  the 
matter  to  Christ,  who  orders  that  the  innkeeper  only  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted ;  but  when  the  latter  sends  word  that  when  the  Lord  had 
applied  for  lodging  at  bis  inn,  he  himself  had  never  made  difficulty 
by  reason  of  disciples  following,  orders  are  given  for  the  reception 
of  the  whole  party.  ^  Another  version  names  the  host  as  the  priest 
Oliva* 

The  same  history  is  related,  with  witty  touches,  in  a  poem  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  by  D.  Batacchi :  The  priest  Ulivo  entertains 
Jesus  and  his  followers  with  remarkable  liberality,  the  cuisine  being 
described  con  amort.  For  guerdon  the  priest  is  allowed  a  wish, 
and  desires  to  live  six  hundred  years.  St  Peter  reproves  him  for 
lack  of  good  sense,  and  advises  him  to  try  again  (thus  intimating 
that  the  only  proper  desire  of  man  should  be  for  eternal  felicity). 
Ulivo  does  not  follow  this  suggestion ;  as  he  has  a  tree  from  which 
he  never  gets  pears,  he  asks  that  any  thief  may  be  detained  until  he 
grants  leave  to  come  down ;  since  he  is  fond  of  playing  cards  after 
the  hour  at  which  his  companions  are  impatient  for  bed,  he  begs 
that  any  one  who  sits  on  a  certain  chair  may  not  rise  till  he  pleases, 
and  also  that  his  cards  may  win.  The  host,  therefore,  has  spent  his 
three  wishes  without  obtaining  salvation,  which  nevertheless  the 
saint  promises.  Ulivo,  by  means  of  the  chair  and  the  pear-tree,  is 
twice  enabled  to  arrest  Death,  with  whom  he  makes  contracts  which 
insure  him  a  life  extended  nearly  down  to  the  present  time.  The 
ending  answers  to  the  modern  Roman  legend.' 

The  version  of  Batacchi  explains  in  what  manner  the  hero  may 
have  acquired  the  repute  which,  in  a  tale  of  Grimm,  has  given  him 
the  name  of  Jack  the  Gambler.*  Some  narrator  suggested  that  an 
inveterate  gamester  might  use  the  magic  chair  for  insuring  a  supply 
of  adversaries  who  were  not  permitted  to  leave  the  card-table ;  the 
next  step  was  to  borrow  from  other  histories  the  trait  that  a  holy 
personage  might  always  be  able  to  win  in  the  game.*  Thus,  in  a  cele- 
bratcd  fabliau,  we  learn  that  a  minstrel  who  has  shared  the  usual  fate 
of  his  i^rofession,  and  ^^one  naked  and  hungry  till  Death  releases  him, 
is  captured  by  an  inexperienced  demon  and  taken  to  hell,  which  he 
finds  the  only  warm  and  comfortable  place  be  has  known.  Fondness 

*  R.  H.  Busk,  R  man  Legends^  Boston,  1877,  p.  178. 

*  Busk,  p.  183. 

*  N&vtlig,  Milan,  187^  p.  5. 

*  Grimm,  No.  82,  SpielhansL 

<  In  case  of  necessity,  a  saint  could  tbrow scveos  (by  the  breaking  of  a  die)» 

Hist.  lilt,  de  laFranc€,  xxiii.  112. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tk€  Ignis  Fatuus, 


55 


for  heat  makes  him  a  suitable  person  to  stoke  the  fire  for  heating 
the  kettle  in  which  are  boiling  souls  of  the  damned.  Satan  and  his 
troop  go  out  hunting,  leaving  the  singer  at  his  duty.  St.  Peter  per- 
ceives the  opportunity,  descends  from  heaven,  and  has  no  difficulty 
in  awakening  the  former  passion  for  dice ;  the  singer  sets  as  his  stake 
the  souls,  with  the  result  that  he  loses  them,  as  Peter  always  throws 
one  higher.  The  returning  fiend,  who  finds  hell  empty,  in  his  rage 
expels  the  singer,  and  beats  the  devil  who  had  been  careless  enough 
to  fetch  tn  such  booty ;  from  that  time  there  has  been  no  hell  for 
poets.  We  do  not  learn  what  became  of  the  minstrel ;  but  the  fab- 
Uau  must  have  had  for  basis  a  popular  narration  which  must  have 
offered  some  explanation,  and  may  have  been  akin  to  the  legend  with 
which  I  am  concerned.^ 

Another  sutKspecies  of  the  history  is  distinguished  by  the  traits 
that  the  wbhes  are  granted  in  exchange  for  alms  rather  than  for  hos- 
pitality, and  that  the  bag  takes  the  character  of  a  wbhmg-sack,  in 
which  the  owner  is  able  to  carry  off  whatever  he  pleases.  From  a 
mere  variant  this  type  has  developed  into  a  narration  widely  different, 
to  the  extent  of  being  quite  unrecognizable  except  through  compara- 
tive examination. 

Only  slightly  deviating  from  the  mother-form  is  an  Irish  story.  A 
travelling  smith,  Se^han  Tinceir  (Jack  the  Tinker),  takes  seivicc 
in  Kildare ;  on  the  way,  in  passing  a  bridge,  he  has  stumbled,  and 
wishes  that  the  Devil  may  break  his  neck,  if  ever  again  he  take  that 
road.  Returning  after  four  years  with  the  earnings  of  his  labor,  he 
meets  an  aged  beggar  who  asks  alms  in  the  name  of  God  ;  this  hap- 
pens three  times,  and  Jack  gives  away  all  his  money.  On  each 
occasion  he  obtains  a  wish,  and  desires,  first,  to  confine  anything 
disagreeable  in  the  bottle  he  carries,  secondly  to  detain  any  offender 
in  his  bag,  and  thirdly  to  keep  thieves  in  his  apple-tree.  Forgetful 
of  his  vow.  Jack  does  once  more  cross  the  bridge,  and  is  accosted 
by  the  Devil,  whom  he  wishes  into  his  bag,  and  afterward  causes  the 
fiend  to  be  beaten  at  a  smithy.  The  Devil  returns,  but  is  induced  to 
mount  the  tree,  where  he  remains  seven  years,  till  Jack  picks  him 
off  in  gathering  a  fagot  for  his  wife  ;  the  third  time  the  persecutor  is 
shut  in  the  bottle.^  The  story  lacks  the  proper  ending,  having  iur 
stead  annexed  another  legendary  tale  of  kindred  character,^ 

Wider  is  the  deviation  in  a  Gascon  narrative.  A  peddler,  who  \s 
neither  a  good  nor  a  bad  man,  carries  his  wares  in  the  bag  on  his 
back.  He  is  solicited  for  charity,  first  by  a  lame  old  man,  then  by 
a  female  beggar,  and  gives  away  what  little  he  possesses.  These 

I  Montaiglon  and  Raynaud,  Rtcueil gMral,  Paris,  1883,  ^* 

*  D.  Hyde,  An  Sgialuide  Gaedhealach  London,  No.  3 

•  That  of  Godfather  Death,"  Grimm,  No.  44 ;  K«hler,  i.  291. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


56 


youmai  of  American  Folh-'Lare. 


mendicants,  however,  are  only  transformations  of  St.  Peter,  on  whom 
the  alms  have  been  bestowed,  and  who,  in  guerdon,  asks  the  liberal 
benefactor  to  name  his  wish,  at  the  same  time  commanding  him  to 
discard  his  present  possessions.  The  peddler  accordingly  throws 
away  his  sack ;  but  having  his  chief  happiness  and  content  in  his 
trade,  he  can  think  of  nothing  better  to  ask  for  than  a  new  bag. 
This  the  saint  bestows,  with  the  addition  that  the  recipient  is  at 
liberty  to  wish  into  the  sack  anything  he  desires  to  obtain.  The 
peddler  now  has  a  merry  life,  seeing  that  he  is  able  to  appropriate 
without  compensation  any  delicacy  that  suits  his  palate ;  the  tempta> 
tioD  proves  too  strong  for  his  principles,  and  he  obtains  in  this  man- 
ner the  wife  he  seeks.  When  he  comes  to  die  and  makes  application 
at  the  gate  of  heaven,  this  liberty  becomes  ground  for  rejection. 
Howeveir,  the  peddler  is  not  to  be  daunted ;  he  lingers  at  the  entrance . 
until  he  has  opportunity  to  fling  in  the  bi^  and  then  wishes  himself 
inside ;  once  in  heaven,  he  insbts  on  remaining.^ 

The  gayety  and  reckless  humor  belonging  to  this  form  of  the  story 
gave  it  an  attraction  which  procured  circulation  through  all  Europe.' 
A  Spanish  version*  relates  the  discomfiture  of  Death  by  the  aid  of 
the  fruit-tree  and  wishing-bag,  but  adds  the  feature  that  Juan  the 
Soldier  wishes  St  Peter  himself  into  the  sack,  and  so  secures  heaven 
by  force.*  An  episode  uses  the  bag  in  such  manner  as  to  effect  the 
disenchantment  of  a  castle ;  a  Russian  variant,  enlarging  this  episode^ 
becomes  a  mere  recital  of  feintastic  adventures,  in  which  the  l^^d 
resolves  itself  into  a  fairy-tale.* 

That  the  history  enjoyed  mediaeval  popularity  is  shown  by  numer> 
ous  literary  reworkings  of  the  sixteenth  and  following  centuries. 

In  1 526  the  Venetian  Cintio  dei  Fabrizii,  having  occasion  to  ex- 
plain the  origin  of  popular  proverbs,  used  the  tale  to  illustrate  the 
adage,  "  Envy  never  dies."  In  order  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the 
degree  of  justice  in  the  murmurings  of  mankind,  in  company  with 
Mercury,  Jupiter  descended  to  earth,  and  obtained  lodging  from 
Envy  {Invidia).  In  recompense  for  kindness,  the  god,  on  departure, 
asks  her  to  name  a  wish.  She  requests  protection  for  her  apple-tree^ 
which  is  frequently  visited  by  thieves,  and  Jupiter  gives  it  the  pro- 
perty that  none  who  climbs  may  descend  without  the  owner's  per- 
mission. When  Death  comes  for  Envy,  she  asks  him,  as  a  last  favor, 
to  pluck  an  apple  from  her  tree.    Death  is  thus  fixed  in  the  boughs, 

^  Cdnac  Moncaut,  Littirature populaire  de  la  Gascognt,  Paris,  1868,  p.  57. 

'  Sec  R.  Kohler,  op.  at.,  i.  pp.  83,  ill  ;  also  A.  Lcskien  and  K.  Brugmann, 
Litauisclu  Volkslietkr  und  Mdrchen^  Strassburg,  1882,  No.  17,  note  (in  which 
are  mentioned  Rnwian,  Poliih,  Csech,  and  Moravian  verdons> 

•  F.  'W^BeiMtgtMurtpaHkektr  mkspmtamsdm  WtHtm  F,  CMUn», 
Vienna,  1859,  p.  74. 

*  Afanasief ,  SAaski,  v.  43. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Igtns  FaiuMs. 


57 


where  he  is  detained  until  Jupiter,  desiring  his  release,  promises 
Envy  immortality.^ 

In  1 55 1  Hans  Sachs  gave  the  history  a  rhymed  form.  In  return 
for  shelter,  St.  Peter  grants  a  peasant  three  wishes ;  these  are,  that 
he  may  know  Death  when  he  sees  him,  and  that  whoever  blows  his 
fire  must  continue  until  told  to  stop.  Death  is  thus  caught,  and 
compelled  to  grant  a  respite.  Finally,  when  Death  is  ai^ain  impris- 
oned, and  no  man  dies,  St.  Peter  descends  to  earth,  and  offers  the 
farmer  a  hundred  years  of  life  if  he  will  set  the  destroyer  free.^ 

Before  1582  an  anonym  wrote  the  history  of  one  Sanctus,  in  which 
he  freely  used  the  legend,  which  he  combined  with  other  similar 
material.  Sanctus,  pursued  by  Death,  makes  a  truce  by  accepting 
him  as  godfother  of  his  son,^  and  obtains  an  extension  of  his  earthly 
tenn.  He  resolves  to  lead  a  good  life,  but  is  tempted  by  the  DeviL 
and  yields  (as  Jack  in  the  American  version)  on  the  ground  that 
there  is  plenty  of  time  l^t  for  repentance.  When  the  period  expires, 
be  flies,  and  arrives  in  heaven,  where  he  misconducts  himself  and 
is  expelled,  but  promised  that  three  wishes  may  be  accomplished. 
Death,  who  has  used  up  seven  hundred  pairs  of  shoes  in  seeking  him, 
wishes  to  carry  him  off,  but  the  expedient  of  the  tree  is  used,  and 
no  man  dies,  whence  results  great  distress.  Sanctus  at  last  himself 
grows  weary  of  life,  and  seeks  Death,  whom  he  invites  to  descend. 
As  the  remaining  two  wishes  he  desires  salvation  and  remembrance 
00  earth.* 

The  version  of  Attanasy  von  DOIing,  printed  in  1691,  more  closely 
resembles  the  modem  forms.  Christ  and  St  Peter  lodge  with  a 
smith,  and  are  kindly  treated  by  the  good  wife  of  the  host  On 
leaving;  the  woman  is  offered  a  wish,  and  desures  only  heaven.  The 
husband,  who  is  promised  four  wishes,  in  spite  of  repeated  sugges- 
tions on  the  part  of  St  Peter  that  he  ought  to  desire  his  soul's 
sahration,  selects  the  usual  detention  in  the  cheny-tree  at  the  f oige 
and  bellows,  and  finally,  that  his  green  cap  shall  remain  his  own  pro- 
perty, and  he  may  not  be  parted  from  it.  After  Death  has  twice 
failed,  the  Devil  comes,  and  is  kept  at  the  bellows  until  he  vows 
never  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  smith.  Finally,  the  smith's 
guardian  angel  is  sent  to  take  him,  and  carries  him  to  hell,  where 
the  Devil,  on  perceiving  the  new-comer,  hastily  shuts  the  window 
from  which  he  is  loolung.   The  smith  is  next  escorted  to  heaven, 

•  ykkrhich  fUr  Romanische  und  Fm^h'sLhe  Litteratur,  i.  (1859)  31a 

•  C.  Liitrelberger,  Album  des  literarischen  Vcreins  in  Niirnberf^.  1864,  232, 
"  Der  Tod  ftuf  dem  Stule."  I  have  not  found  the  piece  in  the  collected  works  of 
Sachs. 

•  With  reference  I0  the  tab  of  <*Gocl&ther  Death,**  above  noted. 

«  J.  Bolte,  ««Die  Hiitoria  von  SaBCtOk**  ZtUtOir^  JUr  Veuisetu  PkBohgit^ 
tbbSl  (1893)  9691 


Digitized  by  Google 


58 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


where  St  Peter  is  equally  unwilling  to  accept  the  visitor ;  but  in 
virtue  of  the  fourth  wish,  the  dead  smith  is  still  provided  with  his 
cap,  which  he  throws  in,  and  remains  seated  on  his  property.^ 

More  popular  than  any  other  literary  form  has  been  that  in  which 
the  legend  has  been  put  to  an  allegorical  use,  in  a  different  sense  from 
thai  of  the  Venetian  author ;  instead  of  Envy,  it  is  Miseiy  that  never 
dies.  Such  is  the  conclusion  of  a  French  chap-book,  L'Histoire 
du  honhomme  Misire/'  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  has  had  an  enormous  circulation  in  successive  editions.  Peter 
and  Paul,  who  rove  the  earth  as  needy  vagrants,  in  the  first  instance 
apply  at  the  door  of  Wealthy  {Richard),  by  whom  they  are  refused ; 
they  proceed,  and  are  taken  in  by  Misery,  who  entertains  as  well  as 
he  may  his  visitors,  to  whom  he  abandons  his  couch  of  strawl  On 
departing,  the  guests  ask  Misery  to  desire  what  he  pleases.  The 
poor  man,  who  is  out  of  spirits  because  his  pear-tree  has  been  robbed, 
can  thitik  of  nothing  better  than  any  one  who  climbs  it  shall  be  un- 
able to  come  down  without  permission.  In  this  manner  he  catches 
a  thief  whom  he  pardons.  When  Death  arrives,  he  succeeds  in 
enticing  him  into  the  tree,  and  refuses  release  until  Death  promises 
never  again  to  come  after  him,  and  moralizes:  "You  can  boast,  good 
man,  to  be  the  first  living  man  who  ever  vanquished  Death.  Heaven 
ordains  that  with  thy  consent  I  quit  thee,  and  return  not  until  the 
day  of  the  universal  judgment,  after  I  shall  have  achieved  my  great 
work,  the  destruction  of  the  human  race.  See  it  thou  shalt,  I  war- 
rant thee ;  without  hesitancy,  suffer  me  to  descend,  or  fly  hence ;  at 
the  distance  of  a  hundred  leagues,  a  widow  awaits  me  in  order  to 
depart."  From  that  day  Misery  has  dwelt  in  the  same  poverty,  near 
his  beloved  tree^  where,  according  to  the  pledge  of  Death,  he  shall 
remain  as  long  as  world  is  world.^ 

The  name  of  Misery  as  chief  actor  appears  also  in  a  number  of 
traditional  versions,  which,  however,  seem  to  me  to  have  borrowed 
the  appellation  (though  not  the  plot)  from  the  chap-book.^ 

'  Vulpius,  Curiositdten,  Weimar,  1813,  iii.  422.    See  Grimm,  Note  to  No.  82, 
who  gives  an  account  also  of  the  version  of  Tromer,  "  Der  Schmied  von  Jiiterbogk.**  * 

*  J.  F.  H.  Champflettry,  R^mMit  sur  Porigine  a  kt  wurUM^ms  At  Swkammt 
Mishn,  Paris,  t86i ;  reprinted  in  Histoin  du  Pimggtrk  popukdr*^  Paris,  1869^ 

pp.  105-88. 

•  Italian,  •*  Compar  Miseria,"  A.  de  Gubernatis,  Le  novellitu  di  Santo  Stefano, 
Turin,  1869,  No.  32;  T.  F.  Crane,  Italian  Popular  Tales,  Boston,  1885,  p.  221. 
Misery,  having  entertained  Jesus  and  St.  Peter,  is  granted  three  wishes,  which 
are  magic  chdr,  the  fig-tree,  aalvatioB.  In  Uie  end,  Deadi  abandons  the  attempt 

to  capture  Miser>%  who  never  diea.  The  inconsistency  of  the  desire  for  salvation 
with  the  trait  of  denthlessness,  shows  sufficiently  the  hybridization  of  the  tale. 
The  author  of  the  story  in  the  chap-book  says  it  came  from  Italy ;  this  may  have 
been  only  a  fa^on  tU  parler.    The  writer  used  a  legend  in  which  Christ  was 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Ignis  Faiuus. 


59 


The  undying  Misery  has  an  analogy  to  the  Wandering  Jew,  which 
has  not  been  overlooked  by  ballad-makers.  A  Breton  gwerz  (ballad) 
makes  Mis^re  meet  Isaac  the  Wanderer,  with  whom  he  has  a  discus- 
sion in  alternate  rhymes.  Isaac,  who  can  boast  only  seventeen  hun- 
dred years,  is  a  child  compared  to  Misery,  who  was  born  when  Adam 
went  into  exile.  The  former  is  furious  against  the  latter  as  the  author 
of  his  distresses  ;  but  the  song  has  a  moral  turn  ;  Misery  remarks 
that  those  who  desire  to  avoid  him  have  only  to  shun  prodigality  and 
be  industrious.' 

The  name  is  used  as  the  basis  of  an  allegory  by  an  author  whose 
rather  stupid  work  is  given  in  the  "  Biblioth^que  Bleue."  Obstinate, 
in  company  with  Passion,  Patience,  and  Reason,  is  seeking  the  way 
to  the  house  of  Happiness.  Misery  appears  a  little  and  decrepit  man, 
with  a  chain  on  his  leg,  carrying  a  burden  ;  influenced  by  Hope,  he 
is  on  his  way  to  the  land  of  Happiness,  where  he  expects  soon  to 
arrive.  Obstinate  is  anxious  to  follow,  until  he  is  shown  by  what 
impossible  paths  the  journey  is  made.* 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  older  versions  of  the  legend  it  is 
Death,  not  the  Devil,  who  is  the  enemy  to  be  overcome;  internal 
evidence  favors  the  view  that  this  was  the  original  form  erf  the 
story,  that  the  hero  of  the  action  did  become  exempt  from  death,  but 
that  the  resultant  evils  compelled  providential  interference.  The 
version  of  von  Dilling  shows  in  what  manner,  as  a  substitute  for 
Death,  the  Devil  may  have  been  introduced  into  the  narration. 

The  Maryland  variant  presents  numerous  variations  from  the  re- 
corded English  and  Irish  tales,  yet  as  a  rule  such  differences  find 
parallels  in  European  forms  of  the  story,  and  are  therefore  likely 
to  have  been  imported ;  of  anything  distinctively  n^gro  there  is 
nothing,  except  the  dialect,  and  the  singular  name  given  to  the  wife 
provided  for  the  fiend.* 

The  legend  presents  a  striking  example  of  the  variatk>n  incident 
to  traditional  narratives,  which,  after  the  manner  of  a  living  organ* 
ism,  alter  in  such  wise  as  to  fill  eveiy  vacuum.  The  adversary 
is  either  Death,  or  the  Devil,  or  both ;  the  hero  either  becomes 
deathless,  or  obtains  a  long  life ;  when  he  does  finally  pass  away,  his 

made  to  apply  first  at  the  house  of  a  rich  man  {Richard)^  aftepiirards  at  that  of  a 
poor  one;  this  trait  does  not  appear  in  ''Compar  Miseria,**  nor  in  the  Bohemian 
tale  given  by  Waldav,  SUntisekg  BlSiter,  1865, 598,  **  Gevatter  Elead.**  See,  alao^ 
the  Breton  tale  bdow  cited,  and  Ktfhler,  op.  at.,  i.  103,  349. 
>  Champfleury,  p.  164,  after  the  commnaicatioo  of  F.  M.  Liuel. 

*  Champfleury,  p.  175. 

*  The  Devil  is  detained  in  the  fruit-tree  by  the  power  belonging  to  the  sign  of 
die  cross ;  so  in  a  Breton  variant,  he  is  imprisoned  in  the  bos  by  holy  nails,  and  in 
the  tree  by  bars  of  iron  which  have  been  sprinkled  witfl  holy  water.  P.  S^Oot, 
UttMuf  ^0i4  4i  la  HamU-Bntagnit  Paris,  1881,  p.  I75t  **  Mia^re." 


Digitized  by  Google 


6o 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


spirit  either  reaches  beaven,  or  remains  in  an  intennedtate  state ;  in 
the  latter  case  he  either  wanders  as  a  ghost,  or  changes  into  an  i^piis 
fatums. 

The  diffusion  of  folk-tales  is  also  illustrated.  Out  of  a  single  nar- 
ration variants  are  seen  to  arise,  establish  themselves  as  sub-species, 
circulate  without  obstruction  by  barriers  of  race  or  language,  in  fresh 
soil  strilce  independent  root,  and  in  each  region  assume  appropriate 
personal  reference  and  local  color. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  in  all  instances  such  evolutbn 
requires  a  very  long  period  of  time.  As  already  remarked,  there  is 
reason  to  assume  that  the  forms  of  the  story  in  which  the  Devil 
figures  are  modem  rather  than  mediaeval ;  yet  their  recency  has  not 
prevented  the  attainment  of  European  circulation,  and  iii  such  man- 
ner that  anyone  district  is  likely  to  present  several  such  variants. 
The  special  narration  which  makes  the  overcomerof  Satan  turn  into 
a  wandering  fire  may  be  of  English  origin,  yet  has  been  accepted  in 
Wales  and  Ireland. 

Though  the  legend,  in  all  its  varieties,  considered  as  a  particular 
tale,  is  hardly  ancient,  yet  it  belongs  to  a  genus  which  can  be  traced 
into  antiquity  ;  such  genealogical  inquiry  must  be  reserved  for  a  fu* 
ture  occasion.^ 

WUUam  Wells  Nemll. 

*  Since  these  piges  were  in  type,  I  have  learned  from  a  friend  (Dr.  W.  A. 
Farabee  of  Harvard  Unlveialtjr)  that  belief  in  the  ignis  fatuuSy  as  a  superaatnral 
phenomenon,  is  still  widely  spread  among  whites  through  the  United  States.  In 
Pennsylvania  hunters  observed  that  they  were  followed  by  a  light,  which  paused 
when  they  concealed  themselves,  and  retreated  when  pursued;  this  they  took  to 
Ijc  a  Jack-a-lantern  (see  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  ii.  (1889),  35).  In  Dallas 
Coimtjr,  Missourii  where  many  persons  were  occupied  with  dreams  of  buried  trea* 
sure  (coin  liaving  actually  been  concealed  during  the  civil  war),  a  light  said  to  have 
been  observed  for  years  on  m.irshy  though  elevated  ground,  was  taken  to  be  a 
Jack-a-lantern,  which  served  as  the  token  of  such  hidden  wealth ;  when  iaves-  ' 
tigation  proved  unavailing,  the  sign  was  presumed  to  have  another  meaning. 

As  to  the  more  andent  form  of  the  legend  under  discussion,  in  which  D^th  is 
the  adversary  to  be  encountered,  D.  Hyde  (see  p.  55,  note  2>  observes  that  there 
are  Irish  variants,  in  which  Seftghan  Tinnce&r  overcomes  Death  instead  of  tiie 
Devil.    No  doubt  English  versions  of  corresponding  form  formerly  existed. 

For  negro  superstitions  concerning  the  ignis  fatuiu^  see  this  Journal,  i.  (1888^ 
139. 


Digitized  by  Google 


• 

Record  of  Ameruan  Folh^Lon*  6l 


&£CORD  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkian.  Ojibwa  and  Cr€€,  Rev.  Egerton  R.  Young's  "  A Igon- 
qmn  Indian  Tales"  (London,  1903,  pp.  258)  presents  "  these  myths 
and  legends  in  connection  with  the  chatter  and  remarks  of  our  little 
ones,"  —  the  story-teller  is  Souwanas,  a  pagan  Saulteaux,  —  and  the 
author  has  endeavored  to  make  it  "a  book  for  all  classes."  What 
has  seemed  to  him  "the  most  natural  version  and  most  in  harmony 
with  the  instincts  and  characteristics  of  the  pure  Indian  "  has  been 
selected  for  record,  with  the  softening  of  some  expressions  and  the 
elimination  of  some  details  that  were  non-essential.  The  work  of 
gathering  these  legends  has  extended  through  some  thirty  years  of 
missionary  labors,  and  in  "  the  admirable  Reports  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  "  Mr.  Young  has  "  obtained  verification  of  and  fuller  in- 
formation concerning  many  an  almost  forgotten  legend.  The  In- 
dian hero  about  whom  the  legends  centre  is  the  familiar  Manabush 
or  Nanibozhu  (here  Nanahboozhoo).  Among  the  things  accounted 
for  in  the  stories  are :  Why  the  bark  of  the  birch-tree  is  scarred  (it 
was  whipped  by  N.),  why  the  raccoon  has  rings  on  his  tail  (con- 
demned by  N.  to  have  as  many  circles  on  his  tail  as  he  had  stolen 
pieces  of  meat  out  of  the  rogan  of  the  blind  men),  origin  of  mosqui- 
toes (made  by  Wakonda  from  the  dirt  on  the  garments  of  an  Indian 
whose  wife  was  too  lazy  to  keep  them  clean),  how  bees  got  their 
stings  (given  them  by  Wakonda  to  protect  their  honey),  origin  of  the 
aspen  (its  leaves  are  the  tongue  of  a  chattering  selfish  girl)  and  of 
the  dove  (a  beautiful  maiden),  origin  of  the  swallows  (naughty  chil- 
dren at  play  metamorphosed  by  Wakonda),  why  the  kingfisher  has  a 
white  collar  (N.  tried  to  strangle  him  while  pretending  to  give  him 
a  beautiful  necklace  to  wear),  origin  of  fire  (N.  stole  it  from  the  old 
magician  and  his  two  daughters,  and  gave  it  to  the  Indians),  how  the 
coyote  obtained  fire  from  the  interior  of  the  earth,  origin  of  maple- 
sugar  (taught  by  N.  to  the  Indians),  origin  of  diseases  (animals,  birds, 
and  insects  invented  them  to  punish  man  for  his  cruelty,  —  hence 
malarial  and  fever-giving  waters,  poisonous  mosquito  bites,  etc.),  dis- 
covery of  medicine  (the  chipmunk,  whose  stripes  tell  of  the  ven- 
geance of  hb  fellow-animals,  stirred  up  the  trees  and  plants  to  furnish 
remedies),  origin  of  *'  Whiskey-jack,"  the  blue  jay  (lost  maiden,  with 
a  bad  cold,  calling  for  her  lover),  how  the  wolverine's  legs  were  short- 
ened (in  punishment  for  conceit),  how  the  twin  children  of  the  sun 
rid  the  earth  of  great  monsters,  why  roses  have  thorns  (N.  gave  them 
80  the  animals  might  not  eat  up  all  the  rosebushes),  why  rabbits  are 
white  in  winter  (so  they  could  escape  the  sight  of  their  enemies,  when 


Digitized  by  Google 


62  ydumal  of  Anurican  Folk-Lore, 

the  ground  was  all  covered  with  snow,  and  vegetation  gone),  why 
ducks  have  red  eyes,  why  the  martin  has  the  white  spot  on  his  throat 
(scalded  by  a  jealous  husband,  who  found  him  with  his  wife),  why 
the  loon  has  a  fiat  back,  red  eyes,  and  queer  feet  (N.  stamped  on 
him),  origin  of  lichens  (blisters  off  N.'s  burned  back),  origin  of  red 
willows  (stained  by  the  blood  from  N.'s  back),  why  the  buzzard  has 
no  feathers  on  his  head  or  neck  (lost  them  while  pulling  his  head 
out  of  N.'s  trap),  how  the  rattlesnake  got  its  rattle  (N.  fastened  some 
wampum  to  its  tail),  origin  of  tobacco  (N.  stole  it  from  a  giant),  ori- 
gin of  the  haze  of  Indian  summer  (the  smoke  of  N.'s  big  pipe  of 
peace).  The  flood  legend  with  the  diving-animals,  and  increasing 
island  episodes,  is  given,  together  with  N.'s  encounter  with  the 
monster.  The  occurrence  of  Wenona  as  the  name  of  N.'s  mother 
and  of  Minnehaha  as  that  of  his  bride,  together  with  the  appearance 
in  several  of  the  stories  of  Wakonda  and  his  son,  Wakontas,  cause 
one  to  believe  that  the  author  has  mixed  somewhat  Siouan  and 
Algonkian  data.  —  Arapaho,  A  most  noteworthy  contributioii  to 
the  literature  of  Algonkian  mythology  and  folk-lore  is  Dr.  Geoiige  A. 
Dorsey's  '*  The  Arapaho  Sun  Dance ;  the  Ceremony  of  the  Ofler- 
ings  Lodge"  (Chicago,  June,  1903.  Pp.  xii.  228.  Plates  l-i 37), 
which  forms  Publication  75  (Anthropological  Series,  vol  iv.)  of  the 
Field  Columbian  Museum.  Well-printed  and  remarkably  well  illus- 
trated, this  memoir  is  creditable  alike  to  the  author  and  to  the  insti- 
tution he  represents.  This  detailed  account  of  the  *'Sun  Dance" 
among  an  outlying  tribe  of  the  Algonkian  stock  adds  much  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  subject  in  general  and  in  particular.  The  *'  Sun 
Dance"  is  probably  the  most  famous  but  the  least  understood  of 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Plains  Indians.  Even  the  Indian  agents  enter- 
tain a  large  amount  of  misconception  concerning  the  ceremony  and 
harbor  a  feeling  of  hostility  towards  it  Dr.  Dorsey's  account  is 
based  on  data  obtained  during  the  "Sun  Dance  "  of  1901,  with  the 
incorporation  of  additional  informatbn  gathered  in  the  course  of  the 
performance  of  1902,  which  seems  to  have  been  more  spirited  than 
that  of  the  previous  year.  He  was  permitted  to  observe  "  the  secret 
as  well  as  the  public  rites,"  and  was  shown  every  attention  by  the 
participants.  Thus  we  have  a  sympathetic  and  accurate  description 
of  a  very  important  ceremony  of  primitive  life.  The  "  Sun  Dance  " 
is  performed  in  compliance  with  a  vow,  generally  made  durir  the 
winter  for  sickness,  lunacy,  dreams,  etc  The  topics  considered 
are :  The  vow,  interval  between  vow  and  ceremony,  the  sacred  wheel, 
time  of  the  ceremony,  assemblage  and  formation  of  the  camp-circle, 
participants  in  the  ceremony  (full  list),  characterization  of  the  eight 
ceremonial  days,  the  ceremony  (first  day  igoi  and  1902  ;  second  day 
1901,  second  and  third  days  1902 ;  third  day  1901 ;  fourth  day  1901, 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  Ameriam  Folk-Lore. 


fifth  day  1902;  fifth  day  1901,  sixth  day  1902;  sixth  day  ick)I, 
seventh  day  1902  ;  seventh  day  1901,  eighth  day  1902^  the  rabbit- 
tipi  ;  the  sweat-lodge;  the  altar),  the  painting  of  the  dancers;  the 
relation  of  the  transferrer  to  the  lodge-maker's  wife,  offerings-lodge 
songs,  torture,  children's  games  during  the  "Sun  Dance"  ceremony, 
**Sun  Dance  Myths"  (origin  myth,  little  star).  Of  the  ceremony 
itself  we  learn  (p.  10)  :  "  It  may  not  be  considered  a  healing  cere- 
mony ;  nor  is  sickness  believed  to  be  cured  by  the  performance  of 
the  ceremony  as  is  the  case  with  the  more  extended  Navaho  cere- 
monies.*' Dr.  Dorsey's  Arapaho  informant  was  positive  that  there 
were  no  special  rules  governing  the  movements  of  the  one  who  bad 
made  a  vow  between  making  and  performance,  but  the  author  thinlcs 
it  possible  sudi  may  have  formerly  existed.  Next  to  the  flat  pipe 
(the  great  tribal  '*  medicine  "),  the  sacred  ,wbeel  is  the  most  precious 
possession  of  the  Arapaho,  and  to  it  tribal  lore  assigns  miraculous 
movements.  There  is,  apparently,  no  set  time  for  the  **  Sun  Danc^" 
but  it  usually  occurs  in  the  spring  after  the  grass  and  sage  are  full 
grown.  One  of  the  priests,  however,  volunteered  the  information  in 
1903  that  **  the  proper  time  <A  the  beginning  of  the  ceremony  was 
from  seven  to  ten  days  after  new  moon  and  hence  an  equal  number  of 
days  after  the  menstrual  period  "  —  the  Rabbit-tipi  priests  set  this 
time  because  "  the  menses  are  unclean  and  a  source  of  bodily  injury 
to  the  people,  and  the  '  Sun-Dance '  lodge  and  the  Rabbit-tipi  must 
be  kept  clean  from  all  impurities."  A  very  interesting  part  of  the 
ceremonies  is  the  numerous  prayers,  which  are  very  dignified  and 
on  a  higher  plan  than  one  would  at  first  suspect.  The  conduct  of 
the  various  secret  societies  is  another  important  topic,  likewise  tbe 
r61e  of  men  and  women,  and  the  animalistic  elements  in  the  various 
ceremonies.  The  painting  of  the  dancers  by  the  grandfathers  is 
illustrated  in  detail  in  the  plates  accompanying  the  text.  Of  the 
offerings-lodge  songs  "  the  majority  are  almost  meaningless,  or  are 
intended  to  divert  or  distract  the  attention  of  the  dancers,  and  are 
of  a  joking  nature."  Some  of  them  "  contain  words  calling  on  the 
spirits  or  gods,  but  most  of  them  are  made  up  by  tbe  singers."  It 
appears  that  formerly  "there  were  a  great  many  songs  with  serious 
words,  but  gradually  they  have  been  forgotten."  Torture  in  connec- 
tion with  the  offerings-lodge  is  no  longer  practiced,  not  because  of 
the  opposition  of  the  Indian  Department,  which  forbade  it  by  decree, 
as  from  "the  fact  that  [escaping  danger  in  war]  the  reason  for  it  no 
longer  exists."  Ear-piercing  of  children  is  still  practised  ceremoni- 
ally. The  presence  of  the  entire  tribe  in  one  camp  during  the  "Sun 
Dance  "  gives  the  children  from  seven  to  fourteen  years  of  age  a 
chance  to  indulge  in  their  own  games,  which  take  place  at  full  moon. 
Among  those  observed  were :  Game  of  bufiaio  meat,  game  of  choos- 


Digitized  by  Google 


64 


yaumal  ^>f  American  Foik^Lore, 


ing  grandfathers,  bathing-games,  etc.  In  the  bathing-games  there 
appears  to  \yc  sometimes  a  sex  atmosphere.  The  practice  (known 
also  to  white  children)  of  keeping  out  of  the  water  in  swimming  a 
foot  on  which  some  clay  has  been  plastered,  is  here  stated  to  be  *•  to 
save  their  grandchildren,"  —  foot  is  grandparent,  and  clay  is  child. 
The  origin  myth  (pp.  191-212)  contains  the  story  of  the  deluge  and 
the  reoonstitution  of  the  earth.  The  man  with  the  flat  pipe  calls  on 
the  birds  and  animals  to  assist  him  in  recovering  the  land.  Two 
water-fowl  dived,  but  came  up  exhausted,  then  dived  again  unsuccess- 
fully. Then  the  black  snake,  the  duck,  the  goose,  and  the  crane 
tried,  but  failed.  At  last  the  turtle  and  the  red-headed  duck  brought 
up  clay  clinging  to  their  feet  From  this  the  earth  was  made^  which 
was  afterwards  filled  with  necessary  animals,  plants,  etc.  Most  of 
the  myth  is  characteristically  Algonkian,  and  belongs  with  the  Nani- 
boju  cycle  of  deluge  and  creation  legends.  For  the  student  of  com- 
parative Algonkian  folk-lore  Dr.  Dorsey's  monograph  is  filled  with 
excellent  data. — Skagktieoke,  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Ameri- 
can Philosophical  Society  "  (vol  xlil  1903,  pp.  346-352)  Professor 
J.  Dyneley  Prince  and  Mr.  Frank  G.  Speck  publish  a  brief  paper  on 
**  Dying  American  Speech-Echoes  from  Connecticut."  •  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1903  Mr.  Speck  obtained  from  James  Harris  (claiming  to  be 
a  full-blood),  one  of  the  few  surviving  Skaghticoke  Indians  of  Litch- 
field County,  Connecticut,  23  words  and  three  connected  sentences, 
the  analysis  of  which  by  the  senior  author  forms  the  chief  part  of 
this  paper.  This  is  "probably  the  last  surviving  remnant  of  the 
Delaware-Mohican  idiom  formerly  used  at  Stockbridge,  Mass. ,  which 
was  expounded  by  J.  Edwards,  Jr.,  and  J.  Sergeant,"  —  the  Skaghti- 
coke language  being  "  distinctly  not  a  New  England  product,  but 
coming  from  the  Hudson  River  region  with  that  branch  of  the  Lenni 
LenApe  called  Mohicans  who  settled  at  quite  an  early  date  on  the 
site  of  Stockbridge,  Mass."  Professor  Prince  remarks  that  "it  is 
curious  and  characteristic  of  human  nature  that  a  number  of  obscene 
words  and  phrases  have  survived  with  some  accuracy  in  the  mouth 
of  Harris,  Mr.  Speck's  informant"  In  the  Skaghticoke  dialect  the 
letter  r  seems  to  have  existed. 

ATHArASCAN.  AfacJics.  In  "Sunset"  (vol.  xi.  pp.  146-153)  for 
June,  1903,  Georp^c  Wharton  James  has  a  well-illustrated  article  on 
the  "  Palomas  Apaches  and  their  hJaskcts."  The  exodus  of  most  of 
the  Indinns  on  account  of  a  recent  suicide  is  noted.  The  Apache 
coiled  weave  differs  from  the  Pima  in  bein^  "  ribbed."  The  Apaches 
are  very  much  averse  to  having  their  pictures  taken.  The  Palomas, 
or  so-called  "  Yuma  "  Apaches,  surpass  the  other  Apache  bands  in 
the  fineness,  beauty,  and  quality  of  workmanship  of  their  baskets. 

Caddoan.    Pawnee,    In  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (n.  8b 


Digitized  by  Googl 


Rieord  of  American  FoUs'Lore^  65 

vol.  V.  pp.  644-658)  Dr.  Geo.  A.  Dorsey  writes  on  "  How  the  Pawnee 
captured  the  Cheyenne  Medicine  Arrows."  The  event  took  place 
some  sixty  years  ago,  and  is  still  remembered  by  the  Pawnee,  and 
the  author  presents  two  versions  of  the  story  of  the  fight  as  recorded 
from  old  Skidi  informants,  and,  "  while  there  is  considerable  differ- 
ence in  the  amount  of  detail  given,  they  differ  only  in  one  important 
particular,  viz.,  the  number  of  arrows  (two  or  three)  which  were 
placed  upon  the  'Morning-Star  bundle.'  "  These  tales  give  us  "in- 
sight into  certain  fundameiUai  traits  of  cliaracter,  typical  of  the  two 
tribes  involved." 

Ikoql'OIAN.  W.  W.  Canfield's  "The  Legends  of  the  Iroquois, 
Told  by  'The  Cornplanter  '  "  (N.  Y.,  1902,  pp.  211),  treats  of  the  fol- 
lowing topics  :  The  confederation  of  the  Iroquois,  the  birth  of  the 
arbutus,  a  legend  of  the  river,  legends  of  the  corni  the  first  winter, 
the  great  mosquito,  the  story  gf  Oniata,  the  minor  In  the  water,  the 
buzzard's  covering,  origin  of  the  violet,  the  turtle  dan,  the  healing 
waters,  the  sacrifice  of  Aliquipiso,  why  the  animals  do  not  talk,  the 
message  bearers,  the  wise  sachem's  gift,  the  flying  head,  the  ash-tree^ 
the  hunter,  Hiawatha,  the  peacemaker,  an  unwelcome  visitor,  bits 
of  folk4ore,  the  happy  hunting  grounds,  the  sacred  stones  of  the 
Oneidas.  Pages  197-3 11  are  occupied  by  notes  to  the  legends. 
The  principal  source  of  the  material  in  this  book  is  stated  to  be 
"Cornplanter,"  the  Seneca  chief  (i 732-1836),  a  half-breed,  who  im- 
parted the  knowledge  of  them  to  his  friend  among  the  whites,  a  civil 
engineer  and  surveyor,  whose  diaries  and  field-books  containing  the 
outline  legends  came  finally  into  the  possession  of  the  author.  They 
have  been  further  verified  "by  means  of  inquiries  made  of  some  of 
the  most  intelligent  Indians  in  New  York.  Mr.  Canfield  does  not 
hesitate  to  say  (p.  10) :  "The  traditions  of  the  Iroquois  herein  con- 
tained are  known  positively  to  be  200  years  old,  and  are  confidently 
believed  to  be  the  stories  told  by  the  red  men  thousands  of  years 
ago.*'  Through  his  own  studies  and  the  sources  indicated  Mr.  Can- 
field  believes  that  "  he  has  succeeded  in  bringing  these  legends  to  a 
point  approximating  their  original  beauty."  In  the  elaboration  of 
them  "care  has  been  taken  not  to  depart  from  the  simplicity  and 
directness  of  statement  characteristic  of  the  Indian,  and  only  such 
additions  that  seemed  to  be  warranted  have  been  made."  The  leg- 
ends themselves  are  very  interesting,  but  their  use  for  comparative 
purposes  is  limited  by  the  method  of  their  compilation.  The  stories 
of  the  origin  of  the  arbutus,  —  it  grows  only  where  stepped  the 
flower-maiden  who  overcame  the  manito  of  winter  ;  of  the  origin  of 
the  corn-plant,  —  a  sleep-walking  maiden  clasped  in  the  hands  of  her 
lover ;  how  Oniata  kissed  the  wild-flowers  and  the  tree-blossoms, 
giving  them  the  fragrance  of  her  breath ;  the  origin  of  the  violet 

VOL.  XVII.  ^  NO.  64.  5 


Digitized  by  Google 


66 


journal  of  American  Folk^Lore, 


beads  entangled  ")  from  a  maiden  and  her  lover  killed  together  by  bis 
enemies ;  the  origin  of  woodbine  and  honf^suckle  (from  the  hair  and 
body  of  AUquipisob  the  brave  maiden  of  the  Oneidas),  are  noticeably 
imaginative  and  romantic.  The  appearance  of  the  horse  on  a  par 
with  the  other  beasts  in  the  story  of  **  why  the  animals  do  not  talk  " 
is  suggestive.  The  story  of  the  hunter  is  a  version  of  the  same  leg- 
end as  Dr.  Beauchamp's  **  The  Good  Hunter  and  the  Iroquois  Medi- 
cine "  (J.  Amer.  Folk-Lore^  voL  ziv.  pp.  153-159).  Mr.  Canfield  be- 
lieves that  the  Iroquois  Confederation  was  formed  on  June  28, 145 1, 
in  Central  New  York.  In  connection  with  the  sacrifice-stories  about 
the  Genesee  and  Niagara  Falls,  we  are  informed  that  "  the  Iroquoian 
tribes  did  not  practice  customs  whidi  called  for  the  sacrifice  of  human 
life»  unless  the  sacrifice  was  self-imposed  "  (p.  201).  The  interesting 
institution  of  the  peace-making  queen  with  the  '*city  of  refuge" 
forms  the  subject  of  one  legend,  —  six  hundred  years  are  said  to 
have  passed  before  the  office,  vacant  through  the  doping  of  Queen 
Genetaska  with  a  young  Oneida,  was  again  filled  in  1878.  The  leg- 
end of  "the  unwelcome  visitor," according  to  the  author,  "was  as 
common  among  the  Indians  as  are  the  parables  of  the  Prodigal  Son 
or  the  Good  Samaritan  among  Christians,"  and  had  the  same  end  in 
view.    In  the  Iroquois  story  the  hospitable  human  is  a  woman. 

KoLOSCHAN.  Tlingit,  Lieut.  G.  T.  Emmons's  "  The  Basketry 
of  the  Tlingit"  (Mem.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist,  vol  iii  pt.  ii.  pp.  229- 
277,  N.  Y.,  July,  1903),  which  is  illustrated  with  14  plates  and  72 
figures,  preserves  the  excellence  of  form  and  matter  of  the  model 
series  in  which  it  appears.  The  interest  of  the  folk-lorist  lies  in  the 
ornamentation,  designs,  symbolic  figures,  etc.,  of  the  basketry  and 
the  lore  connected  therewith.  Influence  of  the  interior  tribes 
(Athapascan)  is  to  be  traced  in  Tlingit  ornamentation,  —  also  indica- 
tions that  some  of  the  Tlingit  families  originated  in  the  inteFior  and 
followed  the  waterways  to  the  coast.  The  first  place  in  their  dec- 
orative motives  is  occupied  by  animals  and  natural  objects,  after 
which  come  articles  of  dress  and  ornamentation,  implements,  etc. 
The  Greek  fret,  known  in  Tlingit  as  khii  roon  kus-sarya-yeey  "  the 
fancy  border  of  the  blanket,"  has  been  "  borrowed  without  change  from 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  ornamental  blanket  made  especially 
for  native  trade."  The  cross,  called  naste  (or  konnaste^*^Q\ix\^\" }) 
has  been  borrowed  from  the  Russian  Greek  Church.  Among  the 
motives  and  patterns  may  be  mentioned :  The  mouth-track  of  the 
wood-worm,  the  intestine  of  the  song-sparrow,  the  lightning,  the  but- 
terfly, the  trail  of  the  land-otter,  the  footprint  of  the  brown  bear,  the 
tooth  of  the  shark,  the  tail  of  the  snow-tail  (Arctic  tern),  the  feather- 
wings  of  the  arrow,  the  leaves  of  the  fire-weed,  the  rainbow,  the 
backbone,  the  hsh-flake,  "the  echo  of  the  spirit-voice  of  the  tree 


Digitized  by  Google 


Ricord  of  American  Folk-Lan. 


reflected  in  shadow  "  (water-reflection),  the  teeth  of  the  killer-whale, 
the  hood  of  the  raven,  the  garter,  the  wild  celery  {Heracleum  lanatum) 
cut  up  in  lengths  for  chewing,  the  stick  fish-weir,  fish-dryinj^  frame, 
footprint  embroidery,  the  strawberry  basket,  the  scj!Iop-sheIl,  the 
stickleback  spawn,  the  half  of  the  head  of  the  sal moa- berry,  labret, 
the  halibut-tail,  the  tadpole,  the  lozenge  (or  "  eye  "),  the  raven-tail, 
the  club  or  war-pick,  the  half-cross,  the  eena  (root-stick),  the  back- 
oft  he-hand  tattoo,  the  shaman's  hat,  the  wave,  the  ceremonial  hat, 
tying  or  winding,  the  flying  goose,  the  goose>track»  the  young  fern-  ■ 
frond,  the  porpotse-flesh  (when  cut),  "one  within  another,"  the 
treecrotch, the  grave-house.  The  "checkerboard  pattern"  is  due 
to  the  introduction  ol  that  game  by  the  whites.  A  combination  of 
the  "head  of  salmon-berry "  and  "cross"  patterns,  the  author  in- 
forms us^ "  is  liardly  more  than  six  or  eight  years  old,  but  it  has 
found  much  favor  among  the  Hoonah  and  Sitka  because  it  has  sold 
readily."  Lieut  Emmons  considers  remarkable  the  occurrence  of 
angular  lines  and  the  absence  of  a  totemic  significance  of  these  forms. 
Mason  (Amer.  Anthrop.,  n.  s.  voL  v.  1903,  p.  701),  however,  suggests 
that  "the  lore  of  the  Tlingit  is  hiding  in  the  decoration." 

Saushan.  TeiTofrnk  and  KwdnUEn.  Mr.  Charles  Hill-Tout's 
account  of  these  tribes,  which  appears  as  "  Ethnological  Studies  of 
the  Mainland  Halkdmehun,  a  Division  of  the  Salish  of  British  Colum- 
bia "  (Repu  Brit.  Assoc.,  1902,  pp.  355-449^  reprint,  pp.  3-9/)*  con* 
tains  much  ol  folk-lore  interest^  besides  linguistic  details.  Tribal 
and  social  organization,  dwellings,  dress,  shamanism  and  spiritism, 
birth,  puberty  and  burial  customs,  origin  legends,  etc,  for  the  Tdl'- 
Qe'uk  ;  shamanism,  salmon  and  totem  myths,  and  mortuary  customs 
of  the  Pildtlq  of  the  lower  Chilliwack  River  ;  tribal  and  social  organ- 
ization, dances,  naming-ceremonies,  etc.,  of  the  KwdntlEn,  are  dis- 
cussed. The  Tcil'Qe'uk  maintain  that  they  "  have  always  dwelt  there 
[present  habitat],  looking  at  the  same  sky  and  the  same  mountains." 
They  are  "  more  communistic  "  than  the  other  tribes  studied  by  the 
author,  and  some  peculiarities  of  their  social  organization  and  their 
customs  "may  possibly  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the Tcil'ge'ukare not 
true  members  of  the  HalkomelEm  division,  though  they  now  speak 
its  tongue."  The  "  director  rather  than  ruler'*  of  the  Tcil'Qe'uk,  who 
in  the  old  days  "led  and  directed  the  prayers  of  the  community,  and 
conducted  all  their  religious  observances,"  to-day  "leads  them  in 
their  resp<^3nses,  and  conducts  the  service  in  their  churches  when 
their  white  mini<;ter  on  instructor  is  absent."  The  office  of  chief 
was  "more  sacerdotal  than  imperial."  The  communism  of  this  In- 
dian people,  the  author  thinks,  grew  out  of  the  "  communal  *  long- 
house,'  "  first  adopted  for  mutual  protection  and  defence,"  and  after- 
wards "  profoundly  affecting  social  life  and  customs. ' '  In  the  suliaum 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


68 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


of  these  Salishan  tribes  Mr.  Hill-Tout  finds  "the  connecting  link 
between  pure  fetishism  and  totemism,  as  it  is  found  among  our 
northern  Indians."  Among  the  Tcil'Qcuk,  "the  great  transformer 
and  wonder- monger  is  called  QEQals," — apparently  the  collective 
form  of  the  commoner  "  Qals  of  the  other  tribes."  They  "  seem  to 
possess  but  few  folk-tales,  or  else  they  have  forgotten  them."  The 
semvils,  or  sorcerers,  of  the  Pilitlq  are  said  to  have  "  a  mystic  lan- 
guage of  their  own."  Concerning  one  animal  fignrmg  in  the  folk- 
lore of  these  trihes  we  are  told  "after  the  manner  of  Indian  myths 
the  mouse  here  appears  from  nowhere,  and,  after  its  task  is  com- 
pleted, disappears  in  like  manner."  Of  the  KwintlEn,  the  author 
observes  (p.  53) :  "Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  present  Kwintlsn  have 
been  bom  since  the  settlement  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  post  in  theur 
midst,  and  their  early  contact  with  the  white  men  connected  mth 
this,  and  their  long  training  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Oblate  Mission 
have  much  modified  and  changed  their  habits  and  lives."  Else- 
where (p.  18)  he  notes  the  effect  of  this  contact  on  speech :  "  The 
spread  and  use  of  English  among  the  Indians  is  very  seriously  affect- 
ing the  purity  of  the  native  speech."  The  Kwdntlen  appear  not  to 
possess  "  anything  like  a  developed  totemic  system."  They  had  reli- 
gious, social,  totemic  (siilia)  and  shamanistic  dances,  divided  into  two 
classes,  '*  dream  dances  "  and  **  common  dances."  The  '*  fire  dance  " 
should  interest  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research.  It  is  worth 
noting  that  the  KwintlBn  call  stories  they  believe  to  be  true  styis,  and 
fables  and  myths  soqwidm.  —  Mr.  Harlan  I.  Smith's  "  Shell  Heaps  of 
the  Lower  Fraser  River  "  (Mem.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  vol.  iv. 
pt.  iv.  March,  1903,  pp.  1 33-190,  figs.  10-60,  pi.  vi.-vii.)  is  a  valuable 
archaeological  monograph,  well  up  to  the  standard  of  the  author's 
previous  studies,  and  contains  not  a  little  in  relation  to  burial  cus« 
toms,  utensils,  ornament,  etc,  of  interest  to  the  folk-lorist  Some 
of  the  bone  objects  discovered  have  geometrical  designs,  —  *'  the 
technique  of  decoration  consists  entirely  of  etching  in  bone  and 
sculpture  and  etching  in  antler  and  bone."  As  is  indicated  by  the 
presence  of  red  ochre,  white  earth,  charcoal,  etc.,  painting  was  also 
in  vogue.  The  art  of  this  region  "differs  from  that  of  the  North 
Pacific  coast  in  the  extensive  application  of  geometric  designs." 
Many  bone  or  antler  objects  are  decorated  with  more  or  less  realistic 
animal  figures,  —  the  art  here  is  cruder  than  on  the  coast,  and  resem- 
bles somewhat  that  of  the  present  Indians  of  Lillooet,  and,  perhaps 
also,  generally,  that  of  the  region  between  Lower  Fraser  River  and 
Upper  Columbia  River.  In  a  general  way  the  finds  seem  to  show 
that  "  the  prehistoric  peoples  whose  remains  are  found  in  these  shell- 
heaps  had  a  culture  resembling  in  most  of  its  features  that  of  the 
present  natives  of  the  Fraser  Delta."    The  people  o£  the  past  and 


Digitized  by  Googli 


Record  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


those  of  the  present  had  some  differences  in  physical  type.  The 
author  considers  very  striking  "the  coincidence  of  the  similarity  of 
culture  of  the  prehistoric  people  of  the  Fraaer  Delta  and  of  Saanich 
with  the  distribution  of  languages  at  the  present  time."  An  early 
migration  from  the  interior  to  the  coast  and  Vancouver  Island, 
"carrying  with  it  the  art  of  stone^hipping,  pipe^  and  decorative 
artt"  is  probable. 

SiouAN.  Crow,  As  Field  Columbian  Museum  Publication  85 
(vol.  ii.  No.  6,  pp.  277-324,  Chicago,  October,  1903)  appears  Mr.  S. 
C.  Simms's  "Traditions  of  the  Crows,"  embodying  material  obtained 
from  the  second  oldest  man  of  the  tribe  [Montana  Absahrokce  or 
Crow  Indians]  through  a  most  competent  interpreter  during  the 
summer  of  1902.  The  author  gives  the  English  versions  of  an  origin 
myth  ;  i  5  coyote  tales  ;  the  creator,  the  porcupine,  and  the  climbing 
woman  ;  bones-together,  red-woman,  and  the  deeds  of  two  boys  ;  the 
stump-horn  and  the  bladder ;  the  beautiful  daughter  of  a  chief,  her 
wicked  husband,  and  the  seven  brothers  ;  the  selfish  chief  and  the 
two  boys  ;  the  young  men  and  the  turtle  ;  dwarfs  on  the  ledge  ; 
the  place  where  the  buffalo  go  over  by  the  will  of  the  sun  ;  baby- 
tracks.  Pages  317-324  are  occupied  by  useful  abstracts  of  the  tales. 
The  "creator  "  is  called  "  Old-Man,"  —  he  made  the  first  Crow  man 
and  woman  by  blowing  dirt  out  of  his  hand,  and  from  the  same  sub- 
stance furnished  different  animals  and  fruits  for  food;  he  also  in- 
structed them  in  primitive  arts  and  industries.  The  coyote  stole 
summer  from  the  woman  with  a  strong  heart,  deceived  the  strawberry- 
pickers,  buried  and  cooked  the  bears,  made  the  buffalo  in  a  race  fall 
over  a  steep  cliff  and  get  killed,  deceived  and  killed  the  animals 
dancing  around  him,  deceived  the  buffaloes  and  made  them  gore  each 
other,  stole  (but  not  to  great  advantage)  the  red-bird  and  red-fox 
from  the  boy  adopted  by  the  buffalo,  and  performed  other  feats,  some 
wise  and  some  not  so  wise.  In  the  first  coyote  myth  we  are  told 
(p.  282) :  "  The  Maker  of  all  things  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  Coyote, 
all  powerful,  and  at  certain  times  he  got  into  predicaments  that  a  child 
could  have  got  out  of,  so  silly  and  weak  was  old  Coyote  at  times." 
The  Crow  coyote  tales  belong  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  coyote-cycle, 
and  some  of  them  strikingly  resemble  the  Kootenay  legends  about  the 
same  animal.  The  "  Origin  Myth  "  has  perhaps  Blackfoot  analogies, 
-  as  have  also  some  of  the  other  tales.  The  legend  as  to  dwarfs  Is 
interesting.  Concerning  the  haby-tracks  about  the  spring  on  Pryor 
Creek,  we  learn  (p.  316) :  "It  was  the  custom  many  years  ago  (and 
to  a  limited  extent  now)  for  married  women  who  were  barren,  and 
wished  to  become  mothers,  to  go  to  this  spring  and  take  with  them 
a  pair  of  baby  moccasins  and  pray  that  they  might  be  blessed  with 
a  chfld."  Mr.  Simms's  paper  is  a  welcome  addition  to  the  literature 
of  Sioiian  folk-lore. 


,  L/iyiiized  by  Google 


70 


yitmtnai  of  Ameriean  Folk-Lare. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Mayan.  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist  "  (n.  s.  vol.  v.  pp.  667- 
678)  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall  publishes  "  A  Suggestion  to  Maya  Scholars." 
After  pointing  out  that,  "although  Maya  scholars  have  bestowed 
much  study  upon  the  numerals  contained  in  Maya  inscriptions,  no 
one,  to  my  knowledge,  has  yet  devoted  attention  to,  or  even  taken 
into  consideration,  the  existence  of  the  seventy-five  affixes  above  re- 
ferred to  [a  list  is  given  on  pp.  670-678],  although  they  were  and 
are  habitually  used,  in  connection  with  numerals,  by  Maya  people,'* 
the  author  urges  the  study  of  these  numeral  affixes  in  connection 
with  the  recorded  numbers.  When  recording  these  affixes  in  their 
inscriptions,  the  Mayas  "would  have  chosen  some  object,  easily 
painted  or  carved,  the  sound  of  the  name  of  which  exactly  or  closely 
resembled  that  of  the  affiixes,"  —  Mrs.  Nuttall  cites  examples.  The 
list  of  numeral  affixes  is  in  itself  very  interesting,  representing,  as  it 
does,  one  of  the  maxima  in  American  Indian  class-numeral  systems. 
—  Dr.  E.  Forstemann,  in  his  discussion  of  "Die  Nephritplatte  zu 
Leiden,"  in  the  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologic "  (vol.  xxxv.  1903,  pp. 
533-557),  concludes  that  the  Mayan  inscription  on  the  nephrite  plate 
now  in  the  Museum  at  Leiden  has  some  connection  with  the  first 
celehration  o£  the  five  days'  festival,  the  first  descent  of  Knkulkan 
from  heaven,  etc  —  Part  second  of  Teohert  Maler's  "  Researches  in 
the  Central  Portion  of  the  Usumatsintla  Valley  "  (Cambridge,  1903, 
pp.  iv.  215,  figs.  27-68,  pi  xzxiv.-lxzx.),  forming  vol.  il  Na  2  of  the 
**  Memoirs  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and 
Ethnology,  Harvard  University,"  keeps  up  the  standard  of  these  ex- 
cellent publications  for  which  all  students  of  Central  American 
archaeology  and  palaeography  are  duly  grateful  The  subjects  treated 
are :  El  Cayo, — a  lintel  from  the  temple-palace  afforded  the  largest 
number  of  hieroglyphs  of  any  of  the  Usumatsintlan  inscribed  monu- 
ments yet  discovered ;  Budsilh^ — on  a  rock  near  by  the  ruins  of  a 
comi|&unity-house  was  found  a  small  jadeite  figure  resembling  that 
of  the  god  of  the  chief  temple  of  San  Lorenzo  on  the  lower  Lacan- 
tun ;  La  Mar,  —  ruins  of  a  small  city  (one  of  the  stelae^  the  figures 
of  which  are  colored  bright  red,  "  belongs  to  the  most  perfect  crea- 
tions of  the  Maya  sculptor's  art ") ;  EI  Chile,  with  ruins  of  a  double 
temple,  etc;  Anait^  II.,  with  its  large  monumental  terrace;  El 
Chicozapote,  ^  **  The  temple  of  the  four  lintels  sculptured  on  the 
underside  "  is  very  important  because  "  the  difference  between  the 
workmanship  of  one  epoch  and  that  of  a  more  recent  period  can  be 
clearly  recognized  on  its  bas-reliefs"  (here  the  art  of  the  Maya  sculp- 
tor **  lacks  but  little  of  ranking  with  the  high  art  of  the  present 
day*');  Yaxchilan  (to  this  are  devoted  pp.  104-197),  which  mty 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk^Lore. 


11 


have  been,  though  Dr.  Maler  now  appears  to  favor  the  identification 
of  the  latter  with  Canizan  below  Tenosique,  the  Izancanac,  where 
Cortez  croAsed  the  Usumatsintla.  Yaxchilan  is  rather  the  ruined 
city  discovered  by  Alzayaga's  men  in  1696.  Yaxchilan  exemplifies 
the  fact  that  the  ancient  Maya  cities  "  were,  as  a  general  thing,  not 
cities  of  streets,  but  cities  of  terraces"  At  Yaxchilan  there  were  a 
curved  embankment,  terrace-buildings,  a  chain  of  temples,  a  chain  of 
other  structures,  a  great  and  lesser  acropolis.  Of  the  sculptures  of 
Yaxchilan  the  author  remarks  (p.  163) :  "  It  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that,  in  fineness  of  execution  and  general  artistic  value,  they  can 
be  compared  with  the  best  that  Assyria  and  Egypt  have  produced." 
Yaxchilan  seems  to  be  very  important  for  the  study  of  Maya  reli- 
gious art  and  symbolism.  What  Dr.  Maler  calls  a  figure  of  Ket- 
salkoatl, — the  Indians  still  make  their  offerings  to  it,  with  remark- 
able rites,  unknown  to  the  whites  altogether, — shows  "a  Turanian 
type,"  and  is  "strongly  suggestive  of  the  Indo-Turanian  representa- 
tions of  Buddha."  This  figure  is  meant  for  "  the  chief  god  of  the 
Maya-Toltecs,"  —  this  term  the  author  seems  to  prefer.  Numerous 
examples  of  the  occurrence  of  the  cross  in  these  ruins  are  cited. 
Some  of  the  glyphs  of  Yaxchilan  probably  "  date  from  the  best 
period  of  Maya  art.**  At  San  Lorenzo  some  remarkable  rock  carvings 
were  discovered, concerning  which  Dr.  Maler  says  that  "these  reliefs 
are  evidently  a  substitute  for  sepulchral  stelae."  In  this  region  a 
considerable  city  was  once  located.  There  are  several  things  in  Dr. 
Maler's  report  which  again  encourage  the  hope  that  long  and  tactful 
approaching  of  the  present  Indian  inhabitants  of  the  country  may  lead 
to  the  knowledge  of  rites  and  ceremonies  destined  to  reveal  some  of 
the  secrets  hidden  in  the  Maya  monuments.  This  should  stimulate 
the  worthy  patrons  of  these  expeditions,  which  have  already  yielded 
such  good  results. 

Darien.  Lionel  Wafer's  "  New  Voyage  and  Description  of  the 
Isthmus  of  America"  (Cleveland,  1903,  212  pp.),  reprinted  from  the 
original  edition  of  1699  and  edited  by  the  able  band  of  Dr.  George 
Parker  Winship,  is  a  valuable  source  of  Information  concerning  the 
primitive  Fmamans.  Wafer  devoted  a  chapter  of  his  book,  covering 
In  the  reprint  more  than  forty  pages,  to  the  natives,  their  manners, 
customs,  etc  The  fllostratkms  depicting  Indian  activities  and  cere- 
monies are  also  of  great  value  The  importance  of  the  original  Is 
much  Increased  by  the  editor's  notes  and  explanatory  observations. 
To  the  old  buccaneer  Americanuts  are  Indebted  for  data  that  could 
only  have  come  from  such  direct  contact  with  the  natives  as  fell  to 
Jus  lot»  when  left  befahid  among  them. 


Digitized  by  Google 


yaumalo/  Amiruan  Folk^Lon, 


WEST  INDIES. 

Amulets.  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist "  (n.  s.  vol.  v.  pp. 
679-691)  for  October-December,  1903,  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  has  an 
article  on  "Pre-Columbian  West  Indian  Amulets."  These  "amu- 
lets "  are  small  images  carved  from  stone,  shell,  and  bone,  perforated 
for  suspension  from  the  person.  The  first  known  figures  of  such 
objects  occur  on  a  map  in  Charlevoix's  history  of  Santo  Domingo 
published  in  1731,  where  they  are  called  znni  or  mabouya.  The 
first  h^ures  of  Torto  Rican  amulets  were  published  by  Professor  O. 
T.  Mason  in  1877,  —  was  the  first  American  writer  to  identify 
these  perforated  figures  as  amulets.  Of  the  West  Indian  amulets  a 
provisional  classification  shows  that  there  are  two  readily  recognized 
types  in  human  form,  besides  forms  representing  such  animals  as 
frogs,  reptiles,  birds,  etc.  According  to  Dr.  Fewkes  "there  is  a 
striking  similarity  between  some  of  the  West  Indian  amulets  and 
those  in  Mexico,"  —  not  necessarily  evidence  of  racial  kinship.  Also, 
"  the  similarity  between  Antillean  and  South  American  amulets  is 
marked,  but  I  find  no  resemblance  between  those  from  Porto  Rico 
and  from  the  mainland  north  of  Meadco."  There  exist  also  "  many 
resemblances  between  Arawak  prehistoric  objects  and  those  of  the 
Calchaquf  of  Argentina,"  but  "  these  likenesses,  like  those  of  the 
Pueblos  to  the  Calchaquf,  are  interesting  coincidences  of  independent 
origin."  Dr.  Fewkes  also  thinks  that  **  while  the  art  products  of  the 
Antilleans  are  suigtneris,  they  are  more  characteristic  of  the  Arawak 
than  of  the  Carib  people  of  South  America."  In  Cuba  and  Santo 
Domingo  AntOlean  art  was  "  comparatively  pure  Arawak,"  but  in 
the  Lesser  Antilles  "mixed  with  Carib."  Some  of  the  more  re- 
markable of  these  interesting  amulets  are  described  with  some  detail. 
The  negroes  of  Porto  Rico  doubtless  have  inherited  something  from 
the  Indians,  and  Dr.  Fewkes  believes  that  "  when  the  practices  of 
the  West  Indian  '  conjure-man  *  are  studied,  it  will  doubtless  be 
found  that  he  still  preserves  the  same  general  methods  as  the  ancient 
boiiy  or  aboriginal  West  Indian  sorcerer,  having  merely  modified  the 
usag:es  of  the  latter  or  replaced  them  with  others,  equally  primitive^ 
which  his  slave  ancestors  brought  from  Africa." 

Caribs.  Pages  37^380  (with  4  figures)  of  Dr.  K.  Sapper's  arti- 
cle on  "  St.  Vincent "  in  "  Globus "  (vol.  Ixxxiv.)  are  devoted  to 
the  Caribs  of  that  island,  their  stone  implements,  pictographs,  etc 
The  surviving  Caribs  are  almost  all  "black"  Caribs,  only  four  or 
five  of  the  real  "  yellow  "  Caribs  are  said  now  to  be  alive.  Dr.  Sap- 
per, who  saw  a  few  of  the  latter,  notes  their  resemblance  to  the  pure- 
blnnded  Indian  of  Central  America,  and  the  likeness  of  the  "black  " 
Caribs  to  their  fellows  of  the  same  region  who  have  intermingled 


Digitized  by  Google 


JUcard  of  Awuruan  FoUk-Lcre. 


73 


with  the  negroes  to  a  considerable  extent.  In  the  island  Dominica 
some  1 20  pure-blooded  " yellow "  Caribs  and  280  "black"  Caribs 
survive  on  a  reservation.  A  very  few  of  the  St.  Vincent  Caribs 
retain  some  knowledge  of  their  mother-tongue,  :ind  only  a  tew 
more  in  Dominica.  The  languaLce  of  the  Caribs  of  St.  Vincent 
contains  a  rather  large  number  of  words  of  Spanish  origin.  The 
pictographs  of  the  St.  Vincent  Caribs,  Dr.  Sapper  thinks,  have  a 
certain  resemblance  to  those  of  parts  of  Nicaragua  {c.  g.,  on  the  Rio 
Coco).  He  considers  that  these  sculptures  are  more  probably  genea- 
logical monuments  than  figures  of  religious  significance.  The  rarity 
of  animal  forms  in  them  supports  this  idea.  The  old  Carib  house 
has  been  abandoned  and  its  place  taken  by  the  negro-hut. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Calch.\quian.  In  the  "  Anales  de  la  Sociedad  Cientifica  Argen- 
tina" (Buenos  Aires,  1903,  vol.  Ivi.  pp.  1 16-126)  Dr.  Juan  B.  Am- 
brosetti  writes  about  "  Cuatro  pictografi'as  de  la  region  Calchaquf." 
The  first  pictograph  described  is  on  the  Las  Conchas  River,  between 
Morales  and  Curtiembre,  on  the  wall  of  a  cave,  and  is  in  good  pre- 
servation except  that  a  portion  of  it  has  been  injured  by  the  addi- 
tions of  those  who  from  time  to  time  have  sought  refuge  from  the 
laUi  in  this  grotto.  Two  other  pictographs  are  on  the  river  Bodega 
in  the  Lerma  valley, — of  these  is  the  most  complex  of  all.  The 
fourth  is  in  the  Yocavil  valley,  not  fax  from  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
dty  of  Quilmes.  AU  the  pictographs  were  seen  by  the  author  in 
the  course  of  his  investigations  of  1895-1897.  In  the  first  picto- 
graph appear  a  number  of  hunters,  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  a 
number  of  guanacos  or  llamas  besides  a  much  larger  figure  of  a  deity 
or  of  some  important  personage.  Dr.  Ambrosetti  suggests  that  we 
have  here  figured  a  petition  of  the  hunters  to  the  manito  of  the  ani- 
mals in  question.  One  of  the  Bodega  pictographs  is  more  compli- 
cated, and  it  contains,  besides  figures  of  men  and  animals  (guanacos, 
etc.),  "ceremonial  axes,"  and  a  huge  serpentine  creature,  on  whose 
body  are  a  number  of  St  Andrew's  crosses.  This  inscription  may 
be  a  prayer  for  rain  or  something  of  the  sort.  The  Quilmes  picto- 
graph has  also  to  do  with  men  and  guanaco  or  llama  like  animals^ 
and  is  possibly  also  of  a  religious  or  ceremonial  nature.  Dr.  Am- 
brosetti notes  the  general  resemblance  of  some  of  these  Caleb aqui 
pictographs  to  those  of  the  Pueblos  Indians  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico.  —  To  the  "Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Buenos  Aires" 
(voL  is.  1903,  pp.  357-369)  Dr.  Ambrosetti  contributes  a  well-illus- 
trated paper  on  "  Los  pucos  pintados  de  rojo  sobre  bianco  del  Valle 
de  Yocavil."  These  painted  (red  on  white)  dishes  of  the  Yocavil 
valley  are  among  the  rarest  and  most  interesting  of  Calchaqui  anti- 


Digitized  by  Google 


74  7aumal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

quities  (only  i6  are  known  to  the  author  and  of  these  lo  are  in  the 
National  Museum  of  Buenos  Aires),  most  of  them  coming  from  Santa 
Maria.  The  ornamentation  is  of  two  main  sorts, — the  first  based 
on  centre-pointing  triangles,  the  other  of  crossed  (in  centre)  lines, 
both  bird-faces  at  the  upper  and  lower  circumferences.  The  signi- 
ficance of  these  ornamentations  is  not  clear,  but  some  suggest  com- 
parison with  the  glyphs  of  the  Maya  monuments*  but  only  in  a  vague 
general  way. 

GuAYCURUAN.  Toba.  In  the  "  Archivio  per  1' Antropologia " 
(vol.  xxiii.  1903,  pp.  287-322,  21  figs.),  Domenico  del  Campana  pub- 
lishes a  "  Contributo  all'  Etnografia  dei  Toba."  Clothing  and  orna- 
ment, objects  of  personal  use,  implements  and  utensils  for  obtaining 
and  preparing  foods  and  drinks,  musical  instruments  (rattle  and 
'  wooden  whistle),  arms  and  weapons,  etc.,  are  described,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  two  distinct  groups  of  the  Toba,  —  the  Tocouit  and  the 
Pilag^  or  Al,  the  former  on  the  Pilcomayo  in  the  Argentinian-Uru- 
guayan Chaco,  the  latter  on  the  same  river  in  the  Bolivian  Chaco. 
The  Tocouit  were  said  by  Boggiani  to  be  of  a  rather  peaceful  dis- 
position, while  the  Pilagi  are  warlike  Toba  par  excellence^  and  this 
difference  is  confirmed  by  Ducci.  Noteworthy  is  the  ostrich-skin 
hat  of  the  Toba.  Their  tobacco-pipe  is  generally  a  tube.  The  Toba 
are  great  fishermen.  The  preparation  of  €mUt^  a  food  obtained  from 
a  species  of  palm,  belongs  to  the  women.  Some  favorite  drinks  are 
made  from  wild  honey. 

Paraguay  and  Matto  GROssa  H.  Meerwarth's  artide  "Zur 
Ethnographic  der  Paraguaygebiete  und  Matto  Grossos/'  in  "Globus" 
(vol  Ixxxiv.  pp.  155-156)  rdsum^sTh.  Koch's  papers  on  the  Guay- 
cunH  group  and  the  peoples  of  Fsu-aguay  and  the  Matto  Grosso^-— 
tribes  belonging  to  the  Guaycuruan,  Maskoian,  Tupian,  and  Tapuyan 
stocks,  besides  a  few  isolated  peoples. 

Tapuyan.  Guaj^anAs.  In  the  **Revista  do  Musen  F^ulista" 
(vol  vl  1902-03,  pp.  23-44)  H.  von  Ihering  publishes  an  artide 
on  **  Os  Guayante  e  Caingangs  de  S.  Paulo/'  containing  a  historical- 
ethnographical  account  of  the  Guayan&s  and  Caingangs  of  S.  Paulo^ 
Brazil,  with  critiques  of  the  literature  of  the  subject.  From  evidence 
contained  in  the  vocabularies  of  Ambrosetti  and  others  the  author 
concludes  that  "the  Guayan^  of  S.  Paulo  are  linguistically  identical 
with,  or  dosely  related  to  the  Caingangs."  The  Guayanis  of  the 
upper  Parani  differ  from  the  Guayands  of  S.  Paulo,  not  only  in  lan- 
guage (but  still  related  to  that  of  the  Caingangs),  but  also  in  "  impor* 
tant  ethnologic  characters."  The  Guayan&s  and  Caingangs  bdong 
to  that  one  of  the  primitive  stocks  of  Brazil  known  as  the  G£s,  —  an 
eastern  group  being  formed  by  the  Caingangs,  a  western  by  the 
Guayan^,  of  the  upper  Parand,  and  the  Ingaim. — To  the  same 

1 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


Journal  (pp.  45^52)  Benigno  F.  Martinez  contributes  an  article  on 
**  Os  indios  GaayanlU,*'  which,  besides  historical  and  ethnographical 
notes,  contains  something  about  the  character  and  activities  of  these 
Indians.  The  Guayan&s  are  much  given  to  fishing,  and  an  Indian, 
without  saying  good-by  to  any  one,  will  set  forth  on  the  Parand  on 
a  solitary  expedition  from  which  he  will  return  loaded  with  fish.  He 
may  remain  away  from  home  whole  weeks,  leaving  his  family  to 
invoke  the  genii  of  the  basaltic  caves  of  the  river-bank  on  his  behalf. 
The  old  custom  of  burying  the  dead  in  clay  vessels  made  for  the 
purpose  has  given  way  to  burial  in  the  ground.  The  GuayanAs  de- 
scribed by  Lista  are,  the  author  thinks,  emigrants  from  the  northern 
Parana.-  On  pp.  50-52  are  given  brief  Guayani  vocabularies.  — 
Another  article  by  Telcmaco  M.  Borba,  "  Obser\^a^oes  sobre  os  in- 
digenas  do  Estado  de  Parana,"  appears  in  the  same  Journal  (pp.  53- 
62),  treating  of  the  Caingangs  and  the  Ar^s, — of  the  language  of 
the  latter  a  small  vocabulary'  is  given  (p.  57),  and  their  tcmbetd  is 
figured  on  p.  56.  The  deluge-myth  of  the  Caingangs  occupies  pp. 
57-61,  as  told  to  the  author  by  the  chief,  Arakxo.  The  Caingangs 
were  saved  on  the  peak  of  a  mountain,  —  Crinjijinbe.  The  creation 
of  "tigers,"  ant-eaters,  snakes,  wasps,  etc.,  is  described.  Also  how 
the  human  beings  learned  to  dance  and  to  sing ;  the  institution  of 
marriage,  etc.  The  Cayurucr^s  and  Camds  who  were  drowned  in 
the  deluge  escaped  from  the  centre  of  the  mountain  whither  their 
souls  went.  A  flood  legend  of  the  Arcs  or  Botucudos,  is  given  on 
pp.  61,62.  In  this  myth  an  Indian  escapes  the  waters  by  seizing 
the  emerging  branches  of  a  palm-tree.  He  is  afterwards  much  aided 
by  the  sapacuru  (a  species  of  ibis)  and  a  saracura.  These  birds 
brought  earth  in  their  beaks,  and  put  it  in  the  water, — mountains 
exist  now  (the  original  world  was  flat)  because  the  beak  oi  the  sapa- 
curu was  the  larger. 

GBNERAL. 

BfBLiomAPRtCAi..  Under  the  title  Apuntes  viejos  de  Biblio- 
grafia  Mexicana"  (Mexico,  1903,  pp.  91)  Professor  Alfredo  Chavero 
republishes  a  number  of  papers  in  the  form  in  which  they  appeared 
or  were  written  some  thirty  years  ago.  These  critical  bibliographi- 
cal essays  treat  of  the  following  topics :  Codex  TeUeriano  Remense, 
Pictures  of  the  Suns  (ages)  of  Nahua  Cosmogony,  The  Aztec  Peri* 
grination,  Tenochcan  Chroniclers  (Codex .  Ramirez,  Durin,  Acosta, 
TenKEomoc),  Motolinfa,  Mendieta,  Sahagdn,  Vetancnrt. 

Houses.  In  <*  The  House  Beautiful  *'  (Chicago)  for  August,  1903 
(vol  xhr.  pp.  I35-I39)»  Mr.  G.  W.  James  writes  about  A  few  Indian 
Houses."  Navaho  kttgamst  Hopi  houses*  Havasupai  hawas^  and 
Ukohoas  (sweat-houses),  and  nuala  hawas  (storehouses),  the  kish  of 
the  Miasbn  Indians,  etc.,  are  briefly  described. 


Digitized  by  Google 


76  y<mmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

International  Congress  of  Americanists.  The  Thirteenth 
International  Congress  of  Americanists,  held  in  New  York,  October 
20-25,  1902,  has  been  the  subject  of  several  somewhat  detailed  re- 
ports by  members  of  various  nationalities.  For  the  convenience  of 
such  as  may  desire  to  look  the  matter  up  from  different  points  of 
view  the  following  references  may  be  given  :  — 

1.  Chamberlain,  A.  F.  :  International  Congress  of  Americanists 
at  New  York.  (Science,  N.  Y.,  1902,  n.  s.  vol.  xvi.  pp.  884-899.) 
Sec  also  ;  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  BosLoo,  1902,  vol.  xv.  pp. 
296-299. 

2.  Lejeal,  L^on  :  Le  Congr^s  de  New  York.  (Jour,  de  la  Soci^t^ 
des  Am^ricanistes  de  Paris,  1903,  n.  s.  vol.  i.  pp.  84-97.) 

3.  van  P^huys,  L.  C. :  Vcrslag  van  de  dertiende  zitting  van  het 
Internationale  Congres  van  Amexicanisten,  gchouden  te  New- York 
van  20-25  October,  1902.  ( 's  Gravehage,  1903,  pp.  28.  Repr.  from 
Nederlandsche  Staatscourant,  March  18,  1903.) 

4  von  den  Steinen,  Karl :  Ueber  den  xiii.  Intemationalen  Ameri- 
kanisten-Kongress  in  New-York,  u.  s.  w.  (Zeitscbr.  f.  Ethnologic, 
Berlin,  1903,  vol.  xxxv.  pp.  80-92.) 

These  accounts  of  the  Congress  and  its  activities  from  the  point 
of  view  of  an  American,  a  Frenchman,  a  Dutchman,  and  a  German, 
taken  altogether,  enable  one  to  estimate  the  value  and  the  impor- 
tance of  such  international  gatherings  better  than  from  a  single  uni- 
national  report  The  personal  equation  adds  to  the  interest  of  the 
matter. 

Suggestion  and  Hypnotish.  The  second  and  enlarged  edition 
of  Dr.  Otto  Stoll's  notable  treatise  on  **  Suggestion  und  Hypnotis- 
mus  in  der  Vdlkerpsychologie  "  (Leipsig,  1904,  pp.  x.  738)  contains 
two  chapters  relating  to  America:  <* Suggestiverscheinungen  bei 
den  Ureinwohnern  Westindiens"  (pp.  122-149)  "Suggestive 
E^cheinungen  in  Mexiko  und  Zentralamerika "  (pp.  149-190). 
Among  the  topics  considered  are :  The  suggestive  therapeutics  of 
the  "  medicine-men "  of  Haiti,  Cunumd,  etc.  ;  the  auto-suggestive 
extasis  of  the  Cumanan  "medicine-men;"  illusions  of  the  senses 
among  the  ancient  Haitians;  the  hallucinatory  cohoba-extasis,  the 
toxic  effect  of  tobacco,  etc.  ;  epidemic  mass-suicide  among  the  an- 
cient Haitians;  Mexican  belief  in  magic  metamorphosis  into  ani- 
mals; suggestive  power  of  magicians  and  shamans  ;  suggestive  illu- 
sions in  Quiche  mythology  ;  the  ancient  Mexican  magician-thieves ; " 
suggestive  healing  in  ancient  Mexico;  nagualism  in  Central  Amer- 
ica ;  suggestive  effects  of  Christianity  in  Mexico ;  the  prophetic 
extasis  in  Guateni:ila  ;  Indian  martyrdom  ;  remains  of  heathendom 
among  the  Christian  Indians;  the  murder-extasis,  or  loaparika^iA 
the  Abipone  Indians,  etc. 

A,  F.  C.  and  L  C,  C, 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore, 


77 


RECORD  OF  NEGRO  FOLK-LORE. 

Africa  and  America,  In  his  paper  on  "The  Fallacy  of  the 
'  Selected  Group  '  in  the  Discussion  of  the  Negro  Question,"  in  the 
"Southern  Workman  "  (vol.  xxxii.  pp.  520-526)  for  November,  1903, 
Mr.  Talcott  Williams  points  out  the  unfairness  of  comparing  the 
slave  negroes  of  America,  born  of  the  pestilential  swamp  of  the 
Congo,  —  the  least  favorable  of  all  his  African  environments,  as  his 
progress  elsewhere  in  that  continent  shows,  —  with  the  group  of 
Anglo-Saxons  resident  in  and  acclimated  to  the  New  World.  We 
ought  rather  to  be  surprised  at  what  the  negro  has  done  in  America 
than  at  what  he  has  failed  to  do. 

Alabama  Folk-Lore.  With  this  title  appears  an  article  in  the 
"Southern  Workman"  (vol.  xxxiii.  pp.  49-52)  for  January,  1904, 
containing  three  brief  tales, — Why  the  buzzard  has  a  red  head, 
how  the  guinea-hen  got  ahead  of  the  rabbit,  brer  rabbit  and  brer  fox, 
10  proverbs,  and  some  30  "signs."  The  material  was  collected  at 
Calhoun,  Ala.,  and  the  items  are  given  "  exactly  as  they  have  been 
handed  down  by  traditions."  The  editors  state  that  "the  second 
story  is  a  variant  of  one  published  by  Joel  Chandler  Harris,  and  the 
third  is  a  combination  of  three  well-known  tales."  Some  of  the  pro- 
verbs and  signs  show  white  influence.  — "  In  Old  Alabam.i  "  (N.  Y., 
^903)*  by  Anne  Hobson,  contains  some  good  folk-lore  material.  Ac- 
cording to  a  reviewer  in  the  "  Southern  Workman  "  (vol.  xxxii.  p. 
565),  "  the  untutored  Negro's  weird  imagination,  credulity,  simpli- 
city, and  superstition  are  all  there."  Miss  Hobson's  book,  contain- 
ing 10  dialect  stories  and  many  plantation  songs,  "  is  said  by  some 
to  be  the  most  accurate  delineation  of  Negro  character  since  Unch 
Remus,**  The  narrator  of  the  tales  is  **  Mbs  Mouse." 

Education.  In  the  "Southern  Workman"  (vol.  xxzil  p.  500) 
for  October,  1903,  G.  S.  Dickerman  has  an  interesting  article  on 
Old-Ttme  Negro  Education  in  the  South."  In  Charleston  "  public 
sentiment  forbade  them  [free  negroes]  to  cany  a  cane  or  to  ride  in  a 
carriage."  It  would  seem  that  a  number  of  free  negroes  used  to  hold 
slaves  of  their  own  race  Rev.  John  Chairs,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
educated  at  Washington  College  (and  a  negro),  **  taught  for  many 
years  a  classical  school  for  white  boys  in  North  Carolina,  out  1^ 
which  came  a  number  of  eminent  men." 

Peak  of  Firb.  The  other  day  the  compiler  of  these  notes  heard 
an  educated  negro  from  the  South  declare  that  his  people  were  very 
much  afraid  of  fire,  and  that  he  himself  had  never  got  up  courage 
enough  to  report  for  lessons  in  blacksmtthing  for  the  reason  that  the 
sight  of  the  sparks  flying  about  and  the  other  Incidentals  of  the 
forge  scared  him  too  much. 


Digitized  by  Google 


7S  jfoumal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 

Ghosts.  In  the  "  Southern  Workman  "  (vol.  sodL  p.  506)  is  pub* 
Ushed  *' Uncle  Si*ah  and  the  Ghosts,"  which,  an  editorial  note  in- 
forms us,  is  "a  folk-lore  story  written  as  a  class  exercise  by  Laura 
Randolph,  a  member  of  the  Junior  dass  at  Hampton  Institute." 

Hallucinations.  In  the  "Archives  d'Anthropologie  Crimi- 
nelle"  for  September  and  November,  1903,  Dr.  Nina-Rod  rigues  has 
an  artide  on  *'  La  paraonia  chez  les  Nigres,"  in  which  he  discusses 
the  prevalence  of  paranoia  among  Brazilian  negroes.  From  a  brief 
r^umi  by  Havelock  Ellis  (J.  Ment.  Science^  vol.  I  p.  169),  it  appears 
that  '*  there  is  thus  a  special  prevalence  motor  and  psychomo- 
tor hallucinations,  and  the  author  associates  this  with  the  normal 
prevalence  of  the  verbal  motor  type  in  negroes,  as  shown  by  the 
frequency  with  which  they  talk  aloud  to  themselves."  A  thoroughly 
systematized  and  chronic  delusion,  "  such  as  is  fairly  common  among 
whites,  is  extremely  rare,  in  the  opinion  of  all  Brazilian  alienists,  and 
when  found,  the  author  asserts,  always  indicates  either  that  the  sub- 
ject belongs  to  one  of  the  higher  African  races,  or  else  that  he  has  a 
trace  of  white  blood."  Moreover,  the  interesting  fact  is  revealed 
that  "  the  subject  of  the  delusion  is  nearly  always  connected  with 
sorcery."  Dr.  Nina-Rodrigues  holds  that  "this  is  not  due  to  ata* 
vism,"  but  "an  underlying  belief  in  sorceiy  is  still  common  to  most 
negroes,  though  it  is  covered  by  a  thin  veneer  of  civilization." 

Hypnotism  and  Suggestion.  The  second  and  much  enlarged 
edition  of  Dr.  Otto  Stoll's  "  Suggestion  und  Hypnotismus  in  der 
Volkerpsychologie  "  (Leipzig,  1904,  pp.  x.  738)  treats  at  considerable 
length  of  these  facts  among  the  peoples  of  Africa,  to  whom  a  whole 
chapter  (pp.  273-298)  is  devoted.  Aiitosuggcstive  "possession" 
in  Loango,  the  "werlions  "  of  South  Africa,  the  "magic  forest  "  of 
West  Africa  for  youths,  etc.,  are  touched  upon.  At  pages  188-190 
is  described  the  capoeiragenty  or  murder  mania  of  the  negroes  of 
Brazil,  after  the  account  of  von  Tschudi.  The  capoeiras  formed  a 
secret  society,  whose  numbers  ran  amuck  on  Sundays,  holidays,  etc. 
They  began  by  butting  each  other  with  their  heads.  Most  of  their 
killing  was  done  with  long  needles  and  awls.  According  to  von 
Tschudi,  the  basis  of  the  murder-frenzy  of  these  negroes  was  reli- 
gious, and  he  thought  the  custom  was  of  African  origin,  coming  over 
with  the  slaves.  Dr.  Stoll  considers  the  question  of  African  origin 
doubtful.  It  seems  unnecessary  to  assume  the  existence  of  an  Afri- 
can mystic  secret  society.  That  these  outbreaks  occur  generally  on 
Sundays  and  holidays  may  be  due  simply  to  the  fact  that  the  blacks, 
like  the  whites,  were  accustomed  to  greater  liberties  on  those  occa- 
sions.   The  account  of  von  Tschudi  was  published  in  i860. 

Indian  "iMEDiciNE  Man"  and  Negro  "Conjure  Man."  In 
his  article  on  "  Precolumbian  West  Indian  Amulets  "  (Amer.  Anthr., 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore. 


79 


n.  8.  vol  V.  pp.  679-691),  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  observes  (p.  690) : 
<«Many  instances  of  the  use  of  cfaanns  and  amulets  still  survive  in 
the  practices  of  the  negro '  conjure  men '  of  Porto  Rico,  but  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  distinguish  those  of  Indian  from  those  of  African  descent" 
The  methods  of  the  negro  "  conjurer  man  "  and  the  old  Mt  of  the 
pre-Columbian  natives  of  the  Antilles  are,  he  thinks,  much  the  same^ 
adcfingy  on  this  point :  "  To  what  extent  the  West  Indian  conjure 
man  of  to-day  has  been  influenced  by  aboriginal  sorcery  is  not  now 
known,  but  the  subject  is  well  worthy  of  study,  and  a  rich  field  for 
research  awaits  the  folk-lorist  In  Santo  Domingo  and  Porto  Rico." 

Namb.  In  the  *' Southern  Workman"  (vol  xxzlii.  pp.  33-3Q 
for  January,  1904,  Fannie  Barrier  Williams  discusses  the  subject 
"  Do  we  need  another  Name  ?"  The  author  agrees  with  Phyfessor 
DuBols  that  Negro  is  a  great  deal  better  than  Afro'Amerkaih  while 
eohred  is  a  mere  term  of  convenience* 

Sacrifices.  Mr.  J.  Bl  Andrews's  account  of  the  sacrifices  of 
fowls  at  the  "  Springs  of  the  Ginns,"  near  Algiers,  by  the  Soudanese 
negroes  of  that  region,  contained  in  his  "  Les  Fontaines  des  G^nies" 
(Alger,  1903),  will  be  of  value  for  the  comparative  study  of  Negro 
folk-lore.  The  pamphlet  is  noticed  more  at  length  elsewhere  in  this 
Journal  The  contact  of  Islamism  and  Negro  fetishism  in  Algeria 
may  throw  light  on  some  of  the  phenomena  of  the  contacts  of  the 
Negro  with  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  in  various  regions  of  the 
New  World. 

A.  R  C 


Digitized  by  Google 


8o 


jfoumal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


1 


FIFTEENTH  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  AMERICAN 

FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

The  Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  in  rooms  of  the  Peabody 
Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnography,  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  on  Tuesday,  December  29^  1903. 

At  12  M.  took  place  the  meeting  of  the  Council. 

At  2  p.  M.  the  Society  met  for  business,  the  F^ident,  Dr.  Living- 
ston Farrand,  occupying  the  chair. 

The  Permanent  Secretary  presented  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Council. 

During  the  year  1903  the  membership  of  the  Society  has  remained 

nearly  constant 

The  inadequacy  of  the  membership  to  the  task  in  hand,  the  record 
and  study  of  the  vanishing  remains  of  tradition  in  North  America, 
has  repeatedly  been  urged  in  previous  reports  of  the  Council.  It  is 
recommended  that  members  take  an  active  interest  in  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Society,  and  for  that  purpose  the  establishment  of  addi- 
tional local  branches  is  recommended. 

The  volume  of  Memoirs  intended  to  appear  in  the  year  1903, 
namely,  a  collection  of  Maryland  folk-lore,  made  by  the  Baltimore 
Folk- Lore  Society,  has  been  delayed  by  the  illness  of  the  editor.  As 
the  Eighth  Volume  of  Memoirs  will  be  substituted  another  volume 
namely,  "Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,"  by  Dr.  George  A.  Dor- 
sey.  It  is  expected  that  the  Maryland  collection  will  form  the  Ninth 
Volume,  to  appear  early  in  the  year  1905. 

In  the  future  it  is  expected  that  the  numbers  of  the  Journal  of 
American  Folk-Lore  will  be  issued  with  more  regularity,  and  that 
the  Journal  will  be  brought  to  a  regular  date  of  publication,  in  the 
second  month  of  each  quarter. 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  Treasurer's  Report ; — 


Balance  from  last  report   |s,i95.88 

Annua]  dues   810.00 

Subscriptions  to  Publication  Fund  (including  does)  .      .      .  165.00 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  sales  of  Memoirs     ....  iao.64 

Postage  •     •      •  .61 


Digiiizeo  by  Googlc 


Annual  Meeting  of  ike  American  Folk-Lare  Society,  Si 


DKBUStBMBimi 

Hooghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  for  manufacturing  Journal  of  American 


Folk-Lore:  — 

Na$9  .    I26146 

Na  60  «      .     .      •      .  187.S0 

No.  6x                                                             .  I54'33 

No.  62   t92<53 

No.  2  (Reprint)   18.72 

W.  W.  Newell,  Secretary,  assistant  and  postage       •      •      •  79*59 

E.  W.  Remick,  Treasurer  Boston  Branch   3^-50  * 

E.  S.  Ebbert,  Treasurer  Cincinnati  Branch       .       .      .       .  12.50 

K.  W.  Wheeler,  Cam  bridge,  Mass.,  printing     .      •      .      .  21.25 

Gca  W.  Bttskirk,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  printing    .      .      .      •  15.50 

Second  National  Bank,  New  York,  N.     ooUectioDS           .  3.70 


Bahooe  to  new  aooonnt  ,   g.3 13.85 

$3,393.13 

In  memory  of  Dr.  Frank  Russell,  a  former  President  of  the  So> 
ctety  (during  the  yenr  1901),  deceased  during  the  year,  the  following 
resolution  was  presented  on  the  part  of  the  Council  by  Dr.  R.  fiw 

Dixon  :  — 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Frank  Russell  the  American 
Folk-Lore  Society  has  lost  a  zealous  and  earnest  member  and  officer, 
whose  studies  in  the  folk-lore  of  several  American  Indian  tribes  are 
of  lasting  value  and  importance,  and  whose  services  in  arousing  the 
interest  of  students  in  the  study  of  folk-lore  and  related  subjects  wiU 
always  be  rccoi^-nized. 

No  independent  nominations  for  officers  having  been  received  by 
the  Secretary,  as  provided  for  by  the  rules,  nominations  of  the 
Council  were  announced  as  follows  :  — 

President,  Prof.  George  Lyman  Kittredge,  Harvard  University, 
Cambridge,  Mass. 

First  Vice-President,  Prof.  Kenneth  McKenzie,  Yale  Univer- 
sity, New  Haven,  Conn. 

Second  Vice-President,  Mr.  Marshall  H.  Saville,  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

CouNCiLi-OKs  (for  three  years),  Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon,  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber,  University  of  California, 
Berkeley,  Cal.  ;  Miss  Anne  Weston  Whitney,  Baltimore,  Md.  j  (for 
one  year)  Mr.  A.  M.  Tozzer,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Trxasurek,  John  H,  Hintoo,  HI  D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

PkRHANENT  SECRETARY,  W.  W.  Newcll,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

The  Secretary  was  directed  to  cast  a  single  ballot  for  the  officers 
as  nominated. 

▼OL.zvn.— Na  64.  6 


Digitized  by  Google 


82 


y<mr$uU  of  Am^riam  Foik^Lore. 


On  recommendation  of  the  Council,  Dr.  Juan  G.  Ambrosetti, 
Buenos  Ay  res,  was  eleqted  as  Honorary  Member  of  the  Society. 

PAPEItS  READ. 

*' What  they  Sing  in  New  England.*'  Phillips  Barry,  Boston, 
Mass. 

"  Folk-Lore  of  the  Eskiroa'*  Franz  Boas,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
*'  Batrachian  Folk-Lore."  Lewis  D.  Burdicx,  Oxford,  N.  Y. 
"  Race  Environment  in  Proverbs."  A.  F.  Chamberlain,  Worces- 
ter, Mass. 

**  Some  Northern  California  Shamans*"  R.  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge^ 
Mass. 

«« Characterizatbn  of  Pawnee  Mythology."  George  A.  Dorset, 
Chicago,  IIL 

'*The  Fable  of  the  Man  and  the  Lion."  Kenneth  McKENZiBt 
New  Haven,  Conn. 

"  A  Legend  of  Maryland  Negroes  and  its  Comparative  Htstoiy." 
W.  W.  Newell,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

"Spirit  Repellers  in  the  West  of  India."  Jambs  A.  Woods,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

In  the  evening,  at  8  p.  m.,  according  to  announcementf  the  Society 
met  with  the  local  Branches  in  Cambridge  and  Boston. 

The  retiring  President,  Prof.  Livingston  Farrand,  read  an  address 
on  "The  Significance  of  Mythology  and  Tradition." 

The  Secretary  was  instructed  to  arrange  for  the  time  and  place  of 
the  next  annual  meeting,  preference  being  given  to  a  date  and  place 
which  will  cna!)le  the  Society  to  meet  with  the  American  Anthropo- 
logical Association  and  with  Section  H  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 

The  following  are  Committees  of  the  Council  for  1904:  — 

On  Publication,  Dr.  F.  Boas,  Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon,  Prof.  L.  Fanand, 
and  ex  officii)  the  President  and  Secretary. 

On  Local  Societies,  the  Representatives  of  Local  Branches,  the 
President,  and  Secretary. 

On  Music,  Dr.  F.  Boas,  Dr.  G.  A  Dorsey,  and  the  Secretaiy. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Eighth  Memoir  ofihg  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  83 


EIGHTH  MEMOIR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 

SOCIETY. 

After  an  interval  of  five  years,  the  series  of  Memoirs  will  be  con- 
tinued with  an  eighth  volume,  the  "Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee," 
by  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey,  Curator  of  the  Department  of  Anthro- 
polo^',  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago,  111. 

The  collection  of  traditions  contained  in  the  Memoir  was  begun 
in  1899,  under  a  special  grant  made  by  the  Field  Columbian  Museum, 
and  was  carried  on  until  the  end  of  1902,  from  which  time  the  work 
has  been  continued  with  funds  provided  by  the  Carnegie  Institution 
of  Washington,  D.  C.  The  trustees  <A  both  these  institutbns  have 
consented  to  the  publication  of  the  traditions  in  their  present  form. 

The  Siddi  form  one  of  the  bands  of  the  Pawnee ;  their  ancestral 
home^  according  to  their  own  belief,  was  on  the  Loup  River,  in  Cen- 
tral Nebraska,  where  it  is  said  that  remains  of  their  earth  lodges 
may  still  be  seen.  In  1874,  together  with  other  bands  of  the  Paw- 
nee, they  were  transferred  to  Oklahoma,  and  in  1893  received  lands 
allotted  in  severalty,  since  which  time  they  have  been  citizens  ol  the 
United  States. 

The  tales  included  in  the  collection  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  according  as  they  are  originally  sacred  traditions,  serving  to 
explain  ceremonial,  or  are  simply  narratives  related  for  the  mere 
interest  of  adventure:  The  first  class,  rite-myths  or  myths  alluded 
to  in  ritual,  tike  the  ceremonies  themselves,  are  personal  property, 
which  have  been  paid  for  by  the  owner,  and  according  to  his  belief 
form  an  essential  part  of  his  life.  Recitation  of  these  implies  the 
giving-out  of  a  portion  of  the  possessor's  life,  and  consequent  short- 
ening ol  his  days ;  their  obtaining  in  full  is  consequently  difficult. 
In  course  of  time  these  cease  to  become  the  exclusive  property  of 
the  priesthood,  lose  their  esoteric  character,  and  become  current  as 
ordinary  adventures. 

Beside  the  myths  of  origin,  are  recounted  a  vast  number  of  other 
stories,  known  collectively  as  "Coyote  tales,"  even  although  the  in- 
dividual history  may  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  coyote.  Inasmuch 
as  this  animal  has  the  credit  of  great  resource  and  artifice,  and  is 
seldom  vanquished  in  contests,  the  victory  of  the  coyote  indicates 
the  desire  of  the  narrator  that  he  may  himself  be  equally  successful 
in  whatever  venture  he  may  have  in  hand.  These  talcs  are  related 
when  men  assemble  together  during  the  winter  months,  at  home,  on 
the  hunt,  or  the  warpath. 

As  the  volume  will  not  be  ready  for  delivery  to  subscribers  until 
the  late  spring,  a  fuller  account  of  the  contents  of  the  Memoir  may 
be  reserved  until  the  next  number  of  this  Journal. 


Digitized  by  Google 


84 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Folk-Lore  at  German  Universities,  etc.  —  From  the  list  of  lectures 
and  courses  in  Anthropology  at  the  Universities  of  Germany,  Austria,  and 
Switzerland,  given  by  Professor  Raiike  (Corr.-B!.  d.  deutschen  Ges.  f. 
Anthr.,  xxxiv.  53-58)  as  oftered  during  the  academic  year  1902-1903,  it 
appears  that  Folk-Lore  was  represented,  particularly,  as  follows :  SeUr 
(Berlin) :  Religion  and  Culture  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans  ;  Vierkandt  (Ber- 
lin) :  Race-Psychology  (Language,  Customs,  Myths,  Primitive  Art) ;  von 
iMsekm  (BaUa) :  Natnra^  Life^  and  Customt  of  tlie  Pteples  of  the  Islands 
of  the  Pacific 

FoLK-LoRs  Museums.  —  R.  Wossidlo  writes  to  the  "  Schiveiieiisdies 

Archiv  fiir  Volkskunde (voL  viL  p.  313)  that  the  **  Bsuoroiniiaeam  "  at 

Mecklenburg,  founded  in  1900,  contains  already  2305  items  and  specimens. 
The  same  Journal,  referring  to  R.  Mielke's  **  Museen  und  Sammlungen  " 
(Berlin,  1903),  rej>orts  the  existence  in  Germany  of  91  public  and  private 
institutions  or  museums  devoted  to  "  Heimat  und  Voikskunde." 

Resumption  of  an  old  Cult.  —  In  "  Wallonia "  (vol.  xii.  1904,  p.  18), 
M.  O.  ColsoQ  has  an  interesting  note  on  the  **  TVau  del  Heftve,"  a  mysteri- 
ous cavern  at  Sinsin  in  the  Province  of  Namur,  entered  by  a  funnel-shaped 
opening.  In^e  are  two  stalagimites,  which  in  the  shadow  resemble  phan- 
toms draped  in  white,— tliey  are  locally  known  as  "  Maiguerite  and  Pier> 
rette.**  Farther  on  are  two  other  stalagmites.  The  four  are  sitoated  in 
square  form,  and  in  the  centre  on  some  rocks  is  a  huge  shapeless  stone, 
called  "  Cheval  Bayard,"  a  name  of  modern  origin  perhaps.  From  time 
immemorial  these  objects  seem  to  have  had  associated  with  them  a  mysteri- 
ous cult.  Not  long  ago  the  young  people  of  Sinsin  and  the  surrounding 
villages  made  it  their  duty  to  visit  once  a  year,  on  February  2  (Purification), 
these  "  persons."  Later  on  the  entrance  to  the.grotto  was  obstracted  and 
it  became  very  difficnlt  to  make  one's  way  in,  so  the  custom  fell  into  disuse. 
But  when  the  owner  out  of  curiosiiy  removed  the  obstructions,  the  pilgrim- 
age began  again  as  of  old.  Mote  about  this  grotto  may  be  read  in  the 
article  of  Hauzeur  in  the  "  Annales  de  la  soci^  aicb6>logiqoe  de  Namur  " 
(voL  V.  1857-1858,  pp.  16-19). 

School  Jargon.  —  An  interesting  contribution  to  the  literature  of  school 
jargons  and  "  lahguages  "  is  Dr.  Kurt  Schladebach's  "  Die  Dresdener  Pen- 
nalersprache  "  (Z.  f.  d.  deutschen  Unterricht,  vol.  xviii.  1904,  pp.  56-62). 
The  pupils  concerned  are  from  ten  to  twenty  years  of  age.  The  school- 
house  receives  such  names  as  Affenkasten  monkey  box"),  Bude,  Kafif, 
Kasten,  Kiste,  etc. ;  the  teacher  is  Brotfresser,  Pauker»  Profaz,  Stuti,  etc 
The  teachers'  room  is  called  *'  Olymp^"  and  the  women  attendants  Bett* 
hexen"  and  *'Grasien.''  Curious,  too^  is  "  Krankenburg,"  for  sick-room. 
Really  new  formations  am  tm^  according  to  Dr.  Schladebacb.  One  note- 


L/igiiized  by  Google 


worthy  exaitiple  is  Stundenfresser^  the  name  given  to  a  small  strip  of  paper 
OD  which,  towards  the  close  of  the  school  year,  as  the  holidays  approach, 
is  marked  the  nuniber  of  lessons  yet  to  be  gone  tfacougli.  After  each  of 
these  the  ooirespondiog  bit  of  the  paper  is  torn  o&  Tkew  jaiggiia^  on 
the  whoie^  make  ose  of  alnadjreiistiiig  Ungqlstic  matrrial,  taaung  it  some- 
tisMS  adroitly  enoogfa  to  nev  naeiu 

"Whits  Peril."  —  This  term  is  applied  by  E.  G.  Browne,  in  his  "Lec- 
tures on  the  History  of  the  Nineteenth  Century"  (Cambridge,  1902)  to 
the  overflowing  of  Africa  and  Asia  by  European  culture.  Browne  con- 
siders *'  Panislamism  "  to  be  a  '*  mare's  nest  ;  "  other  writers,  like  the  Italian 
Nallino,  make  it  out  to  be  one  of  the  chief  tendencies  of  the  day  in  the 
Mahometan  world.  A  good  discussion  of  the  subject  will  be  found  in  C 
H.  Bedwr's  article  on  **  PaBislanusmus,'*  in  the  "  Aschiv  fur  Religionswis- 
senscfaaft  for  January,  1904.  Becker  points  out  that  Panislamism  is  the 
cned  of  the  Sannite  rather  than  the  Shiite  Mahometans.  In  PeniA  and 
in  Afaka  different  viem  vould  pievaal. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 
BOOKS. 

Schweizerische  Gesellschaft  fiir  Volkskunde.  Fragebogen  ueber  Volks- 
MLDiziN  IN  D£R  ScHWSiz.  Im  Auftiage  des  Gesellschaftsvorstandes 
tttsammengesteUt von  E.  HonwAHM'-RRATnt.   Basel:  1903.   Pp.  19. 

Dr.  Hoffraann-Krayer's  questionnaire  on  folk-medicine  in  Switzerland  is 
quite  comprehensive,  embracing  between  three  and  four  hundred  items  dis- 
tributed among  the  following  subjects  of  inquiry :  Karnes  of  the  parts  and 
oigans  of  the  body,  folk-lore  concerning  their  form  and  appearance,  fano> 
tions,  etc. ;  natural  activities  of  bodily  organs,  etc,  mental  and  psychical 
functions ;  reproduction,  birth,  and  death ;  folk-hygiene,  care  of  the  body, 
causes  of  disease;  folk-therapy  in  general;  individual  diseases,  etc.,  in 
folk  bclit  f  and  in  folk-medicine;  veterinary  medicine  among  the  folk.  An 
alphabetical  list  of  the  chief  topics  referred  to  in  the  body  of  the  question- 
naire occupies  pages  14-17,  and  specimen  answers  are  given  on  the  last 
two  pages. 

Dm  WaiutB  BCaianis  Fram^is  Villons.  Mit  Einleitong  and  Anme» 
kungen  heiaoagegeben  von  Dr.  WoLFr.  ANO  von  WtntZBACH.  Erlangen: 
Fr.  Junge^  1903.   Pp.  186.  Price  3  Mk. 

This  is  the  first  edition  of  the  works  of  the  famous  old  French  poet  to 

appear  in  Germany.    Besides  the  text  the  volume  contains  a  critical  intro> 

duction  on  Villon's  life  and  works  (pp.  5-31),  a  bibliography  of  the  various 
editions  of  his  poems,  and  of  the  more  recent  writing  about  his  life  and 
works.  There  are  five  works  cited  concerning  his  "jargon."  In  1885  Vil- 
lon's "  Le  grant  testament "  was  published  in  a  Danish  translation. 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


86 


y&umal  of  Amiriean  Folh'Lore. 


Les  Fontaines  des  G£ni£S  (Seba  Aioun):  Croyances  soudanaises  \ 
Alger  par  J.  B.  Andrsws.  Alger :  Typographic  Adolphe  Jourdan, 
1903.    Pp.  36w 

This  pamphlet,  with  a  brief  preiaoe  by  Basiet,  treats  of  the  nq;ro 
folk-lore  of  the   Springs  of  the  Ginns,"  near  Algiers,  known  to  the  natives 

as  Seha  Aioun^  "  The  Seven  Springs,"  or  more  at  length,  sometimes,  SAa 
Aimm  Beni  M*nedt  and  the  ceremonial  and  other  practices  in  connection* 
therewith.  The  sacrificial  rites  for  the  ginns  of  Seba  Aioun  "  are  prob- 
ably more  numerous,  extensive,  and  varied  than  found  elsewhere  in  Alge- 
ria." This  ceremony  is  old,  having  been  described  in  the  seventeenth 
century  by  Father  Dan  in  his  "History  of  Barbary,"  who,  however,  does 
not  mention  the  negroes  in  the  matter,  a  fact  which  suggests  that  in  those 
days  the  blacks  were  not  the  sacrificers. 

The  ctdt  of  Stki  Ainm  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  negroes,  or  rather  of 
their  seven  dors  (housesX  or  religloas  fraternities,  each  representing  a 
countiy  of  the  Soudan  (East :  Katchena,  Zozo,  Bomu.  West :  Bambaia, 
Songhai,  Tombu,  Gurma),  and  eadi  controlled  by  the  peoples  from  these 
respective  regions.  Politics  has  somewhat  influenced  these  things,  for  the 
countries  of  the  western  (/<7rs  are  now  under  French,  those  of  the  eastern 
dors  under  English  protection.  The  negroes  of  Bambara  and  Katchena 
are  the  most  numerous  in  Algiers.  The  most  Islamized  are  those  of  Bomu. 
The  organization  of  the  (far,  the  orchestra,  music,  dances  are  described,  and 
on  pp.  26-28  is  a  list  of  the  principal  ^inns.  The  Soudanese  make  little 
distinction  between  mmiotOs  and  gmns,  and  those  who  are  Islamiaed  have 
borrowed  AUaA  from  the  Arabs.  There  is  noticeable  an  influence  of  these 
negro  peoples  (who  still  retain  thefar  original  dialects)  upon  Moslemism  as 
well  as  vice  versa.  A  species  of  qracretism  worth  studying  is  here  go> 
ing  on. 

The  sacrifices  are  estimated  to  amount  to  at  least  1000  fowls  a  year,  and 
the  objects  sought  are  "all  sorts  of  prosperities,  chietly  health  (many  dis- 
eases are  thought  to  be  inflicted  by  the  ginns  as  punishment  for  misdeeds 
toward  them),  neglect  of  worship,  etc.  Some  of  the  ginns  prefer  certain 
colors,  others  certain  kinds  of  feathers.  Each  spring  has  its  special  gitt/if 
and  is  said  to  have  its  special  therapeutic  value,  —  a  bottle  of  die  water  is 
carried  of!  by  the  sacrificer.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  sacrifices  of  goats, 
sheep,  or  cattle  are  made.  The  spirit  of  the  gum  is  supposed  to  drink  the 
blood  shed  in  the  sacrifice.  Specimens  of  the  songs  used  by  the  dart  are 
givm  on  pp.  20,  21.  The  sorcerers  or  shamans  are  known  as  iaUh,  mar' 
abouts^  hounias,  ari/as.  The  author  thinks  that  the  dart  are  not  very  proa* 
perous,  and  may  become  extinct  before  long.  Immigration  into  Algiers 
from  the  Soudan  has  not  continued  since  the  abolition  of  slavery.  This 
lihle  monograph  contains  much  of  interest  to  the  Student  of  the  n^o  in 
America  as  well  as  in  Africa. 


Digitized  by  Google 


BibUograpkUiU  Notts* 


87 


Die  Volkskunde  in  den  Jahren  1897-1902.  Berichte  iiber  Neuerschei- 
nungen  von  Dr.  Friedrich  S.  Krauss.  Erlangen :  Vcrlag  von  Fr. 
Junge,  1903.    Paper,       X  10.    Pp.  180. 

This  work  of  the  well-known  Slavic  expert,  Dr.  Krauss  of  Vienna,  is 
without  question  the  roost  valuable  compendium  of  its  kind  that  has  ap- 
peared in  a  long  time.  While  modestly  claiming  to  be  only  n  reference 
guide  to  tiie  folk-lore  literature  o(  tlie  six  yeers  preceding  publication,  its 
•cope  is  much  wider,  and  it  is  really  a  aeries  of  connected  and  daasffied 
reviews  embracing  almost  every  important  ethnologic  book  or  brochure  that 
has  appeared  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  since  1896. 

It  opens  with  an  appreciation  of  Folk-lore,  —  or  rather  of  the  more  inclu- 
sive Vo/kskun/ff^  —  and  deals  in  turn  with  every  branch  of  the  subject,  sum- 
marizing in  extended  bibliographic  form  the  latest  work  in  each.  Among 
the  subjects  noted  by  title  are  Music,  Songs,  Stories,  Proverbs,  Riddles, 
Animals,  Plants,  Medicine,  Superstitions,  Funeral  Customs  and  Beliefs, 
Sun  Worship,  Sacrifice,  Witchcraft,  Symbolism,  The  Sexes,  Woman,  The 
Child,  Festivals,  Fire,  Costume^  and  a  number  of  others,  widi  discusstons 
of  special  phases.  As  usual,  bis  criticisms  are  incisive  and  to  the  pokat, 
for  instance,  Ids  pertinent  remarks  on  the  folk-lore  value  of  a  well^Miilt 
and  well-labelled  museum,  and  his  characterization  of  Lander's  spectac- 
ular account  of  alleged  funeral  cannibalism  in  Tibet  as  "  pure  bosh." 
Antericnn  authors  are  well  represented,  and  the  results  of  recent  explora- 
tions among  the  primitive  tribes  of  both  Americas  are  fully  considered. 
The  volume  concludes  with  an  alphabetic  list  of  over  four  hundred  authors 
noted.  Altogether  the  work  is  invaluable  to  its  purpose,  and  is  one  which 
every  student  and  editor  of  folk-lore  things,  in  the  broadest  sense,  will  do 
well  to  make  a  constant  desk  companion, 

ytmet  Mboiuy, 

Um  hohen  Prkis  :  Ein  biirgerlich  Trauerspiel  von  Branislav  Gj.  NuSid 
Ubersetzt  und  fiir  die  deutsche  Buhne  bearbeitet  von  Dr.  Friedrich  S. 
Krauss.  Leipzig  :  Adolph  Schumann,  1904.  (Volume  3  of  Library  of 
Selected  Servian  Masterworks,  edited  by  Dr.  F.  S.  Krauss.)  Paper, 
5^X8.   Pp.  nriit  119. 

This  third  volume  of  the  *'  Servian  Masterworks,"  now  appearing  in  Ger- 
man under  the  able  editorahip  of  Dr.  Krauss,  himself  of  Servian  birth,  is 
by  the  brilliant  young  author  and  patriot  whose  "  Auf  Uferloser  See  " 
formed  the  first  of  the  series.  As  in  the  other,  the  minor  note  dominates. 
Whether  from  an  inborn  race  seriousness,  or  as  a  habit  fixed  by  centuries 
of  bloody  struggle  with  a  barbarous  invader,  Servian  thought  appears  to 
be  gloomy,  and  in  this  Nu5i6  seems  its  fitting  exponent.  He  resembles 
Poe  in  dark  conception,  and  Heine  in  the  bitter  after-taste,  and  has  no 
superior  in  the  art  of  building  up  to  a  powerful  climax.  The  play  deals 
with  the  fortunes  of  a  government  official  in  Belgrade,  who  has  unwillingly 
thrown  away  the  simple  country  habit  of  his  early  youth  at  the  bidding  of 
so  ambitious  but  shallow  wife,  to  ape  the  extravagances  of  foreign  custom 
at  the  cost  of  wealth,  honor,  and  hearf^  content. 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


88 


youmaiof  Amerium  FolkLort. 


A  Trooper's  Narrative  of  Service  in  the  Anthracite  Coal  Strike, 
1902.  By  Stewart  Culin,  Private,  Second  Troop  Philadelphia  City 
Cavalry,  N.  G.  P.  Philadelphia  :  George  W,  Jacobs  &  Co.,  1903.  Pp.  91. 

Besides  military  experiences,  this  little  book  gives  us  interesting  glimpses 
of  the  life  of  the  Poles  and  Lithuanians  of  the  Anthracite  district  of  Penn- 
flylvania,  their  habits,  customs,  etc.  In  Shenandoah,  where  *'  nearly  every 
oUmt  home  is  occapied  as  %  ttSooOt"  the  signs  all  bear  foreign  names, 
<*Kiiisian,  Foliah,  Lithuanian,  and  Gennan."  Of  the  children,  we  learn 
fp.  30)  diat  their  games  aie  all  American.  In  the  public  schools  "the 
Polish  bojs  are  brighter  and  more  intdligent  than  those  of  American  par- 
entage" (p.  41).  In  Shenandoah  there  are  Catholic  churches  of  six  vari- 
eties ;  a  Greek  church  for  the  "  Huns ;  "  Protestant  churches  of  ten 
denominations  ;  and  a  Jewish  synagogue.  Three  different  Lithuanian  dia- 
lects are  spoken  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania.  The  English  of  the  miners' 
children,  "  like  that  of  the  miners  generally,  had  a  pleasant  brogue,  and  was 
interspersed  with  quaint  words  and  expre^isiuns  borrowed  from  the  English 
UBimm'*  (p.  31).  In  cooDSCtSoii  with  the  strike,  Mr.  Cnlin  says  (p.  32)  : 
"Ihe  presence  of  the  troops  inspired  a  militaxy  spirit  among  the  boys» 
Tbef  played  soldier,  sad  finally  impmised  a  csmp  on  the  side  of  the  hill 
iriiere  they  moonted  guard  oicr  tents  ingeniously  oonstnided  of  old  bags>" 
The  soldiers,  too,  devised  a  new  form  of  amusement,  the  "porch  parQr" 
(p.  si).  Mr.  Culin 's  sketch  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  human  activkies  pre* 
Tilling  over  and  above  the  strike  and  its  immediate  pbaies. 


Digitized  by  Google 


^4  /A  >AA-Vs., 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

Vol.  XVII.— APRIL-JUNE,  1904.— No,  LXV. 

it  ^ 

THE  LONG  HIDDEN  FRIEND. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Students  of  folk-lore  have  long  recognized  the  fact  that  in  America 
a  peculiarly  interesting  and  fruitful  field  for  the  study  of  traditional 
superstition  is  to  be  found  among  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  folk-lore  of  these  Pennsylvania  Germans  has  been  repeatedly 
discussed  by  contributors  to  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore.* 

One  of  the  most  valuable  and  authentic  hand-books  of  the  charms 
and  popular  magic  in  use  among  the  people  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
is  "The  Long  Hidden  Friend,  "  which  is  reprinted  in  the  following 
paf^es.  This  curious  book  was  written  in  18 19  by  John  George  Hoh- 
man,  and  for  almost  a  century  has  been  held  as  a  prime  authority  by 
the  witch-doctors  of  this  section.  These  witch-doctors  are  generally 
known  as  "  hex-doctors  "  (German  "  hexe,"  a  witch),  and  the  practice 
of  their  arts  is  often  called  "  pow-wowing."  *  It  must  not  be  understood 
from  these  terms,  however,  that  the  witch-doctor  Is  In  league  with 
the  powers  of  darkness.  On  the  contrary,  he  makes  it  his  business 
to  overcome  by  pious  charms  the  malign  influences  of  the  witches 
who  have  plac^  their  spells  upon  man  or  beast  Accordingly,  the 
incantations  of  the  witch-doctors  make  extensive  use  of  religious 
symbols  and  prayers  in  which  one  easily  recognizes  the  survivals  of 
liturgical  weapons  employed  by  the  mediaeval  church  in  its  warfare 
against  witchcraft 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  is  popularly  associated  with  Salem  and 
the  Puritans.  That  it  continues  to  flourish  to-day  to  any  consider- 
able extent  among  the  white  populatbn  of  the  United  States  will  be 
a  surprise  to  most  persons,  yet  within  the  past  four  years  investiga- 
tions have  disclosed  the        that  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  whole 

>  Fotk-Lort  0fikg  PmrnsyhmtUa  GtrmoMs,  W.  J.  HofiEman,  vol.  i.  pp.  t2  5-135, 
iL  pp.         ;  FoUt-Lare  from  Buffalo  Valky,  Cmtral  Pennsylvania,  J.  G.  Owens, 

voL  iv.  pp.  1 1 5-128  ;  Notes  of  the  Folk-Lore  of  the  Mountain  Whites  of  the  Alle- 
ghaniesy  J.  Hampden  Porter,  vol.  vii.  pp.  105-1 17  ;  Folk-MedicUu  among  Ptnn^l' 
vania  Germans^  Emma  G.  White,  vol.  x.  pp.  78--80. 
*  CI  artides  by  J.  G.  Owens,  p.  135,  and  Emma  G.  White,  p.  78. 


Digitized  by  Google 


90 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


communities,  almost  whole  counties,  firmly  believe  in  the  reality  of 
"hexing,"  and  protect  themselves  from  its  influence  by  the  charms 
and  incantations  of  the  witch-doctors.  Dr.  John  M.  Bertolet,  a 
physician  of  Reading,  Pa.,  published  in  December,  1899,  an  article  in 
the  *<  Monthly  Medical  Journal,"  Philadelphia,  in  which  he  presented 
facts  as  to  the  wide  extent  of  idtch-doctoring  in  Berks  County.  Fol- 
lowing dose  upon  this  was  a  long  article  upon  the  same  subject  in  the 
*'New  York  Herald,"  January  14, 1900^  based  upon  material  gathered 
by  Dr.  Bertolet.  Interest  in  the  matter  was  still  further  awakened  by 
the  daily  *' North  American"  of  Philadelphia,  whose  correspondent 
visited  Reading  and  collected  information  concerning  the  practices 
of  the  witch-doctors,  which  was  published  in  a  six-column  article^ 
May  22,  190a 

On  the  basis  of  statements  made  in  this  article,  Joseph  H.  Hage* 
man,  one  of  the  most  prominent  "hex-doctors"  of  Reading,  brought 
suit  for  libel  against  the  "  North  American."  In  the  course  of  the 
trial,  however,  the  truth  of  the  statements  made  in  the  article  was  so 
fully  substantiated  that  the  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  moved  that  the 
jury  be  instructed  to  bring  in  a  verdict  for  the  defendant.  A  large 
number  of  witnesses  were  examined,  and  their  testimony  (printed  in 
full  in  the  "North  American"^)  furnishes  striking^  evidence  of  the 
implicit  faith  which  many  still  cherish  in  the  potency  of  charms  and 
amulets. 

In  none  of  these  articles  on  the  practices  of  the  witch-doctors  is 
there  any  mention  of  Hohman's  "Long  Hidden  Friend"  as  the 
source  from  which  their  magic  was  taken,  though  several  of  the 
charms  given  correspond  almost  word  for  word  to  those  in  Hohman's 
book.  By  a  singular  coincidence,  however,  at  the  very  time  that  the 
printers  were  engaged  in  setting  up  the  accompanying  reprint  of 
"The  Long  Hidden  Friend,"  the  Berks  County  Medical  Society, 
while  investigating  further  the  practices  of  the  witch-doctors,  dis- 
covered that  the  principal  source  of  the  charms  which  they  were 
using  was  this  very  book  of  Hohman's.  The  results  of  this  inves- 
tigation by  the  Medical  Society  are  set  forth  in  an  article  by  the 
Reading  correspondent  of  the  Philadelphia  "  Public  Ledger,".  May 
14,  1904.  The  correspondent  writes : — 

The  representatives  of  the  Medical  Society  ha%'e  found  that  the  practice 
of  the  witch-doctors  is  founded  on  a  book  of  seventy  pages,  published  in 
this  city  over  eighty  years  ago  by  John  George  Hobmao,  one  of  the  pioneer 
witchnloctors  of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  His  volume  is  called  "The  Long 
Lost  Friend,"  a  collection  of  mysterious  and  invaluable  arts  and  remedies. . . . 

Investigation  by  representatives  of  the  local  medical  society  shows  that 
this  book  b  almost  exclusively  used  by  the  witch-doctors  in  preparing  their 
charms  and  in  giving  advice,  for  which  they  chaige  high  prices. 

^  March  7, 11-14, 1903* 


Digitized  by  Google 

■ 


The  lAmg  Hidden  FrwuL 


91 


Immediately  on  the  appearance  of  this  article,  Mr.  W.  W.  Newell 
wrote  to  Reading  inquiring  for  further  information  as  to  the  extent 
to  which  Hohman's  book  is  still  used  by  the  witch-doctors.  The 
replies  to  his  letters  fully  confirm  the  statements  made  by  the  cor- 
respondent of  the  "  Public  Ledger."  Rev.  J.  W.  Early,  a  Lutheran 
minister  of  Reading,  writes  under  date  May  24,  1904 :  — 

If  you  suppose  that  any  use  of  it  is  confined  to  irregular  practitioners  in 
Berks  County,  you  are  grievously  mistaken.  The  practice  of  its  mysterious 
formulas  is  carried  on  to  a  large  extent  even  beyond  the  limits  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, possibly  the  larger  portion  of  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
possibly  even  beyond.  Not  only  Reading  has  had  its  "  Warsht  (Wurst) 
Fran,"  but  thm  wtt  buDdicds  upon  htmdreds  who  cany  on  the  same  things 
in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Another  correspondent,  also  from  Reading,  writes  :  — 

It  is  a  fact  that  there  are  a  number  of  "  witch  doctors  "  in  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania, and  they  do  a  flourishing  business.  Hohman  s  book  and  the 
*'  Seventh  Book  of  Moses"  are,  I  understand,  the  foundation  of  their  prac- 
tices, and  the  former,  I  know,  is  the  volume  consulted  by  them. 

Add  to  this  concurrent  testimony  the  fact  that  many  of  the  charms 
collected  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  the  whole  Alleghany  region 
by  the  students  of  folk-lore  are  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  Hohman's 
book,  and  it  becomes  evident  that  "The  Long  Hidden  Friend"  pos- 
sesses the  highest  value  as  an  early  record  of  the  popular  magic 
practised  among  the  German  immigrants  in  Pennsylvania. 

Before  proceeding  to  discuss  the  contents  of  the  book  let  us  bring 
together  such  information  as  is  at  hand  concerning-  its  author,  John 
George  Hohman.  In  his  preface  the  author  states  that  the  book  is 
written  "at  Rosedale,  in  Berks  County,  Pennsylvania,  31st  Julv,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  1819."  On  the  title-page  the 
author's  home  is  given  as  "  near  Reading,  in  Elsop  Township,  Berks 
County,  Pa."  At  first  this  location  was  difficult  to  identify.  None 
of  the  maps  show  a  "  Rosedale  "  in  Berks  County  ;  nor  is  there  such 
township  as  "  Elsop."  In  the  German  text,  however,  the  name  of 
this  township  is  given  as  "Elsass,"  which  is,  of  course,  the  German 
form  for  "Alsace,"  a  township  just  northwest  of  Reading.  Clearly 
the  "Elsop"  of  the  English  edition  is  a  misprint.  Furthermore,  I 
find  it  recorded  in  the  "  History  of  Berks  County"  ^  that  about  the 
year  181 5  a  woollen  mill  was  erected  on  Rose  Valley  Creek  in  Alsace 
township,  at  "Rosenthal,"  There  was,  then,  at  the  time  Hohman 
wrote  his  book,  a  settlement  by  this  name.  In  this  way  the  place 
of  writing  is  fully  identified. 

That  the  book  was  written  as  early  as  18 19  —  the  date  given  in 
>  M.  L  Montgomery,  Phila.,  188^  p.  9S9. 


uiyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


92 


yaumal  of  American  Folh'Lan. 


the  author's  preface  —  is  shown  by  an  examination  of  the  names  ap- 
pearing in  the  book.  For  example,  several  of  the  names  mentioned 
in  liohman's  list  of  "Testimonials  "  can  be  identified  by  local  his- 
torical records  with  persons  living  at  that  time.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  of  these  circumstantial  confirmations  of  the  date  of  the 
book  is  found  in  the  case  of  the  "  Dr.  Stoy "  referred  to  in  con- 
nection with  the  cure  of  hydrophobia  (No.  97).  After  giving  this 
remedy,  the  author  adds :  It  is  said  thU  is  the  remedy  used  so  suc- 
cessfully by  the  late  Dr.  Wra.  Stoy."  Now,  from  an  article  on  ''The 
RefonnKsd  Church  in  Pennsylvania,"  by  J.  H.  Diibbsi^  I  learn  that 
there  was  a  Dr.  Heniy  William  Stoy  practising  at  Lebanon,  who  was 
especially  celebrated  for  his  success  in  treating  hydrophobia.  As  an 
evidence  of  his  reputation  in  this  respect  Mr.  Dubbs  quotes  the  fol- 
lowing entry  from  the  account  book  of  George  Washington : — 

October  18,  1797.  Gave  my  servant  Christopher,  to  bear  his  expenses 
to  a  person  at  Lebanon  in  Pennsylvania  celebrated  for  curing  persons  bit 
by  wild  anunals,  $25.00.'* 

This  Dr.  Stoy  of  Lebanon  died  in  1801,  and  his  fame  was  still  re- 
membered eighteen  years  later  when  Hohman  referred  to  him  as 
"the  late  Dr.  Wm.  Stoy." 

Hohman  tells  us  very  little  of  his  own  personal  history.  But  for- 
tunately there  is  another  source  of  information  which  throws  an 
important  light  upon  our  author's  character.  In  Mr.  W.  J.  Buck's 
"  Local  Sketches  and  Legends  pertaining  to  Bucks  and  Montgomery 
Counties/'  *  I  stumbled  upon  a  chapter  entitled,  "  George  Homan 
and  His  'Taufschiens.' "  Nothing  is  there  said  of  Hohman's  book, 
or  of  his  interest  in  charmst  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Ho- 
man of  whom  Mr.  Buck  writes  is  to  be  identified  vrith  the  author  of 
'*The  Long  Hidden  Friend."  After  a  couple  of  pages  in  regard  to 
German  redemptioners  *  in  general,  Mr.  Buck  proceeds  to  give  an 
account  of  Homan 

About  the  year  2799,  airived  at  Philadelphia  a  vessel  whose  cargo 
consisted  chiefly  of  German  redemptioners.  Among  these  was  Geoige 

^  PuMiaatioms  &f  ^  Pimuyhatiia  Gtrmam  Steitfy,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  1902, 

p.  184  ff. 
»  1887,  p.  178  ff. 

•  These  "  redemptioners  "  were  immigrants  who  sold  themselves  into  practical 
slavery  for  a  term  of  years  after  their  arrival  in  America  in  consideration  of  the 
payment  of  dieir  passage  to  this  conntiy.  For  farther  informatioii  In  regard  to 
them,  cf.  article  on  "The  Redempttoners,*'  by  F.  R.  DiffenderfFer,  Publicaiions  of 
the  Pt'ttftKy'hattia  German  Society^  1900,  especially  pp.  164-185  ;  cf.  also  arnclc  on 
"The  Reformed  Church  in  Pennsylvania,"  by  J.  H.  Yiwhhs,  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man Society^  1902,  p.  35.  In  the  possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pcnn- 
aylvuua  Aere  are  two  MS.  volumes  entitfed,  **  GeniuuiRedemptionen  from  1775- 
1804.**  A  search  throqgh  these  records  veiy  likely  might  disclose  soaw  further 
mention  of  Hohman. 


Digilize<l  by  Google 


Tfie  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


93 


Homan,  his  wife  Catbarine,  and  a  young  son  son  called  Caspar.  Their  time 
was  purchased  by  a  farmer  by  the  name  of  Fretz,  who  conveyed  them  in 
his  market  wagon  to  his  home  in  Bedminster  township.  After  residing  and 
working  for  perhaps  a  year  with  his  purchaser,  he  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  Nicholas  Buck,  the  founder  of  Bucksville,  for  whom  he  conceived  a  strong 
attachment.  He  solicited  the  latter  to  go  his  security,  that  he  might  be 
enabled  to  live  and  work  for  him  on  his  farm.  Taking  a  fancy  to  him,  Mr. 
Buck  finally  consented,  and  so  arrangements  were  made  that  be  might  work 
oat  for  him  his  unexpired  time,  whilst  his  wife  and  child  would  continue 
with  Mr.  Frets. 

After  Homan  had  resided  near  a  year  with  his  bondsman,  he  made  unto 
him,  considering  his  circumstances,  a  remarkable  proposition.  He  stated 
that  he  had  a  knowledge  of  drawing  and  water-color  painting,  which  he 
had  learned  in  early  life  in  Germany,  and  was  withal  a  poet  and  ready 
writer.  This  was  to  make  taufschiens  and  peddle  them  over  the  country  to 
help  raise  the  money  the  sooner  to  purchase  therewith  his  freedom  and  that 
of  his  wife.  This  proposition  to  Mr.  Buck  was  a  novelty,  and  well  it  might 
have  been  to  any  other  native  Pennsylvanian.  He  stated  if  he  would  allow 
him  a  day  for  the  purpose  he  would  produce  for  hhn  a  specimen  from  such 
materials  as  he  possessed.  This  was  granted,  and  within  a  coupleof  weeks 
was  completed.  It  was  drawn  and  painted  on  paper  of  about  twelve  by 
sixteen  inches  in  dimensions.  In  the  centre  was  a  heart  in  outline  of  five 
inches  in  diameter,  surrounded  by  representations  of  birds,  flowers,  and 
angels,  in  rather  gaudy  colors,  with  pieces  of  poetry  of  four  or  eight  lines 
each  between  the  spaces. 

At  this  stage  of  our  progress  it  may  be  well  to  inform  the  English 
scholar,  ignorant  of  the  German  language,  what  taufschien  signifies.  Its 
literal  translation  is  baptism  certificate.  The  laws  of  Germany  being  rigid 
on  this  matter,  that  the  age  and  baptism  of  every  infant  be  duly  entered  in 
church  records  and  a  certificate  thereof  be  also  given  the  parents  to  be 
exhibited  whenever  demanded  by  the  authorities  as  to  tbe  age  of  the  child 
for  legal  marriage  and  for  military  service  if  a  boy.  This  was  required 
to  contain  the  names  and  residence  of  the  parents,  the  child's  name  and 
date  of  birth  and  baptism.  In  addition  the  names  of  the  sponsors  and  of 
the  officiating  clergymen.  The  common  German  name  for  this  instrument 
of  writing  was  taufschien.  This  custom  was  continued  in  Pennsylvania 
by  nearly  all  the  German  denominations  well  into  the  beginning  of  this 
century  or  as  late  as  1830,  prominently  by  the  Lutherans  and  German 
iveiormed. 

As  George  Homan  was  also  an  expert  penman,  he  was  in  the  practice 
of  making  at  his  home  as  many  as  fifty  or  one  hundred  of  these  taufschiens, 
when  be  would  set  off  00  his  pedestrian  peddling  tour,  selling  them  among 
the  German  settlers  and  farmers.  The  space  within  the  heart  was  left 

blank,  to  be  afterwards  filled  up  to  suit  tiie  wishes  of  hb  patrons.  When  de- 
sired he  would  do  this  in  handsomely  ornamented  German  tot  called  Frac- 
tur  Sehri/f,  for  which  there  was  an  additional  charge.  The  verses  mentioned 
were  all  of  a  religious  character,  and  in  praise  of  infancy  and  baptism.  His 


Digitized  by  Google 


94 


yaumal  of  American  Folh^Lore, 


success  was  such  in  selling  these  that  within  ten  months  from  starting  in 
the  business  lie  realized  sufficient  to  not  only  purchase  his  own  but  his 
wife's  freedom,  to  the  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  his  bondsman  as 
well  as  his  purchaser. 

His  busiue:»5  in  this  line  became  so  extensive  through  his  industry  and 
perseverance  that  he  got  them  engraved  hi  outline  after  one  of  his  designs 
and  printed  at  Alleotown,  which  he  would  afterwards  color  to  suit  his  or 
the  purchaser's  fancy.  In  about  sixteen  years  he  realised  enough  from 
this  source  to  purchase  himself  a  snug  house  and  home  near  the  borough  of 
Reading,  to  which  was  attached  several  acres  of  ground,  when  in  addition 
with  the  assistance  of  his  family  he  entered  into  trucking  and  proved  him- 
self very  successful  in  raising  vegetables  for  the  market  there.  Here  himself 
and  wife  attained  to  a  good  old  age  through  the  comfortable  provision  he 
had  made  by  his  industry.  Besides  Caspar,  who  grew  to  manhood,  he  had 
several  other  children. 

A  son  of  Nicholas  Buck,  to  whom  I  am  chiefly  indebted  for  this  infor- 
mation, made  his  wedding  tour  to  Reading  in  the  spring  of  1824,  and 
greatly  surprised  him  with  a  brief  and  unexpected  visit,  which  highly 
pleased  him,  through  his  great  regard  for  hb  long-esteemed  bondsman  who 
had  faith  in  his  integrity.  The  reader  will  now  know  what  taufschiens  are 
and  how  they  were  the  means  of  securing  liberty  to  a  worthy  man  and  wife 
whilst  servitude  prevailed,  and  finally  secured  him  a  happy  home  and  a 
comfortable  position  in  life. 

Everything  in  this  account  fits  exactly  with  the  information  sup- 
plied in  Hohman's  pre^e.  His  book,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  dated 
'*at  Rosedale  near  Reading,"  in  .the  year  18 19.  Compare  with  this 
what  we  are  told  of  Homan,  the  vendor  of  *'  taufschiensw"  Coming 
to  America  about  1799^  in  the  course  of  "about  sixteen  years  "  be 
saved  enough  "  to  purchase  himself  a  snug  house  and  home  near  the 
borough  of  Reading."  This  must  have  been  about  the  year  1816,  or 
shortly  before  "  The  Long  liiddeii  Friend  "  was  written. 

Moreover,  the  thrifty  character  of  the  "  taufschien  "  peddler  well 
agrees  with  that  of  Hohman  the  author,  who  tells  us  as  a  reason  for 
putting  out  his  book:  "  Ich  bin  sonst  auch  noch  ein  zeimlich  arroer 
Mann  und  kann  es  auch  nothig  brauchen,  wenn  ich  ein  wenig  mit 
solchen  Biichem  verdiene." 

Our  author,  then,  to  accept  Mr.  Buck's  account,  was  a  worthy,  in- 
dustrious man  who  commanded  the  respect  of  those  who  knew  him. 
Whether  he  further  added  to  his  modest  income  by  enga^^ing  in  the 
professional  practice  of  the  charms  which  he  published  in  his  book, 
we  cannot  say.  The  list  of  testimonials  would  point  in  this  direction. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  would  seem  that  if  he  had  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  these  charms  he  would  have  regarded  it  as  poor  financial 
policy  to  publish  them  broadcast.  At  all  events,  he  was  not  a  shrewd 
quack  who  was  striving  to  enrich  himself  by  cultivating  the  supersti' 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend. 


95 


tions  of  the  igncnraiit,  but  an  honest  man  who  himself  thoroughly  be- 
lieved in  the  value  of  the  charms  which  he  has  collected  in  the  pages 
of  his  book.  Furthermore,  his  youth  and  eariy  manhood  had  been 
spent  in  the  Fatherland,  where  he  had  been  educated  in  the  customs 
and  superstitions  of  the  peasantry.  In  all  these  ways  he  was  well 
qualified  to  serve  as  a  medium  for  the  transmission  of  genuine  tra- 
ditional folk-lore. 

A  few  words  must  now  be  said  as  to  the  several  editions  of  "  The 
Long  Hidden  Friend."  When  the  reprinting  of  the  book  was  under- 
taken the  only  edition  at  hand  was  the  one  printed  at  Carlisle  in 
1863.  After  the  type  had  already  been  set  up,  the  existence  of  two 
other  editions  was  discovered.  One  of  these  is  in  German,  printed 
at  Harrishuri^  by  Theo.  F.  Scheifer,  without  date.  The  only  known 
copy  of  this  edition  is  in  the  possession  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Early  of 
Reading.  He  has  kindly  furnished  a  careful  transcript  of  the  text 
for  the  purpose  of  comparison.  The  litlc-page  and  introduction  of 
this  German  edition  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages  at  the  foot 
of  the  English  text.  The  other  edition  is  in  English,  with  the  title, 
"The  Long- Lost  Friend."  Like  the  German  edition,  it  was  printed 
by  Scheffer  at  Harrisburg.    The  title-page  bears  the  date  1S56. 

A  comparison  of  these  three  editions  shows  that  the  language  of 
the  German  text  is  far  more  idiomatic  than  that  of  the  English  ver- 
sions. The  latter  contain  many  crude  and  unintelligible  passages 
which  are  clearly  due  to  the  blunders  of  translators  imperfectly 
acquainted  with  German  idioms.  This  establishes  the  fact — ante- 
cedently probable  —  that  the  original  edition  was  in  German. 

Nevertheless,  the  copy  now  in  Mr.  Early's  possession,  though  in 
German,  cannot  be  regarded  as  of  the  original  edition.  Oh  the 
title-page  and  again  on  pages  10  and  11  appear  certain  devices 
whidk  are  weU-known  emblems  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd- 
fellows. The  first  lodge  of  this  order  was  established  in  Baltimore 
in  1819;  and  not  until  1821  was  there  a  lodge  of  Oddfellows  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania — Franklin  Lodge,  Philadelphia.  Hohman's 
preface^  it  will  be  remembered,  was  dated  in  18 19.  It  is  very  diffi- 
cult  to  believe  that  at  such  an  early  date  cuts  <^  Oddfellow's  em- 
blems would  be  found  in  a  printing  office  at  Harrisburg — where  no 
lodge  existed  untO  a  number  of  years  afterwards.  Moreover,  the 
German  edition  contains  an  Appendix  in  which  a  quotation  is  made 
irom  the  Lancaster  **Eagle^"  1828.  Scheffer's  printing  office  at 
Harrisburg  is  still  in  operation,  the  business  being  conducted  under 
the  firm  name  of  "  The  Theo.  F.  Scheffer  Estate."  In  reply  to  ray 
inquiries,  Mr.  T.  J.  Scheffer  writes  that  he  is  unable  to  give  the  date 
of  our  German  edition.  It  appears,  however,  that  down  to  the  year 
1853  the  name  of  this  firm  was  *'  Scheffer  and  Beck."  The  German 


Digitized  by  Google 


jfoumcU  of  American  Folh-Lore, 


edition  may  therefore  be  dated  between  1852  and  1856.  Mr.  Schef- 
fer,  moreover,  establishes  the  existence  of  other  earlier  editions  of 
Hohman's  boolL  He  tells  me  that  he  has  seen  a  oopy  bearing  the 
date  1840. 

The  two  English  editions  show  no  dependence  upon  each  other, 
but  are  separate  translations  from  the  German.  There  is  more  or 
less  difference  between  them  in  the  order  in  which  the  charms  are 
arranged  —  the  edition  of  1856  following  more  closely  the  order  of 
the  German  edition.  The  edition  of  1863  lacks  Charm  No.  105^^, 
which  is  found  in  both  of  the  others.  On  the  other  hand,  No.  100, 
which  appears  in  the  German  and  the  1863  editions,  is  not  found  in 
the  edition  of  1856;  and  Charms  No.  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  and  177 
in  the  1863  edition  are  lacking  in  both  the  other  editions. 

The  German  edition  and  the  edition  of  1856  contain  also  an  Ap- 
pendix giving  various  recipes  for  curing  diseases  of  man  and  beast, 
for  dyeing  cloth,  etc  A  number  of  these  are  quoted  from  news- 
papers. The  only  one  which  is  dated  is  taken  from  the  Lancaster 
*' Eagle, "  1828.  There  are  no  elements  of  magic  or  folk-lore  in  the 
recipes  of  this  Appendix.  Whether  they  were  added  to  the  book 
by  Hohman  himself  is  doubtful. 

Turning  now  from  the  discussion  as  to  the  several  editions,  to  the 
contents  of  the  book,  the  question  at  once  presents  itself:  What 
were  the  sources  from  which  Hohman  gathered  his  material  ?  To 
answer  this  question  satisfactorily  from  the  incomplete  information 
at  hand  is,  of  course^  impossible.  The  author  himself  tells  us  that 
he  has  collected  his  material  from  various  sources  through  years  of  . 
painstaking  labor.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  preface  he  writes  (I 
quote  the  German,  as  the  meanmg  is  somewhat  perverted  in  the 
English  translation) :  — 

Dieses  Buch  ist  theils  aiis  einem  Buch  gezogen,  welches  von  einem 
Zigeuner  herausgegeben  worden,  theils  aus  heimUchen  Schriften  miihsam 
in  der  Welt  zusaniinengetragen,  durch  mich,  den  Autor  Johann  Georg 
Hohman,  in  verschiedenen  Jahren. 

The  Gipsy-Book  to  which  he  here  refers  is  not  known  to  me.  In 
all  probability  it  was  a  German  charm-book  with  which  our  author 
became  acquainted  before  his  emigration  to  America ;  for  there  is 
good  evidence  that  his  interest  in  magical  lore  had  begun  many 
years  before  the  publication  of  "The  Long  Hidden  Friend."  More- 
over, the  anecdote  of  the  gipsies  in  Prussia,  which  he  relates  in  his 
Remark  at  the  end  of  No.  117,  indicates  that  he  knew  something  of 
gipsy  charms  while  still  in  Germany.  This  charm,  No.  1 17,  is  the 
only  one  which  is  definitely  r#fcrred  to  as  taken  from  the  gipsies. 
But  another,  which  shows  striking  similarities  to  a  gipsy  charm  in 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


97 


Leland's  collection*^  is  No.  25.*  The  eharm  quoted  by  Ldand  is 
for  driving  worms  out  of  swine,  while  Hohman's  charm  is  for  killing 
worms  in  horses;  but  in  both  the  couplet  runs,  in  almost  identical 
phrase*  — 

Be  they  white  or  brown  or  red, 
Soon  they  'U  all  be  very  dead. 

Other  charms  against  worms  "white  and  brown  and  red  "  are  found 
in  Nos.  6^  69^  and  149.  One  may  conclude  with  good  reason  that 
all  of  this  group  are  iA  gipsy  origin. 

Moreover,  the  attempts  at  metre  and  rhyme  in  a  number  of  the 
charms  in  "  The  Long  Hidden  Friend  "  may  possibly  be  an  indica> 
tion  that  they  have  been  taken  from  the  Gipsy-Book.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  in  nearly  all  of  the  charms  collected  by  Leland  a  more 
or  less  regular  rhyme  appears.  Also  in  Hohman's  charm  No.  117, 
which  is  avowedly  borrowed  from  the  gipsies,  there  is  use  of 
rhjTne,'  as  well  as  in  the  "white  and  brown  and  red  worm  "  charms, 
which  one  suspects  to  be  of  gipsy  origin.  In  a  number  of  cases  the 
rhyme  exists  only  in  the  German  text,  having  been  effaced  in  the 
process  of  translation  (thus,  Nos.  23,  65,  66,  and  70) ;  in  others 
only  traces  of  the  original  rhyme  survive  in  the  English  version 
(thus,  Nos.  50,  71,  102,  122,  and  144).  In  a  few  cases,  however,  the 
rhyme  of  the  German  text  is  equally  well  represented  in  the  English 
translation  (thus,  Nos.  12,  27,  28,  60,  and  67).  In  two  instances 
(Nos.  74  and  104)  the  English  edition  gives  rhymes  where  none 
stood  in  the  German. 

In  suggesting  the  possibility  that  these  charms  which  show  rhyme 
were  taken  from  the  Gipsy-Book,  I  am  not,  of  course,  entering  upon 
the  question  of  their  ultimate  source.  Whether  they  were  in  any 
sense  peculiarly  gipsy  material,  or  had  merely  been  incorporated  in 
the  Gipsy-Book  from  the  general  stock  of  folk-lore,  is  a  matter  we 
are  not  here  called  upon  to  determine.  In  either  case  we  are  not 
prevented  from  suppo^g  that  these  were  among  the  charms  which 
Hohman,  according  to  bis  own  statement  borrowed  from  the  Gipsy- 
Book. 

The  Gipsy-Book,  however,  was  not  Hohman's  only  source.  From 
the  German  Centennial  Almanac  he  quotes  a  list  of  the  unlucky  days 
and  seasons  of  the  year  (Na  The  wide  use  of  the  Centennial 
Almanac  among  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  has  already  Been  noted 
by  Mr.  J.  G.  Owens.*  By  a  peculiar  coincidence,  Mr.  Owens,  in  his 
article  (ppi  127,  128),  quotes  exactly  the  same  passage  from  the  AI« 
manac  which  is  found  in  Hohman's  book. 

^  C.  G.  Ldand,  Gypsy  SWeery  and  Fffrhme  Ttttingy  London,  1891. 

'  Cf.  tny  note  on  this  chann. 

•  In  this  charm  the  rhyme  comes  out  more  distinctly  in  the  German  version. 

*  Folk-Lore  from  Buftalo  Valley  Pa.,"  Journal  Am,  Folk-Lore^  vol.  it.  p.  1 19^ 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


98 


yournal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Another  source  from  which  Hohman  borrows  is  the  "  Book  of 
Albertus  Magnus."  To  this  author  are  explicitly  credited  Charms 
Nos.  45  and  46.  Furthermore,  No.  57  is  a  close  translation  of  a 
passage  in  Albert's  "De  Virtutibus  Herbarura,"  though  it  is  quoted 
without  acknowledgment.  I  suspect  that  a  numbtf  of  the  other 
herb-remedies  have  also  been  taken  from  the  same  source  (particu- 
larly Nos.  56  and  59),  though  I  do  not  have  at  hand  a  copy  of  Albert's 
treatise  with  which  to  compare  them.  Albertus  Magnus  (f  i28o)» 
the  celebrated  theologian  and  philosopher,  enjoyed  throughout  the 
Middle  Ages  a  wide  reputation  as  an  adept  in  magical  arts.  He  was 
the  author  of  books  on  alchemy,  on  the  nature  of  plants,  animals,  and 
stones,  and  of  other  similar  treatises.  But  it  was  not  upon  these 
authentic  works  alone  that  Albert's  reputation  for  magic  rested.  It 
became  the  fashion  to  put  forth  under  his  name  all  manner  of  occult 
writings.^  In  this  way  there  grew  up  a  Book  of  Albertus  Magnus, 
in  which,  together  with  authentic  treatises,  appeared  much  other 
material  of  this  sort.  Dr.  G.  C.  Horst^  quotes  the  title-page  of  an 
early  edition  of  this  Book  of  Albertus  :  "  Der  aus  seiner  Asche  sich 
%vieder  schon  verjungende  Phonix,  oder  gantz  newer  Albertus  Mag- 
nus, mit  seinem  curieusen  Schrifften,  sowohl  rare  und  unbekannte  Ge- 
heimnusse  der  Natur,  als  auch  von  Erzeugung  der  Menschen,  erspriss- 
licher  Fortpfiantzung  derer  Familien,  wie  auch  andere  furtreffliche 
Sachen,  das  Frauen-zimmer  betreffend,  vorstellend.  .  .  ,  Hamburg, 
bey  Joh.  Georg  Hermessen,  1720."  It  was  doubtless  through  some 
such  book  as  this  that  Hohman  became  acquainted  with  Albertus 
Magnus,^ 

Aside  from  the  Gipsy-Book,  the  Centennial  Almanac,  and  the 
Book  of  Albertus  Magnus,  Hohman  makes  no  explicit  mention  of 
his  sources — the  recipe  from  William  ElUes's  treatise  on  sheep- 
culture  in  England  (No.  98)  has  nothing  of  magic  in  it,  and  therefore 
is  outside  our  present  inquiry.  Doubtless,  however,  the  source  of 
most  of  the  formulas  given  in  "  The  Long  Hidden  Friend  "  could  be 
found  by  searching  through  the  mediaeval  works  on  magic  Thus,  I 
chanced  to  come  upon  the  source  of  Hohman's  charm  to  cause  the 
return  of  stolen  goods  (Na  174)  in  a  cabalistic  treatise  in  German, 
entitled,  "Semiphoras  Vnd  Schemhamphoras  Salomonis  Regis."* 
It  is  quite  likely,  also,  that  a  further  source  of  some  of  Hohman's  map 

>  Sighart,  Albirius  Bfagnusy  setn  LOem  undseimt  Whum^ft,  1857,  p.  '6^. 

*  Zauber  BiBUaiMk^  Mainz,  18S3,  voL  Iv.  p.  42. 

*  It  is  Interesting  to  note  that  a  New  York  publisher  of  the  present  day  offers 
an  edition  of  Albertus  ^T^^e:nus,  translated  from  the  German,  *'  Being  the  Ap- 
proved, Verified,  Sympathetic  and  Natural  Egyptian  Secrets,  or  White  and  Black 
Art  for  Man  and  Beast,"  etc.,  etc. 

*  PttK  i686»  Andreas  Lupplut,  Wead,  Didsaburg,  and  Frankfort;  reprinted  by 
Horst,  Zaubtr  BihUoUuk^  voL  iv.  p.  172. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend 


99 


terial  may  be  found  in  the  collections  of  prayers  against  witchcraft 
and  magic  arts  which  were  published  with  the  authority  of  the  me- 
diaeval church.^  One  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  liturgical 
character  of  some  of  the  formulas  in  the  book  —  for  example,  Nos. 
Ii6,  125,  163,  165,  and  166.  Indeed,  these  formulas,  though  thor- 
oughly mystical  in  tone,  are  really  prayers  rather  than  charms.  One 
of  the  striking  things  in  the  attitude  of  the  popular  mind  toward  the 
supernatural  is  its  impartiality.  Whether  a  spell  depended  upon  the 
operation  of  holy  or  of  demonic  agencies  really  mattered  little  so 
long  as  its  potency  was  assured.  Consequently,  in  "The  Long  Hid- 
den Friend"  we  find  gipsy  charms  wliich  border  upon  witchcraft 
side  by  side  with  pious  spells  to  overcome  the  power  of  gipsies  and 
witches. 

We  have  now  seen  in  a  general  way  what  were  the  immediate 
sources  from  which  Hohman  collected  the  charms  in  his  book.  It 
only  remains  to  add  a  word  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  material  itself. 
In  the  study  of  folk-lore  no  one  expects  to  find  the  beginning  of  any- 
thing. In  a  given  century  or  a  particular  nation,  folk-lore  may 
assume  a  distinctive  character,  but  the  elements  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed can  be  traced  back  as  far  as  the  records  will  carry  us. 

Thus  the  charms  which  were  in  use  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  more 
than  a  thousand  years  ago  are  essentially  similar  to  the  material  in 
Hohroan's  book.  In  the  Anglo-Saxon  charm-books  are  found  mystic 
talismans  and  spells  for  warding  off  disease  and  misfortune  of  every 
sort ;  there,  too^  are  prayers  for  protection  against  witchcraft  and 
accounts  of  herbs  possessing  magical  properties.  To  enter  upon  any 
detafled  comparison  of  this  Anglo-Saxon  folk-lore  with  the  charms 
in  "The  Long  Hidden  Friend"  is  here  impossible,*  but  perhaps  a 
single  example  will  serve  to  show  how  thoroughly  they  resemble  each 

^  One  of  these  books  of  prayers  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  H.  M.  M.  Richards 
of  Lebanon,  Secretarj'  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society.  In  a  letter  to  Mr. 
W.  W.  Newell  he  gives  the  following  transcript  of  the  title-page:  — 

Uer  wahre  gcistliche  Schild,  so  vor  drey  hundcrt  Jal.ren  von  deni  heiligen 
Papst  Leo  X  bestaetiget  worden,  wider  alle  gefaehriiche  boese  Menschcn  sowohl, 
ab  aller  Hezerqr  und  Tenfelswerk  entgegcn  gesetzt ;  Darionen  sebr  Kraeftige 
Seegen  vad  Gebetti  MrtfaeOa  von  Gott  offenbaret,  theib  voa  der  Kirchen  nod  HdL 

\'aeter  gcmacht  und  approbiret  worden.  Nebst  einem  Anhang  heilichen  Segen, 
zum  (iebrauch  frummer  Catholischcr  Christen,  um  in  alien  Gefahren,  worein 
sowohl  Measchen  aU  Viebalt  geratben,  gesicbert  zu  seyn.    Cum  Licentia  Ord. 

iUd  An.  i647^impreu. 

'  The  reader  who  wislies  to  ciqilore  tiie  subject  farther  will  find  the  Anglo* 
Saxon  channs  published  with  tiwuktion  and  Introduction  by  T.  O.  Cockayne, 
Lieckdoms^  W«rtemmiimg%  mtd  Star-Crt^  tf  Earfy  EngUuui,  Roll*  Serieiy  3 

TOU^  1864. 


L-iyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


lOO  youmal  of  American  Folk'Lort* 

other.  The  following  is  a  Saxon  charm  for  the  recoveiy  of  stolen 
cattle: — 

A  man  must  sing  this  lAen  one  hath  stolen  any  one  of  his  cattle.  Say 
before  thou  speak  any  other  word:  Bethlehem  was  hight  the  borough 
whetem  Christ  was  bom :  it  is  far  famed  over  all  earth.  So  may  this  deed 
be  in  the  sight  of  men  notorious,  per  crucem  ChristL  Then  pray  three 
times  to  the  east,  and  say  thrice,  May  the  cross  of  Christ  bring  it  back  from 
the  east ;  and  turn  to  the  west  and  say,  May  the  cross  of  Christ  bring  it 
back  from  the  west ;  and  to  the  south,  and  say  thrice,  May  the  cross  of 
Christ  bring  it  back  again  from  the  south  ;  and  to  the  north,  and  say,  The 
cross  of  Christ  was  hidden  and  has  been  found.  The  Jews  hanged  Christ, 
they  did  to  him  the  worst  of  deeds ;  they  concealed  what  they  were  not 
able  to  conceal.  So  never  may  this  deed  become  concealed.  Per  crucem 
Christi.^ 

It  is  true  that  one  does  not  find  anywhere  in  Hohman's  book  a  close 
parallel  to  these  phrases,  yet  such  charms  as  Nos.  137  and  13S  clearly 
belong  to  the  same  typ«,  and  represent  the  same  stage  of  culture. 

One  docs  not  need,  for  that  matter,  to  stop  with  the  Anglo-Saxon 
charms  in  tracing  the  antiquity  of  Hohman's  material.  Much  of  it 
may  easily  be  carried  back  to  a  still  earlier  period.  Thus,  the  notion 
which  crops  out  in  Na  143,  that  a  red  thread  bound  on  some  part  of 
the  body  brings  good  luck,  is  to  be  found  in  the  mtings  <tf  Pliny. 
It  is  far  from  my  uitention,  however,  to  make  a  study  of  the  origins 
of  the  material  which  is  presented  in  this  reprint  My  object  is 
accomplished  if  I  have  succeeded  in  showing  that  this  book  is  a 
oompiktion  of  genuine  traditional  material 

Testimony  has  already  been  presented  as  to  the  extensive  use  of 
these  charms  by  the  witch  doctors  of  Pennsylvania,  even  to  the  pre- 
sent day.  Further  evidence  of  the  wide  influence  which  this  book 
has  enjoyed  will  be  found  in  the  notes  following  the  reprint  of  the 
text  The  scantiness  of  these  notes  is  due  to  the  very  Umited  time 
I  have  had  for  bringing  them  together. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  make  most  grateful  acknowledgment  of 
the  suggestions  and  assistance  which  I  have  received  from  Mr.  W.  W. 
Newell  in  preparing  this  material  for  publication.  Without  his  aid 
I  should  not  have  succeeded  in  tracing  out  some  of  the  most  inter- 
esting  facts  in  regard  to  *'  The  Long  Hidden  Friend  and  its  long- 
lorgotten  author. 

Carieton  F,  Brawn, 

Harvard  University. 

^  Cockayn^  op.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  391-393. 


Digitized  by  Google 


THE 

LONG  HIDDEN  FRIEND, 

or 

TRUE  AND  CHRISTIAN 
INFORMATION  FOR  EVERY  MAN. 

containing 
WONDERFUL  AND  WtLL-TKIED 
REMEDIES    AND  MAGIC  ARTS, 
AS  WELL  FOR  MAN  AS  BEAST. 

With  many  proofs  shown  in  this  book,  of  which  most  are 
as  yet  fitUe  kaown,  and  appearing  now  lor  the  fifst 

tine  in  America. 


PubiisJud  by  John  George  Hohman^ 
Nuur  Rtading,  im  Elsop  T^wmsk^^  Btrks  County,  Pa, 

SSCOND  AND  IMPROVED  EDITION. 


CARUSLE,  PA. 
Pxinted  at  tiie  cheap  book  and  job  office  of  tiie  Carlisle 


1863. 


HOHMANN'S 

LANG  VERBORGENER  FREUND, 

eathaltend 

WUNDERBARE  UND  ERPROm^ 
HEIL-MITTEL  UND  KUNSTE 

fiir 

MENSCHEN  UND  VIEH 


HERAUSGEGF.BEN  VON 

JOHANN  GEORG  UOHMANN 


GEDRUCKT  BEI  THEO.  F.  SCHEFFER. 
HARRISBURG,  PA. 


Digiii^uu  L>y  Google 


I02 


youmalof  AnurUan  Folk-Lart* 


PREFACE 
To  THB  First  Edition  op  ths  Littlb  Book. 

The  author  has  scarcely  any  preface  to  write  to  his  little  volume ; 
but,  on  account  of  the  erroneous  notions  of  certain  men,  I  must  not 
omit  it  entirely.  Many  say,  you  are  right,  to  publish  and  sell  the  book. 
The  fewest  say,  not  right.  Such  men  I  pity  indeed,  and  pray  every 
man,  as  best  he  can,  to  turn  away  such  men  from  their  errors.  It  is 
true  that  he  who  misuses  the  name  of  Jesus  vainly,  commits  a  great 
sin.  Does  it  not  stand  expressly  in  the  50th  Psalm  ?  Call  upon  me 
in  need  and  I  will  save  thee  and  thou  shalt  praise  me."  This  is  in  the 
Lutheran  Bibk.  In  the  Catholic  it  stands  in  the  49th  Ftalm :  **  Call 
upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble  and  I  will  save  thee  and  thou  shalt 
praise  me"  Where  is  the  physician  that  has  been  able  to  cure  dis- 
ease of  the  heart,  gunshots,  small-pox,  diseases  of  the  womb  ?  or  to 
heal  the  coldbum^  (gangrene)  when  it  attacks  the  limb  strong  ?  To 


VORREDE. 

Der  Verfasser  h&tte  gem  keine  Vorrede  zu  diesem  Biichlein 
geschrieben ;  aber  wegen  irriger  Meinung  etlicher  Menschen  kann 
ich  es  nicht  unterlassen.  Viele  sagen,  es  ist  recht,  dass  ihr  so 
BUcher  verkaufet,  und  drucken  lasset.  Der  kleinste  Thefl  sagt,  es 
wire  nicht  recht  Solche  Menschen  bedauere  ich  sehr,  dass  sie  auf 
solchen  Irrwegen  gehen ;  und  ich  bitte  daher  jedermann,  wer  es  am 
besten  kann,  solche  Mensdien  von  ihren  Irrwegen  abzufuhren.  Es 
ist  wahr,  wer  den  Namen  Jesus  veigeblich  missbrauchet,  der  thut 
eine  grosse  SUnde.  Steht  nicht  ausdrucklich  im  506ten  Psalm  : 
"Rufe  mich  an  in  der  Noth,  so  will  ich  dich  erretten,  und  du  sollst 
mich  preisen;"  das  ist  in  der  Lutherischen  Bibd;  in  der  Katho- 
lischen  steht  es  im  49sten  Psalm:  "Rufe  mich  an  am  Tage  der 
Triibsal,  so  will  ich  dich  erretten,  und  du  sollst  mich  preisen."  Wo 
ist  ein  Doctor,  der  das  Herzgesperr  und  Anwachsen  vertrieben  hat  ? 
Wo  ist  ein  Doctor,  der  noch  eine  Schussblatter  vertrieben  hat  ?  Wo 
ist  ein  Doctor,  der  die  Mutterkrankheit  v^ertrieben  hat  ?  Wo  ist  cin 
Doctor,  der  den  kalten  Brand  hellen  ^  kann,  wenn  er  stark  an  einem 
Gliede  ist  i*  Dies  alles  ist  zu  hcilen.  und  noch  viel  mehr  Ik  imliche 
Sachen  sind  in  diesem  Buchc  enthalten,  und  der  Verfasser  von 
diesem  Buch  kann  einicre  Zeit  seinen  Eid  nehmen,  dass  eir  schon 
viele  Proben  aus  dem  Buch  gcmacht  hat.  Ich  sage  :  ciniger  Mensch 
versundigt  sich  hart,  er  kann  sich  den  Himmel  entziehen,  wcnn  er 
scbuld  ist,  dass  sein  Nebenmensch  ein  Auge  oder  ein  Be^in,  oder 

^  heilen. 


i 

Digi^ed  by  Coogle 


Thi  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


103 


cure  all  these  and  yet  many  more  private  things  are  contained  in  this 
book,  and  the  author  can  at  any  time  take  his  oath  that  he  has 
already  effected  many  cures,  and  I  can  call  heaven  to  witness  whether 
any  has  ever  lost  eye,  or  tooth,  or  limb,  by  the  use  of  my  remedies. 
Such  men  reject  the  command  of  the  Lord  —  to  call  upon  him  in  time 
of  need.  If  we  may  not  use  forms  of  words  (charms)  and  the  highest 
name,  they  would  not  have  been  revealed  to  us,  and  God  would  not 
help  when  we  use  them.  God  cannot  indeed  be  compelled  contrary  to 
His  own  perfect  will  One  other  thing  I  must  mention  :  Some  say,  if 
you  use  these  words ;  after  that  the  doctor-stuff  will  be  of  no  use.  That 
is  only  your  doctor's  stuff.  For  if  he  cannot  cure  with  the  words, 
much  less  can  he  without  them.  I  can  any  tune  name  a  Catholic 
Priest  who  had  his  horse  cured  by  such  means,  and  can  name  the 
man  who  did.  He  lived  over  in  Westmoreland  County.  I  can  also 
name  a  reformed  minister  who  performed  in  the  art  and  cured  the 
gout  If  people  misuse  the  lK>ok,  it  is  a  sin ;  but  woe  to  those 
who^  through  fear  of  wrong,  will  suffer  the  loss  of  life,  or  limb,  or 

sonst  ein  Glied  verlieret,  wenn  ihm  mit  diesem  BUchlein  geholfen 
werden  kdnnte.  Solche  Menschen  verwerfen  das,  was  uns  der  Herr 
befiehlt,  nilmlich  dass  man  ihn  in  der  Noth  anrufen  soU. 

Wenn  wir  mit  Worten  und  mit  den  hachsten  Namen  nicht  brauchen 
diirften,  so  v^Ure  es  den  Menschen  auf  der  Welt  nicht  offenbaret,  und 
der  Herr  thste  auch  nicht  helfen,  wenn  jemand  ihn  brauchen  wtirde. 
Gott  kann  auf  keine  Art  gezwungen  werden,  wenn  es  sein  gottlicher 
Wille  nicht  ist  Eines  muss  ich  noch  anf  Uhren :  es  giebt  auch  Men- 
schen, die  sagen  wenn  man  mit  Worten  gebraucht  hat,  nachher 
halfen  die  Doctors-Sachen  nichts,  denn  es  half  mit  Worten  nichts. 
Das  ist  den  Doctors  nur  ihre  Ausrede.  Denn  wenn  etwas  nicht  mit 
Worten  geheilt  werden  kann,  so  kann  es  gewiss  noch  weniger  ein 
Doctor  heilen.  Einige  Zeit  kann  ich  den  kathoHschen  PCarrer  mit 
Namen  nennen,  und  kann  auch  dem  Manne  sein  Name  nennen,  der 
dem  Pfarrer  seinen  Gaul  mit  Worten  geheilet  hat.  Den  Pfarrer 
habe  ich  gekannt,  er  wohnte  sonst  in  Westmoreland  County.  Ich 
kann  auch  den  reformirten  Pfarrer  mit  Namen  nennen,  wenn  es 
verlangt  wird,  und  auch  die  Leute,  dcnen  er  Zettel  dafur  geschrieben 
hat ;  und  die  Gichter  sind  mit  diesem  Zettel  r^eheilt  worden.  Der 
Pfarrer  wohnte  sonst  in  Berks  County.  Wenn  die  Leute  nur  aus 
diesem  Biichlein  brauchen  was  nothwendig  ist,  so  haben  sie  keine 
Sunde ;  aber  wehe  denen,  die  Schuld  sind,  wenn  sie  durch  kalten 
Brand  das  Leben  lassen  mussen,  oder  sonst  ein  Glied  verlieren,  oder 
das  Augenlicht !  Wehe  denen,  die  in  der  Noth  dies  verdrehen,  oder 
cinigcm  Prediger  in  diesem  Stiicke  folgen,  das  nicht  zu  beobachten, 
was  der  Herr  im  50sten  Psalm  spricht :  Rufc  mich  an  in  der  Noth, 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


104  youmal  of  Amiriean  Folk-Lore, 


eyesight,  or  who  avert  it  to  subserve  thine  avarice  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  command  in  the  50th  Psalm  :  "  Call  upon  me,"  etc.,  and 
woe  to  those  who,  at  the  dictate  of  any  preacher,  shall  dare  to  despise 
the  little  book.  I  have  my  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  these  means,  and 
can  furnish  them  to  any  who  may  wish  to  see  them. 

Dated  at  Roscdale,  near  Reading,  in  Berks  Co.,  Pennsylvania,  31st 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  1819. 

John  George  Hohman, 
Author  and  Publisher  of  this  Book. 

REMARK. 

Many  people  in  America  believe  in  no  hell  or  heaven.  In  Germany 
such  people  are  fewer.  X,  Hohman,  ask,  who  cures  wounds  and  gan- 
grene?  Who  stops  blood?  I  answer;  and  I,  Hohman  say:  The 
Lord  does  it  Therefore  there  is  a  heU  and  heaven.  I  don't  think 
much  of  such  people. 


so  will  ich  dich  erretten,  und  du  sollst  mich  preisen.  Wehe  denen, 
die  in  diesem  Stttck  folgen  einigen  Prediger,  aus  diesem  Buch  nichts 
fur  den  kalten  oder  heissen  Brand  Oder  Schussblatter  zu  brauchen  I 
Ich  will  dem  Prediger  sonst  in  alien  billigen  Sachen  folgen  aber 
wenn  ich  in  der  Noth  bin,  und  soil  aus  diesem  Buch  nichts  braucheUf 
in  diesem  Falle  kann  ich  ihm  nicht  folgen.  Aber  wehe  auch  denen, 
die  den  Namen  Gottes  vergeblich  um  nichtswerthe  Sachen  miss- 
brauchen  t 

Ich  habe  vide  Proben  aus  dem  Buch  gemacht,  und  kann  es  auch 
noch  bei  einigem  thun.  Ich  verkaufe  meine  Biicher  offentlich  und 
nicht  heimlich,  wic  schon  Kunstbiicher  verkauft  worden  sind.  Ich 
bin  willens,  meine  Biicher  bei  jedermann  sehen  zu  lassen,  und  werde 
mich  vor  keinem  Prediger  heimlich  verbergen  oder  verkriechen.  Ich, 
Hohman,  verstehe  auch  ein  wenig  die  Heilige  Schrift,  wenn  ich  den 
Herrn  um  Beistand  anrufe,  und  zu  ihm  bete.  Biicher  drucken  ist  in 
den  Vereinigten  Staaten  nicht  verboten,  wenn  es  nutzbare  und  gute 
Biicher  sind,  welches  der  Fall  in  andern  Landern  ist,  wo  Konige 
und  Dcspotcn  ubcr  das  Volk  tyrannisch  herrschen.  Ich  nehme  zu 
diesem  niitzlichcn  Buch  die  Press-  und  Gewissensfreiheit,  welche 
bei  uns  in  diesem  Lande  herrscht,  zur  Richtschnur.  Deswegen 
wiinsche  ich  alien  von  Herzen,  dieses  gute  Buch  in  Namen  Jesu  mit 
Nutzen  zu  gebrauchcn. 

Gegeben  im  Rosenthal,  nahe  bei  Reading,  Berks  County,  Pennsyl 
vanien,  am  3isten  Juli,  im  Jahre  unsers  Herrn  Jesu  Christi  18 19, 

JoHANN  Georg  Hohman, 
Verfasser  und  erster  Herausgeber  von  diesem  Buch. 


Digitized  by  Google 

I 


Th$  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


105 


TESTIMONIALS. 

That  I,  Ilohman,  have  used  these  cures  out  of  this  book,  and  that 
can  be  shown  at  any  time  : 

Benjamin  Stoudt,  a  Lutheran  Schoolmaster's  son,  of  Reading,  suf- 
fered great  pain  on  account  of  a  tumor  in  the  eye.  In  a  little  more 
than  24  hours,  that  eye  was  as  well  as  the  other.  He  got  his  help 
from  me  and  God  —  year  18 17. 

Henry  Yorger,  resident  yet  of  Reading,  brought  a  child  to  me  in. 
1814,  sutfering  exceedingly  from  the  same  cause  or  the  last;  iit  a* 
little  more  than  24  hours  I  and  the  dear  Lord  had  helped  him. 

John  Boyer,  son  of  Jacob  Boyer,  dwells  yet  in  Readings  had  an* 
ttlcer  on  the  1^.  He  suffered  touch  from  it  I  attended  him  and'  in. 
a  short  time  he  was  healed.  This  was  in  the  year  1S18. 

Londlin  Gottwalt,  of  Reading,  had  severe  pains  in  the  arms ;  was: 
entirely  cured  in  about  24  hours. 

Catharine  Meek,  then  of  Elsop  Township,  suffered  severe  pain  in 
the  eyes  from  a  tumor,  in  a  little  more  than  24  hours  the  eye  was 
cured. 

Mr.  Silver,  of  Reading;  was  with  me  when  he  worked  in  the  dis- 
tillery of  my  neighbor.  He  suffered  great  pain  in  the  eyes>.aa  the 
above.  I  h«Ued  him  in  a  little  less  than  24  hours. 

Anna  Schaeider,  in  Elsop  Township,  had  severe  pain  in  a-  finger. 
In  a  little  more  than  24  hours  I  had  helped  her. 

Michael  Hartman,  Jr,^  dwells  in  Elsop  Township,  has  a  child 
which  had  a  very  sore  mouth.  I  administered  for  it.  In  a  little  more 
than  24  hours  I  had  helped  it. 

John  Zingeman,  Ruscomb-mower,'  has  a  child  which  was  badly 
burnt  My  wife  came  in,  late  in  the  year — it  was  18 12.  The  proud 

s  Michad  Hartman,  Jr.,  was  a  neif^hor  of  Hohman's  benefactor,  Nicholas 
Buck.  He  served  as  a  private  dming  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  must  have 
settled  in  Elsop  township  subsequent  to  1808,  at  which  date  he  sold  his  farm  in 
Montgomery  township,  Bucks  County.  (Cf.  Wm.  J.  Buck's  Account  of  tht  Buck 
Family  of  Bucks  Co.^  Penn.^  privately  printed,  Philadelphia,  1893,  p.  28.) 

'  MispriDt  for  Ruoscorob'iiiancr.*' 


ANMERKUNG. 

Mancher  in  Amerika  glaubt  an  keine  Holle  oder  Himmel.  In 
Deutschland  gibt  es  solche  Leule  nicht  so  viel.  Ich,  Hohman, 
f  rage :  Wer  vertreibt  gleich  die  Schussblatter,  kalten  Brand?  Wer 
stopft  das  Blut  ?  Ich  antworte,  und  ich,  Hohman,  sage :  Dies  thut 
der  Herr.  So  muss  HoUe  und  Himmel  seyn»  — und  auf  solche  Leute 
halte  ich  nichts. 

VOL.  XVIL  —  NO.  65.  8 


Digitized  by  Google 


io6 


Jimmalof  American  Folk^Lare, 


flesh  had  already  set  in.  She  attended  it,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
proud  flesh  was  subdued,  and  the  child  was  soon  cured.  At  the  same 
time  my  wife  cured  his  wife  of  a  severe  case  of  Erysipelas  in  a  sore 
leg. 

Susanna  Gomber,  had  severe  pains  in  the  head.  I  soon  had  her 
well.    Also,  David  Beech's  wife,  the  same, 

John  Junkin's  daughter  and  his  son's  wife  both  had  severe  pains 
in  the  headi  and  the  woman  had  besides  a  wonderful  Erysipelas  on 
the  back.  I  cured  the  headache  of  both,  and  the  Erysipelas  in  7  or 
'9  hours  was  gona  Her  back  broke  out  and  healed  completely. 
The  woman  had  already  lain  in  bed  with  it  several  days.  Junkin's 
family  lives  in  Mackemixen ;  Beech  and  Gomberin  and  about  Read- 
•ing — year  18 19. 

Arnold's  daughter  was  burned  with  coffee.  The  handle  of  the  pot 
brake  while  she  was  pouring  out,  and  the  coffee  went  on  her  arm 
•  and  burned  her  quite  badly.   I  was  present  and  saw  it  I  took  the 
fire  out ;  the  arm  was  not  disabled  but  healed  in  a  very  short  time. 
.Mr,  Amdd  dweUs  near  Solomon.^  His  first  name  is  John. 

Should  any  one  of  the  abovementioned  witnesses,  who  have  re- 
ceived help  through  me  or  my  wife  and  God,  call  me  a  liar  and  say 
■they  have  not  been  helped  by  us,  when  they  have  acknowledged  it  to 
us  themselves  already,  I  would  compel  them,  if  it  is  possible^  which 
I  believe  it  is  mostly,  to  acknowledge  it  before  a  Magistrate.  The 
above-mentioned  Arnold's  daughter  had  her  limb  burned  about  the 
year  18 15. 

Jacob  Stoufer,  in  Heckock,  Bucks  County,  had  a  little  child  which 
had  convulsions  every  hour.  I  sold  him  a  book  in  which  the  25  let' 
ters  were  written.  At  the  persuasion  of  his  neighbors,  Henry  Fron- 
kenfield,*  he  used  the  25  letters.*  Immediately  the  child  was  freed 
from  the  convulsions  and  become  sound.  The  above-mentioned  let- 
ters are  in  this  book  also. 

A  Recipe  for  Rheumatism  has  been  sold  from  $\  io  $2  \  and  it 
was  not  once  stated  in  it  how  it  was  to  be  used,  and  was  worthless. 

John  Alga  ire,  of  Reading  had  a  very  sore  finger.  I  treated  him 
for  the  Erysipelas  and  the  sore  finger.  The  next  morning  the  Ery- 
sipelas was  gone,  and  the  finger  had  begun  to  heal.    Year  18 19. 

This  book  is  partly  taken  from  one  published  by  a  Gipsy  and 
partly  from  private  papers,  brought  into  the  world  with  much  labor  by 
me,  the  author,  John  George  Hohman,  at  different  times.   I  would 

>  Misprint  for  "  Lebanon.** 

'  Henry  Frankenfield  bought  the  old  homestead  at  Haycock  Run  in  1808. 

(Cf.  Wm.  J.  Buck,  of>.  cit.,  p.  84.) 

^  The  charm  referred  to  will  be  found  on  p.  127  (No.  121) ;  also  on  p.  131  (Na 
I46> 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


Tike  Long  Hidden  Friend. 


107 


not  have  permitted  it  to  be  printed ;  my  wife  also  was  against  it ; 
but  my  sympathy  for  my  neighbors  was  too  great,  seeing  how  many 
had  already  been  cured  of  grievous  diseases.  How  hard  many  a 
woman  has  suffered  from  affections  of  the  womb !  I  ask.  then, 
friend,  is  it  not  a  little  praise  for  me,  that  I  have  permitted  such  a 
book  to  be  printed  ?  Am  I  not,  in  God's  name,  deserving  of  some 
'  reward  ?  Where  is  there  a  doctor  who  can  cure  the  above-mentioned 
sickness  ?  I  am  besides  a  poor  man  and  am  entitled  to  turn  an  hon- 
est  penny  by  such  a  book. 

The  Lord  bless  our  beginning  and  end  in  this  little  book,  and  stand 
by  us  that  we  may  not  misuse  it,  and  thereby  commit  grievous  sins  ! 
The  word  misuse  means  to  use  the  remedy  or  <:harm,  when  it  is  not 
necessary.  God  bless  it !  Amen.  The  word  Amen  means  an 
added  desire  that  be  may  grant  a  petition. 

HOHKAN. 

M£ANS  AND  ARTS. 

1.  A  good  remedy  for  Disease  of  the  Womb.    It  must  be  used 

Three  Times. 

Place  the  upper  joint  of  the  thumb  —  the  one  next  the  hand  — 
on  the  bare  skin,  over  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  on  the  point  of  the 
bone  which  projects  there,  and  repeat  this  :  — 

Uterus,  womb,  lay  thyself  down  in  the  right  place, 

Else  thee  or  me  will  they  carry  on  the  third  day  to  the  grave. fff 

2.  Another  Remedy  for  Disease  of  the  Womb  and  for  Colds. 
You  must  do  it  eveiy  evening,  without  fail  1  When  you  take  off 

the  shoes  or  stockings,  run  the  finger  through  all  the  toes,  and  smell 
of  it    It  wOl  surely  help. 

3.  A  Sure  Means  to  Staunch  Blood.    It  is  helpful,  though  the  per- 
son is  far  absent,  if  the  one  who  uses  this  means  for  him, 
pronounces  his  name  right. 

Jesus  Christus.  precious  Blood  ! 

Which  soothes  the  pains  and  stops  the  Blood. 

Help  thee  (name)  God  the  Father, 

God  the  son  and  God  the  Holy  Glsost  Amen. 

4.  When  one  is  Wasting  Away,  he  can  use  this  :  It  has  helped 

many. 

Let  the  person  make  water  in  a  vessel  before  sunrise,  fasting  and 
undressed  ;  boil  an  egg  in  this  urine  ;  make  three  small  holes  in  the 
egg  with  a  needle  ;  then  carry  it  and  throw  it  on  an  ant-hill,  which 
the  large  ants  have  made.  As  the  egg  rots,  the  patient  becomes 
better. 


uiyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


io8  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

5.  Another  Remedy  for  One  Who  is  Sick.    It  has  helped  many 
whoi  no  Doctor  could  help  them. 

\jtX  the  sick  person  before  smirise  and  without  dressing  or  eating 
make  water  in  a  bottle  and  stop  it  welL  Then  you  will  take  the 
bottle  and  put  it  in  a  chest,  dose  it  and  stop  the  key-hole^  and  carry 
the  key  in  one  of  your  pockets  three  days.  No  one  must  have  the 
key  but  the  one  who  puts  the  bottle  with  the  urine  in  the  chest. 

« 

d  A  Remedy  against  Worms — in  Man  or  Beast 

Mary,  the  holy,  went  over  the  land, 

She  had  three  worms  in  her  hand  ; 

One  was  white,  another  black  and  the  third  was  red. 

Stroke  the  person  (or  animal)  you  would  benefit.  At  each  repeti- 
tion strike  him  on  the  back ;  viz :  the  first  time^  once ;  the  second 
time,  twice ;  the  thud  time,  thrice ;  and  set  a  time  for  the  worms, 
but  not  less  than  three  minutes. 

7.  For  Slander  or  Witchcraft. 

Art  thou  slandered,  or  thy  head,  flesh,  limb,  send  it  back  home  to 
the  false  tongues,  thus :  ftt 

.  Take  ofiE  the  shirt,  and  put  it  on  wrong  side  out,  put  the  two 
thumbs  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  and  carry  them  around  under  the 
ribs  as  far  as  to  the  hips.  Do  this  three  times,  carefully  and 
devoutly. 

8.  Good  Remedy  for  a  Fever. 

Good  morning,  dear  Thursday  ;  take  away  from  (n)  the  77  Cover 
Fever !  Ah,  Thou  Dear  Lord  Jesus  Christus,  take  it  from  him  I 
ttt  This  is  to  be  used  first  on  Thursday,  once  ;  on  Friday,  twice ;  on 
Saturday,  thrice ;  and  each  morning  thrice.  You  must,  at  the  same 
time  always  say  the  Creed,  and  speak  with  no  one  till  sunrise.  The 
patient  also,  must  speak  with  no  one,  eat  no  swine's  flesh,  and  drink 
no  milk  for  9  days,  and  during  the  9  days,  not  pass  over  running 
water. 

9.  Remedy  for  the  Colic  (the  Gripes). 
I  warn  you,  you  gripes  I  There  is  One  in  the  Judgment :  he 
speaks :  Right  or  wrong.   Therefore,  beware,  ye  gripes,  ftt 

la  To  make  a  Dog  stay,  when  no  one  else  has  previously  used 

means  to  that  end. 

Take  some  blood  from  yourself,  give  it  to  the  dog  in  something  to 
eat,  and  he  remains.  Or  scrape  the  four  comers  o£  the  table  on  the 
upper  side.  Always  eat  with  the  knife  you  scraped  with,  and  give 
what  you  scraped  off  to  the  dog  to  eat,  and  he  will  remain. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hiddm  FrumL 


109 


II.  To  make  a  Wand  to  seek  Iron,  Ore,  Water  and  the  like. 
The  first  Christraas-night,  between  11  and  12  o'clock,  break  a 
young  branch,  of  one  year's  growth,  towards  the  sunrising,  in  three 
highest  names.  When  you  use  the  rod  to  seek  something,  use  it 
three  times ;  i.  e.  —  take  the  wand  —  it  must  be  forked  —  take  one 
part  in  each  hand,  so  that  the  thick  part  stands  up  ;  if  the  third  part 
strikes  toward  the  earth,  that  is  the  place  where  the  thing  is  which 
you  seek.  You  are  at  the  same  time,  to  repeat  these  words  :  Thou 
Archangel,  Gabriel,  I  beseech  thee,  in  the  name  of  God,  the  Almighty, 
is  zvaUr  here  or  not  ?  Say.JJJ  Or  iron  or  ore,  etc. ;  whichever  you 
seek, 

12.  A  veiy  good  Remedy  for  inregolar  action  (stopping  or  ceasing  to 
beat)  and  enlargement  of  the  heart 

Heart-ail  and  increase,  retire  from  (n's)  ribs, 
As  Jetm,  the  Lord  has  retired  from  his  arifa^ftt 

13.  To  make  sure  to  Hit  in  Shooting. 

Take  the  f  heart  of  a  f  field-mouse,  and  put  a  little  of  it  f  between 
the  ball  and  the  powder,  and  you  will  hit  what  you  wish.  You  must 
use  the  three  highest  names  when  you  begin  to  load,  and  you  *must 
not  finish  the  words  till  you  finish  loading. 

14.  Another,  Good  and  Safe  for  Shooting, 

Put  some  blood  of  a  young  mule  (just  foaled)  in  the  barrel,  be- 
tween the  powder  and  the  lead,  and  you  will  be  sure  to  hit. 

15.  To  make  one  answer  when  he  is  asleep — also  to  hinder  the 

barking  of  a  dog. 

If  you  lay  the  heart  and  right  foot  of  a  barn-owl  on  one  who  is 
asleep,  he  will  answer  whatever  you  ask  him,  and  tdl  what  he  has 
done. 

Put  the  two  even  halves  under  the  arm-pits,  and  no  dog  will  bark 
at  you. 

id  Another,  to  Prevent  the  Barking  of  a  Dog. 
Whoever  wears  a  dog^s  heart  on  his  left  side  no  dog  will  bark  at 
him ;  they  are  all  dumb  before  him. 

17.  Another,  for  the  same. 
Put  the  plant,  called  houndstongue,  under  the  big  toes,  and  all 
dogs  will  be  dumb  before  you. 

18.  To  Make  a  Black  Horse  White. 
The  water  in  which  a  mule-foal  is  boiled  makes  a  black  horse  white, 
if  it  is  rubbed  or  washed  with  it 


Uiyiiizeo  by  <^OOgle 


no 


youmal  of  American  FoVuLcrt^ 


19.  To  Secure  Oneself  Against  lU-Luck. 
If  one  uses  the  right  eye  of  a  wolf»  bound  in  the  right  sleeve^  no 
ill-luck  will  happen  to  him. 

2a  To  Obtain  the  Object  of  your  Petitioa 
Let  a  little  of  the  plant  called  Five>Finger  be  worn  about  one^ 
when  he  seeks  a  favor  from  a  lord  or  an  officer,  and  he  will  surely 
succeed.  The  juice  of  this  plant  is  good  for  the  Dysentery. 

21.  To  Take  Fish. 
Take  Rose-seeds  and  Mustard-seeds  and  the  foot  of  a  little  weasel, 
and  hang  them  in  the  net ;  the  fish  will  certainly 'collect. 

22.  Venus  Vervain.  A  Good  Remedy  for  various  Ulcers  and  Excres- 

cences and  other  Sufferings. 
The  root  of  this  plant  laid  on  the  neck,  heals  ulcers  on  it ;  is  good 
for  injuries  to  the  brain ;  heals  fig-warts,  if  the  juice  of  it  is  boiled 
with  honey  and  water,  and  drank ;  it  makes  the  parts  in  the  lungs 
pliant  and  clean  and  gives  a  good  breath  ;  for  it  heals  the  lungs.  If 
it  is  placed  in  a  vineyard,  or  garden,  or  field,  it  grows  abundantly. 
The  root  is  good  for  those  who  wish  to  plant  vines,  or  build  or  culti- 
vate frees.  Young  children  who  wear  it  about  them  are  docile,  love 
all  good  arts,  and  become  lusty  and  cheerful. 

23.  A  very  good  Remedy  for  the  Hot  and  Cold  Brand,  Bums  and 

Gangrene.  ( ?  fluctuating^  local  inflammation  1) 

Sanctus  Storius  res,  call  rest, 

Came  the  Mother  of  Jesus  to  him  for  consolation. 

She  reached  him  her  snow-white  hand. 
For  the  Cold  and  Hot  Brand. 

ttt 

Make  3  crosses  over  the  place  with  the  thumbs.  All  cures  with 
forms  of  words  are  repeated  3  times,  and  always  wait  a  couple  of 
hours,  and  the  third  repetition  is  on  the  next  day. 

The  single  N.  signifies  the  first  name,  and  two  N.  N.  the  first  or 
christian  name  and  the  surname  of  the  patient.  This  holds  through- 
out the  book. 

24  A  Good  Remedy  for  Bad  People— it  is  a  powerful  good  for  'em 

Dullir,  ir,  ur. 

Yea,  canst  not  over  Pontio ; 
Pontio  is  over  Fllato.ttt 

25.  To  Kill  the  Worms  in  the  Horse. 

Call  the  horse  by  its  name  and  say  : 

The  worms  hast  thou  ?  Then  I  seize  thee  by  the  brow, 
Be  they  white,  or  brown,  or  red, 
Soon  they  '11  all  be  very  dead. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Lang  Htdden  Friend. 


Ill 


Strike  the  nag  by  the  head  thrice ;  mount  and  ride  him  to  a  certain 
distance  and  back  three  times,  ftt 

26.  To  Cure  Poll-Evil  in  Two  or  Three  Trials. 

Take  3  twigs  from  a  cherry-tree  ;  the  ist  towards  morning,  the  2d 
towards  evening,  the  3d  towards  midnight.  Cut  3  pieces  off  from 
your  shirt-tail ;  wrap  one  of  the  twigs  in  each  of  the  rags,  and  swab 
the  Poll-Evil  with  them,  and  then  lay  them  mider  the  eaves.  Towards 
midnight,  ease  yourself  (i.  e.  dirty)  on  the  ends  of  the  sticks  that 
touched  the  sore ;  cover  and  wrap  it  on  the  sticks  idth  the  patches. 
Afterwards  apply  it  with  the  sticks,  to  the  Poll-EviL 

37.  A  Sovereign  Remedy  for  Bad  Wounds  and  Bums. 

God's  Word  and  Mary's  Milk  and  Jesus'  Blood 
Is  for  all  wounds  and  bum-sores  good. 

It  is  safest  if  you  make  the  three  crosses  with  the  hand  or  the 
thumb  at  each  of  the  dauses.  The  three  crosses  marked  indicate 
the  plansL 

28.  A  Good  Remedy  for  St.  Anthony's  Fire  (or  Erysipelas)  as  well 
as  for  wounds  ;  Also  for  Aching  Limbs  on  which  the  Erysipelas 

appears. 

St.  Anthony's  P'ire  and  the  Dragon's  red. 
Together  over  the  Brook  they  fled. 

St  Anthony's  Fire  is  done ; 

The  Dragons  they  are  goncfft 

391  To  Ease  a  Pain. 
Cut  three  little  sticks  —  cut  them  from  on  one  piece  —  rub  them  on 
the  sore^  wrap  them  in  a  little  white  paper  and  put  them  in  a  warm 
place. 

30.  To  Drive  Away  Warts. 

Roast  chickens-feet  and  rub  the  warts  with  them ;  then  bury  them 
under  the  eaves. 

31.  To  Drive  Away  the  Blue  Cough. 
Cut  o£f  three  little  locks  of  hair  from  the  crown  of  a  child  which 
has  not  seen  its  father  in  its  life-time ;  hang  it  about  the  child  which 
has  the  blue  cough,  in  a  piece  of  unbleached  doth.  The  thread  also, 
with  which  it  is  secured  must  be  unbleached. 

32.  Another  for  the  Same,  Which  has  Helped  Many. 
Stick  the  child  which  has  the  blue  cough  three  times  through  a 
blackberry  bush  without  washing  and  you  must  mind  to  put  it  through 
the  same  way  all  the  three  times,  i  e.from  the  same  side  of  the  bush 
you  did  the  hrst  time. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


112  yaumai  of  American  Folk-Lon. 

33.  To  Drive  Away  the  Camp  Fever. 

Write  the  following  order  of  letters^  sew  them  into  a  patch,  hang 
it  about  the  neck  till  the  fever  leaves : 

Abaxa  C  at  a  bax 

Abaxa  Catabax 

Abaxa  Cataba 

Abaxa  Catab 

Abaxa  Cata 

Abaza  Cat 

Abaxa  C  a 

Abaxa  C 

Abaxa 

A  b  a  X 

Aba 

Ab 

A 

34.  A  Right  Good  Remedy  for  Colic. 

Take  a  half-gill  of  good  corn  brandy,  fill  a  pipe  full  of  tobacco, 
smoke  the  whole  pipe  full  of  tobacco  in  the  brandy  and  then  drink 
it.  This  has  helped  the  author  of  this  book  and  many  others  already. 
Or  break  up  fine — pulverize  —  a  white  clay  pipe  which  is  smoked 
black.  This  produces  the  same  effect  if  you  take  the  pulverized  * 
i  e.  put  it  in  the  brandy  and  take  as  before. 

35.  To  Drive  Away  Fever. 
With  the  following  words  on  a  scrap  or  billet  of  paper,  wrap  the 
billet  in  a  broad  plantain  leaf  and  bind  it  on  the  navel  of  the  one  who 

has  the  fever : 
Potmat  Sineat, 
Potmat  Sineat, 
Potmat  Sineat. 

36.  To  Stop  Blood. 

To-day  is  the  day,  that  the  evil  fell  forth : 

Blood,  thou  must  stay  till  the  Wgin  has  given  another  son  birth. 

37.  A  Good  Means  to  Make  One's  Steps  and  Goings  Safe. 
Go,  Jesus,  with  N.  N. ;  he  is  my  head ;  I  am  his  member.ftt 

38.  A  Veiy  Good  Plaster. 
I  doubt  very  much  if  a  doctor  in  America  can  make  such  an  one. 
It  cures  the  white  swelling,  and  has  cured  a  woman  of  a  sore  leg, 
who  bad  sought  half  of  the  doctors,  in  vain,  for  eighteen  years. 

Take  two  (2)  quarts  of  Cider, 
one  pound  of  Beeswax, 
"     "       "  Mutton-suet, 
"     "      "  Smoking-tobacco, 
Steep  and  simmer  them  together  and  strain. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend. 


"3 


39.  To  Make  a  Good  Eye- Water. 

Take  four  cents'  worth  of  Rotten-stone, 
"     "      **      "     Prepared  Chalk, 
«     "      "      "  Cloves, 
**     one  gill  of  Corn-brandy, 
«     u      »  Water. 

Beat  them  well  together  and  it  is  fit  for  use. 

4a  To  Staunch  Blood.   (Nose-Bleed  t) 
Begin  at  50  and  .count  backwards  to  3.  When  you  come  to  3  you 
are  done. 

41.  For  White  Swelling. 

Take  a  quart  of  unslacked  lime  and  two  quarts  of  water,  and  pour 
it  on  the  lime ;  stir  it  well  and  let  it  stand  over  night.  Let  the  pel^ 
lide  (scum)  of  the  lime  be  taken  off  and  a  pint  of  oil  be  poured  into 
the  lime-water.  Afterwards  stir  it  around  till  it  is  a  little  thick. 
Then  take  hog'sJard  and  wax,  put  them  all  into  a  pan,  melt  them 
together  well ;  make  a  plaster  of  this  and  put  it  on  fresh  every  day, 
or  every  other  day. 

42.  A  Good  Remedy  for  Falling  Sickness,  when  one  has  not  yet 

fallen  into  the  Fire  or  Water. 
Write  on  a  bit  of  paper  backwards.  It  is  all  done !  This  must 
be  hung  on  early  the  first  Friday  of  the  New  Moon.  The  writing 
must  be  put  in  a  red  scarlet  napkin,  and  a  linen  napkin  put  around 
this.  The  linen  napkin  and  the  thread  must  be  unbleached,  and  the 
thread  must  have  no  knot  in  itftf  This  is  written  on  the  paper  only 
once. 

43.  To  Take  Away  Pain. 
Take  the  first  dirty  rag  that  was  first  bound  on  to  a  wound,  and 
put  it  in  water  in  which  there  is  apparently  verdigris  ;  but  be  careful 
not  to  stir  the  verdigris  till  you  have  no  more  fear  of  the  pain. 

44.  For  a  Burn. 

Bum,  I  blow  on  thee.  It  must  be  blown  on,  as  the  fire  of  the 
sun,  three  times  in  one  breath.^^} 

4$.  For  the  Toothache. 
Dig  up  a  sod  in  the  morning  befoie  sunrise  and  before  making 
your  toilet,  in  a  certain  place ;  breathe  on  it  three  times  and  put  it 
quickly  back  in  its  place  exactly  as  it  was  before. 

46.  A  Wonderful  Paragraph  from  the  Book  of  Albatus  Magnus. 

It  is  said  therein,  that  if  you  burn  a  big  frog  to  ashes  and  put  it 
into  water,  and  besmear  with  it  any  part  on  which  hairs  grow,  no 
more  will  grow  there. 


114 


Journal  of  American  Folh^Lore, 


47.  Yet  Another  Paragraph  from  the  Same, 

If  one  finds  the  stone  which  a  hawk  has  in  its  knee,  and  which 
one  can  hnd  if  he  looks  for  it  right,  and  puts  it  into  the  food  of  two 
enemies,  he  thereby  makes  friendship  between  them. 

48.  Remedy  Against  Gout  and  Rheumatism. 

I  go  on  another's  jurisdiction  ;  i.  e.  you  go  on  to  another  man's  own 
land.  I  button  my  77thly  Gout.  You  take  three  shots  ;  at  each  shot 
you  button  one  button.  You  do  this  Friday  morning,  before  sunrise, 
in  your  dishabille. 

ttt 

Over  that  part  of  the  body  where  the  disease  is  make  three 
crosses. 

49.  For  the  Headache. 
Form  bone  and  flesh,  as  Christ  in  Paradise,  who  alone  can  help ; 
and  this  I  say  to  thee  (N)  for  penitence. 

Say  this  thrice;  at  intervals  of  about  3  minutes,  and  the  headache 
will  soon  leave.  But  if  it  is  caused  by  strong  drink,  it  is  not  so  likely 
•  to  go  away.  You  must  th^  say  it  every  minute.  • 

5a  To  Cure  Wounds  and  Pains. 

Wound,  thou  must  not  (inflame)  heat. 
Wound,  thou  must  not  sweat 
Wound,  thou  must  not  water. 
So  conjure  I  thee  by  the  Holy  Virgin. 

51.  To  Cause  an  Animal  to  Come  to  the  House  Again  of  its  own 

Accord. 

Pluck  a  little  lock  of  hair  in  front  from  between  the  horns  ;  one  in 
the  middle  on  the  back ;  one  behind  by  the  root  of  the  tail,  and  give 
it  to  the  animal  in  bread  to  eat 

52.  Another,  for  the  Same. 
Take  a  handful  of  salt,  go  out  on  your  land  and  lead  the  animal 
around  a  stone  or  a  stump  three  times,  and  always  the  same  way,  so 
as  to  come  up  to  it  on  the  same  side^  then  give  the  animal  the  sdt  to 
lick,  on  the  stone  or  stump^ 

53.  To  Cement  Glass. 
Take  common  cheese,  wash  it  well,  and  unslacked  lime  and  the 
glare  of  egg ;  stir  them  together  well  and  use  it  fresh.  It  certainly 
holds. 

54.  To  Keep  the  Hessian  Louse  from  the  Com. 
Make  a  lye  of  pulverized  coal  and  soak  the  seed-corn  in  it.  Then 
take  a  quart  of  urine,  put  it  on  a  bushel  of  the  corn,  stir  it  around, 
and  let  it  dry  a  little. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAt  Lo»g  Hidden  FritiuL 


"5 


55,  To  Bring  Cherries  Ripe  by  Martinmas. 

Graft  the  scion  on  the  stock  of  a  Mulberry  tree  and  your  desire  is 
accomplished. 

56.  To  Drive  Away  Frights  and  Fantasies.  Also  to  Catch  Fish. 

If  you  have  in  your  hand  the  plant  called  arsesinant,  and  also  cara- 
way, you  are  safe  from  frights  and  fantasies,  with  which  peoi)lc  are 
often  befooled.  If  they  are  mixed  with  the  juice  of  housewort,  and 
the  hands  are  smeared  with  it,  and  the  refuse  put  into  water  where 
there  are  fish,  you  can  easily  catch  the  fish  with  the  hands  or  in  nets. 
If  you  take  the  hands  out  of  the  water  the  fish  leave. 

57.  Sonnen-Werbd — Sun-Whist — Sun-Turn.  Is  it  Heliotrope  or 
Sun-flower  ?  To  prevent  evil  reports  and  discourse  the  infidelity 

of  a  wife. 

The  virtue  of  this  plant  is  wonderful,  if  gathered  in  the  sign  of  the 
lion,  in  the  month  of  August,  and  folded  up  in  a  laurd-leaf,  or  a 

wolf's-tooth.  If  one  wears  it  on  his  person,  no  one  can  say  contra- 
dictory things  to  him,  but  only  pleasant  words  ;  and  if  anything  has 
been  taken  from  any  one,  and  he  lays  this  under  his  head  at  night, 
he  will  see  the  form  and  all  the  characteristics  of  the  one  who  has 
done  it. 

If  it  is  laid  in  any  place  where  many  women  are,  in  a  church,  if 
any  one  among  them  has  violated  her  honor,  she  cannot  go  from  the 
place  till  it  is  removed  out  of  the  way.  This  is  proved. 

58.  For  Sore  Mouth. 

Hast  thou  the  scurvy  gum  or  brown. 

So  breathe  I  thrice  mine  own  breath  in-ftt 

59  To  Overcome  and  end  Battles  and  Quarrels  —  To  Divine  whether 
a  Sick  Person  will  Recover  or  Die  — Also  for  Dimness  or  Glare 

of  the  Eyes. 

This  root  grows  at  the  time  that  swallows  and  eagles  make  their 
nests^  If  one  wears  it  about  him,  together  with  the  heart  of  a  mole, 
he  will  overcome  in  battle  and  end  all  quarrels.  If  it  is  laid  on  the 
head  of  a  sick  person,  then  if  he  weeps,  he  is  about  to  get  well  again ; 
if  he  sings  with  cheerful  voice,  he  is  about  to  die. 

When  it  is  in  blossom,  bruise  it  and  steep  it  in  a  vessel  of  water 
over  the  fire,  and  skim  it  well,  when  it  is  thoroughly  done,  strain  it 
through  a  towel  and  preserve  it.  This  is  a  good  wash  for  weak  or 
dazzling  eyes. 

6a  To  Hesl  Shot  Blister  on  the  Eyes. 

Take  a  dirty  plate ;  if  you  have  none  make  one  so.  Then  he  for 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


1 16  yaumal  of  American  Foik-Len. 

whom  you  use  it  will  lose  his  pain  in  one  minute.  Put  the  side  of  the 

plate  that  is  eaten  from  towards  the  eyes  and  say : 

Dirty  plate,  I  press  thee 
Blister  sore,  repress  thecftt 

61.  To  Make  Chickens  Lay  Well 

Take  haresdung*  bruise  it  fine^  mix  it  with  bian  wet»  and  feed  it 
to  the  hens  continually,  and  they  lay  abundantly. 

62.  To  Consecrate  a  Divining  Rod. 

When  one  makes  a  divining  rod,  or  luck  rod,  he  breaks  it  as  before 
said  and  says  while  making  it  and  before  he  uses  it :  Luck-rod,  retain 
thy  strength,  retain  thy  virtue,  whereto  God  hath  ordained  thecftt 

63.  To  Drive  Away  the  Worm. 
Worm,  I  conjure  thee  by  the  living  God  that  thou  avoid  this  blood 
and  this  flesh,  as  God,  the  Lord  will  avoid  the  judge^who  pronounces 
unjust  judgment,  it  being  in  his  power  to  pronounce  right  judg* 

mentttt 

64.  For  Consumption. 
I  command  thee  out  of  the  bone  into  the  flesh  ;  out  ci  the  flesh 
into  the  skin ;  out  of  the  skin  into  the  wide  world,  ttt 

65.  For  a  Bum. 

There  went  three  holy  men  over  the  land. 
They  blessed  the  heat  and  they  helped  the  bum 
They  blessed  it  that  it  consumed  him.ttt 

66.  For  a  Snake  Bite. 

God  enacted  everything,  and  everything  was  good. 
But  thou  alone,  viper,  art  accursed, 
Accursed  shalt  thou  be  and  thy  poison. 

ttt  tsing,  tzing,  tzing. 

67.  For  a  Bad  Dog. 

Hound,  hold  your  mouth  to  the  ground. 
Me  God  made,  thee  he  suffers,  hound. fft 

You  must  do  this  toward  the  place  where  the  dog  is.  You  must 
make  the  three  crosses  at  the  dog,  and  before  he  sees  you,  but  you 
must  say  the  words  hrst  of  all. 

68.  For  Hollow  Horn,  in  the  Cow. 
Bore  a  hole  in  the  horn  that  is  hollow.  Milk  some  milk  from  the 
same  cow  and  squirt  it  into  the  horn.  This  is  an  alibest  cure. 

69.  A  Very  Good  Cure  for  the  Botts. 
Stroke  the  horse  three  times  and  lead  it  around  three  times  with 
the  head  towards  the  sun  and  say :  The  holy  one  says,  Joseph  went 


Digitize<l  by  Googl( 


The  Long  Hidden  FrutuL 


117 


over  a  field  where  he  found  three  little  worms ;  one  was  black,  another 
was  brown,  the  third  was  red : 

Thou  Shalt  die ;  go  deadftt 

70.  To  Take  Away  Pain  and  Heal  Wounds  with  Three  Rods. 

With  this  rod  and  Christ's  blood 
Take  I  the  pain  and  suppuration. 

t+t 

N.  B.  —  You  must  cut  a  piece  from  a  young  branch  of  a  tree,  to- 
wards sunrise,  into  three  small  pieces ;  rub  them  around  on  the 
wound  one  after  another,  beginning  with  that  which  is  in  the  right 
hand  first.  In  all  cases  of  forms  kA  words  in  this  book,  repeat  them 
three  times,  whether  the  fft  stand  or  not  Let  a  half  hour  intervene 
between  the  first  and  2d  time,  and  the  third  be  over  night  Wrap 
the  sticks  in  a  piece  of  white  paper  and  put  in  a  warm  place. 

71.  A  Sovereign  Remedy  for  Colic 

Jerusalem,  thou  Jewish  City, 
Which  Christ,  the  Lord,  has  borne ; 
Water  and  blood  thou  must  become, 
That  is  good  for  N.  for  Colic  and  worms. 

7a.  For  Weakness  of  the  Limbs. 

The  buds  of  the  Birch  tree^  or  the  inner  bark  of  the  root  taken 
when  the  trees  are  in  bud,  makes  a  good  Ua  for  weakness  of  the 
limbs.  Drink  of  it  14  days,  and  then  wait  a  while  before  drinking 
again  ;  and  during  the  14  days,  change  a  couple  of  days  and  drink 
water. 

75.  Another,  for  the  Same. 

Take  Bedonia  and  Johnswort,  put  it  Into  good  corn-brandy,  and 
drink  of  it  in  the  morning  before  eating.  It  is  very  wholesome  and 
good.  A  tea  made  of  white  acorns  is  also  good  for  weakness  of  the 
limbs. 

74.  Against  Mice. 
When  you  harvest  your  grain,  say  as  you  bring  the  first  three 
sheaves  into  the  barn : 

Rats  and  mice,  the  first  three  sheaves  to  you  I  give, 
That  my  grain  all  the  rest  to  me  you  leave. 
Name  each  kind  of  grain. 

75.  To  drive  Away  the  Ringbone,  or  Excrescence  on  the  Leg  of  a 

Horse. 

Take  a  bone,  where  you  find,  but  must  not  be  looking  for  it,  rub 
the  excrescence  of  the  horse  with  it  in  the  old  of  the  moon,  lay  the 
bone  where  you  found  it  and  the  sore  will  disappear. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


1 1 8  youmal  of  American  Polk-Lare, 

76.  To  Make  a  Horse  Eat  Again.   This  is  Applicable  on  a  Journey. 

Hold  up  the  mouth  of  the  horse  that  will  not  eat  and  strike  it 
three  times  on  the  inside  or  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  It  will  certainly 
help  i^  that  it  will  eat  again  and  continue  to  traveL 

77.  A  Good  Eye-Water. 
Take  1 1  cents'  worth  of  white  vitriol  and  one  ounce  of  sugar  of 
lead,  (acetate  L.)  dissolve  them  in  oil  of  Rosemary ;  put  it  Into  a 
tolerably  large  bottle  and  fill  it  with  Rose-water. 

78.  To  Hold  a  Thief  Fixed,  that  He  Cannot  Move.    It  is  the 

Best  Charm  for  this  Purpose  in  the  Rook, 

O  Peter,  O  Peter!  Take  from  God  the  power;  may  I  find  — 
what  I  would  bind  —  with  the  band,  of  Jesus'  hand  —  that  robbers 
all,  great  and  small  —  That  none  can  go  no  step  more,  neither  back- 
wards nor  before  —  till  I  then  with  my  eyes  perceive,  till  I  then  with 
my  tongue  releave  —  till  first  they  count  me  every  stone,  twixt 
heaven  and  earth,  and  drop  of  rain  —  each  leaf  of  tree  and  blade  of 
grass ;  this  pray  I  to  my  foe  for  Mass.ftf 

Say  the  Creed  and  the  Paternoster.  To  compel  him  to  stand,  say 
this  thrice.  If  the  thief  is  to  be  permitted  to  win,  the  sun  must  not 
shine  on  him  before  you  loose  him.  This  loosing  is  done  in  two 
forms.  The  first  is :  bid  him  in  the  name  of  St.  John  to  go  forth. 
The  second  is  this  :  with  the  words  with  which  you  (or  those,  if  only 
one,  or  a  woman)  were  stopt,  you  are  loosed. 

79.  For  the  Pining  or  Dwindling  Away  of  the  Leg  of  a  Horse. 
Take  a  pound  of  old  bacon,  cut  it  small,  put  it  in  a  pan,  roast  it 

well,  put  in  a  handful  of  fish-worms,  a  gill  of  oats  and  three  spoons* 
ful  of  salt ;  roast  it  all  right  black  and  strain  it  through  a  towel ;  then 
add  a  gill  of  Dutch  soap,  and  half  gill  of  cornbrandy,  a  half  gill  of 
vinegar  and  half  gill  of  boys'  urine,  stir  them  together  and  rub  the 
leg  with  it  crosswise,  on  3d,  6th,  and  9th  day  after  the  new  moon,  and 
warm  it  in  with  an  oak  board. 

8a  To  Make  Mitoses. 
Take  pumpkins,  stew  them,  strain  (press)  out  the  liquid  and  boil 
it  down  till  it  is  thick  as  molasses.  The  ^thor  of  this  book  has  eaten 
such,  and  thought  it  was  the  real  molasses,  till  the  people  told  him. 

8t.  How  to  Make  Good  Beer. 

Take  a  handful  of  hops,  about  three  spoonsful  of  ginger,  and  a  half 
gallon  of  molasses:  —  strain  it  into  a  tub.  Then  it  is  good  beer. 

82.  For  Falling  Sickness. 

Take  a  turtle  dove,  cut  o£E  the  neck,  and  give  the  blood  to  the 
patient. 


Digitized  by  Coogle 


Tk$  Long  Hiddm  FrUntL  119 

83.  To  Make  Poor  Fftper  not  Flow  When  You  Write  on  it. 
Dip  the  paper  in  alum  water.  I,  Hohman,  wOl  hereafter  pour  a 
little  water  on  the  alum  and  moisten  the  paper.  Then  I  will  see 
whether  one  can  write  on  it 

84.  For  Stone  in  the  Bladder. 
The  author  of  this  book,  Johann  Geog  Hohman,  am  using  this 
remedy  and  it  is  helping  me  Another  man  sought  help  from  the 
doctors  a  long  time  in  vain  ;  he  then  found  this  serviceable,  viz.  :  he 
ate  every  morning  forty-seven  peach-stones,  and  it  helped  him.  If 
the  case  is  ver\'  bad,  continue  it.  I,  Hohman,  have  used  it  only  a  few 
weeks.  I  began  to  perceive  its  good  effects  immediately,  though  I 
had  the  disease  so  bad,  that  I  was  forced  to  cry  aloud  when  I  made 
water.  To  the  loving  God  and  my  wife  I  owe  a  thousand  thanks  for 
this  relief. 

85.  For  Incontinence — Not  Able  to  Hold  One's  Water. 
Take  a  hog's  bladder,  bum  it  to  a  powder  and  take  it. 

86.  To  Take  Away  an  Excrescence  in  the  Increase  of  the  Moon. 

Look  directly  over  the  Excrescence  and  say :  What  increases, 
increases ;  what  decreases,  decreases.  Say  this  thrice  in  one  breath. 

87.  To  Drive  Away.  Mice  or  Mdes* 
Put  a  piece  of  unslacked  lime  in  the  hole. 

88.  To  Remove  a  Film  from  the  Eyes. 
Dig  the  root  of  Bissibet  on  St  Bartholomew's  day  before  sunrise, 
8  or  5  roots ;  take  off  the  ends  of  the  roots  over  the  trench  from  which 
they  are  dug ;  get  a  patch  of  cloth  and  thread  which  have  not  been 
in  water ;  see  that  the  thread  has  no  knot  in  it ;  tie  up  the  roots  in 
the  patchy  hang  them  on  the  neck  till  the  film  is  gone^  with  a  band 
which  also  has  not  touched  water. 

89.  For  Bad  Hearing  — and  Roaring  in  the  Ears.  Also  for  Tooth- 
ache. 

Moisten  some  cotton  with  a  few  drops  of  tincture  of  camphor  and 
lay  it  on  the  tooth  affected.    It  eases  the  pain  very  much. 

Put  in  the  ear  it  strengthens  the  hearing  and  prevents  the  buzzing 
and  roaring  of  the  ears. 

90.  To  Make  Children's  Teeth  Grow  Without  Pain. 
Boil  the  brain  of  a  hare,  and  rub  the  gums  of  the  children  with  it, 
and  the  teeth  will  grow  without  pain. 


uiyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


130 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


91.  For  Fuking  and  Purging. 
Take  cloves  and  pound  them  fine ;  take  bread  and  soak  it  in  red 
wine  and  eat  it,  and  you  will  soon  be  better.   Or,  put  the  cloves  in 
the  bread. 

92.  To  Heal  a  Burn. 
Anoint  the  burnt  plut  with  the  juice  of  the  flag  bruised  and  pressed; 
or  better,  saturate  a  rag  in  the  juice  and  bind  it  on. 

93.  Another  Good  Cure  for  Weak  Limbs  —  for  Purifying  the  Blood, 
Strengthening  the  Head  and  Heart  —  for  Dizziness,  etc. 

In  the  morning,  before  eating  take  two  little  drops  of  oil  of  cloves 
in  a  glass  of  white  wine.  It  is  good  also  against  the  constant  vomit- 
ing of  the  mother  —  also  for  cold  stomach.  It  strengthens  and  warms 
it  and  checks  the  vomiting.  A  couple  of  drops  on  a  little  cotton 
laid  on  an  aching  tooth  stills  the  pain. 

The  oil-of-cloves  is  obtained  as  follows  :  Take  a  "good  bit  "  of  the 
clove-spice,  pulverize  it,  pour  on  a  half-ounce  of  water,  let  it  stand  in 
warm  sand  four  days,  then  distil  it  into  a  tin  or  copper  vessel  and 
separate  the  oil  with  cotton  or  a  separating  glass. 

94.  For  Dysentery  and  Diarrhoea. 

Take  moss  of  trees,  boil  it  in  red  wine,  and  give  it  to  the  patient 
to  drink. 

95.  For  the  Toothache. 
The  author  of  this  book,  Hohman,  has  cured  himself  more  than 
sixty  times  with  this  remedy  of  the  severest  toothache ;  and  of  the 
sixty  times  that  he  has  used  it,  it  has  failed  but  once.  Take,  namely, 
vitriol :  when  the  tooth  begins  to  ache,  put  a  little  piece  in  the  sore 
tooth  ;  spit  all  the  saliva  out,  but  not  too  often.  I  know  not  whether 
it  would  help  a  tooth  that  is  not  <hollow,  but  think  it  would,  if  laid 
on  it 

96.  Caution  for  Pregnant  Women. 
Pregnant  women  must  be  careful  to  avoid  Camphor.    It  must  not 
be  given  to  them ;  they  cannot  endure  the  smell  of  it  when  they  are 
sick. 

97.  For  Rite  of  a  Mad-Dog  —  Hydrophobia. 
A  certain  Valentine  Kettering  of  Dauphin  Co.,  has  made  known 
to  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania  a  remedy  which  will  cure  the  bite  of  a 
rabid  animal  without  fail.  He  says  it  has  been  used  by  his  forefathers 
in  Germany  for  250  years,  and  by  himself  since  he  came  to  the  U.  S. 
now  over  60  years,  and  has  always  been  found  infallible.  He  pub- 
lishes it  purely  from  notions  of  humanity,  this  remedy  is  the  red- 
chickweed  or  pimpernal  (Bot.  name  anogallis  PfueniceaT).    It  is  a 


Digitized  t>y  Coogle 


TAe  Long  Hiddm  FruntL 


III 


summer  plant,  known  in  Germany  and  Switzerland  under  the  name 
of  Gauchkeil  and  red  meyeror  red  heehnerdorn.  It  must  be  gathered 
in  June,  when  in  full  bloom,  dried  in  the  shade  and  pulverized.  The 
dose  of  this  for  an  adult  is  a  small  e^g-glass  full,  or  a  drachm  and  a 
scruple,  at  once,  taken  in  beer  or  water.  For  a  child  the  dose  is  the 
same,  only  it  is  to  be  given  at  three  separate  times. 

When  it  is  for  beasts,  it  is  to  be  used  green,  and  may  be  cut  and 
mixed  in  bran  or  other  fodder.  If  for  swine,  use  the  dust,  and  put  it 
in  their  swili.  It  can  be  eaten  on  buttered  bread,  or  honey,  or 
molasses,  etc. 

The  Hon.  Henry  Muhlenberg  says,  that  in  Germany  they  give  30 
grains  of  the  powder  four  times  a  day,  and  so  continue  for  a  week 
with  decreasing  doses,  and  at  the  same  time  wash  the  wound  with  a 
decoction  of  the  plant  and  sprinkle  the  powder  in  it.  Mr.  Kettering 
says  he  has  always  found  a  single  dose  followed  by  the  happiest 
results. 

It  IS  said  this  is  the  remedy  used  so  successfully  by  the  kte  Dr. 
Wot  Stoy. 

98.  To  Guard  Against  Various  Diseases  in  Sheep,  and  to  Fromote 

the  Growth  of  the  WooL 

William  EUies,  in  his  admirable  treatise  on  the  sheep^ulture  in 
England  relates  the  following :  I  know  a  farmer  who  has  a  flock  of 
sheep  which  yields  a  remarkable  crop  of  wool.  He  secures  that 
result  by  this  means :  when  he  shears  his  sheep  he  washes  them 
thoroughly  in  butter*milk.  Butter-milk  makes  not  only  the  sheep's 
wool,  but  also  the  hair  of  all  animals  to  grow  strong.  Those  who 
have  not  butter-milk  at  hand,  can  take  other  milk,  mixmg  a  little 
salt  and  water  with  it  I  can  assure  also,  that  by  the  proper  use  of 
this  means,  the  sheep-tick  will  be  exterminated  from  the  lambs.  It 
also  cures  the  scab  or  itch,  prevents  colds  from  attacking  them,  and 
makes  the  wool  grow  rapidly  and  thick. 

99.  Plaster  for  a  Rum. 
Take  a  gill  of  fat  in  which  chickens  have  been  cooked  ;  six  eggs 
roasted  in  live  embers  hard  ;  take  out  the  yolk,  cook  them  in  the 
fat  till  they  are  right  black,  add  a  handful  of  Rue,  steep  it  and  strain 
through  a  towel  When  ready  cool  it  with  a  gill  of  olive-oil.  It  is  best 
that  the  plaster  for  a  man  should  be  made  by  a  woman,  and  for  a 
woman  by  a  man. 

100.  A  Right  Good  Plaster. 

Take  worm-wood  Rue,  ,  yarrow,  and  bees-wax,  of  each  an 

equal  part,  but  of  the  bees-wax  a  little  more,  add  tallow  and  a  little 
spirits-of-turpentine,  simmer  together  in  an  oven  and  strain  them. 

VOL.  xvn.— ita  65.  9 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


1 22  yaumai  of  American  Foik-Lore. 

10 1.  For  Poll-Evil.  " 

Apply  turpentine,  rub  it  in  with  the  hand,  and  baste  with  a  hot 
iron  ;  then  take  goose-fat,  baste  it  in  3  days  in  succession,  and  the 
last  day  in  the  last  quarter  (of  the  moon). 

102.  To  Stop  Blood. 

I  go  through  a  green  wold, 

Where  bloom  three  flowers,  fresh  and  cold  ; 

The  first  is  called  might,  the  second,  good,  is  height, 

The  thhd  says,  still  the  bloodftt 

103.  To  Stop  Blood  and  Cure  Wounds  in  Man  or  Beast 
On  Jesus'  grave  there  grew  three  roses :  the  first  is  goodly,  the 
second  all-pervading.   Blood  stands  still,  the  wounds  they  heal. 

104.  For  Scurvey  of  the  Gums  and  Foul  Throat. 

Job  was  jogging  o'er  the  land  :  had  his  staff  in  his  hand, 
Blessed  him  God  the  Lord  and  said  :  Why,  O  Job,  so  very  sad  ? 
Ah  Lord,  he  said,  and  why  not  sad  ?  My  mouth  and  throat  are  very 
bad. 

Said  God  to  Job,  there  in  the  vale ;  a  fountain  flows  which  thee  will 
heal  (n.  n.). 

The  throat  and  mouth  in  the  triune  name ;  but  say  the  names  and 
say.  Amen.  Repeat  three  times,  morning  and  evenings  and  at  the 
words   thee  will  heal,"  breathe  in  the  child's  mouth. 

105.  To  Gain  a  Law  Suit 
It  is  said,  that  if  one  has  a  law-suit,  and  will  take  of  the  largest 
,  sage,  and  will  write  the  names  of  the  12  Apostles  on  a  leaf  and  put 
them  in  his  shoe  before  he  goes  to  the  Court  Hous^  he  wOl  gain 
his  case. 

105^.  For  the  Swelling  of  Cattle.^ 
To  Desh  break  no  Flesh,  but  to  Desh !  While  saying  this  run 
your  hand  along  the  back  of  the  animal. 

NoU» — The  hand  must  be  put  upon  the  bare  skin  in  all  cases  of 
using  sympathetic  words. 

106.  To  Catch  Small  Fish — Civet  and  Beavers. 
Castor-liquid,  9  grains  each  ;  eel-fat,  2  ounces ;  unsaled  fresh  but- 
ter, 4  ounces  ;  mix  in  a  vessel  of  white  glass,  stop  or  cover  the  vessel 
close,  set  it  in  the  sun  or  a  tolerably  warm  place  9  or  10  days ;  stir 
the  composition  with  a  small  spoon  tUl  they  all  come  together. 

'  This  charm  is  omitted  from  the  edition  of  1863,  hut  is  found  in^tbe  German 
editioa  and  the  English  version  of  1856. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend,  123 

Use  of  this  CompositioiL   i.  To  Catch  Fish  with  the  Hook  and 

Line. 

I.  Moisten  with  the  composition  the  wonns  or  insects  you  are  to 
use  for  hait  and  keep  them  in  a  bladder  in  your  pouch. 

2.  With  the  Net, 
Make  little  balls  of  new  baked  bread,  dip  them  in  the  composition 
and  fasten  them  with  twine  inside  the  net. 

3.  To  Catch  Fish  Merely  with  the  Hands. 
Besmear  the  legs  or  boots  with  the  composition  and  go  into  the 
water  and  the  fish  gather  around  you  in  shoals. 

107.  Another,  to  Make  the  Beast  Come  to  the  House. 
Feed  the  beast  out  of  your  coolung  pot,  and  it  will  always  come 
home. 

108.  To  Cure  Ulcers. 
Stew  the  bulb  of  white  lilies  in  sweet  cream  and  lay  it  on  the 
ulcer  as  a  poultice.   The  root  of  the  common  thistle  is  also  good. 

lOQk  For  a  Sore  Mouth 
Take  calf's  bones,  bum  till  you  can  pulverize  them  ;  rub  the  mouth 
with  it    It  leaves  no  foul  flesh.    It  is  excellent  to  heal. 

iia  To  Make  an  OU  from  Paper,  which  is  very  Serviceable  for  the 

Eye& 

A  German  related  it  to  me :  Bum  two  sheets  of  white  paper  in  the 
candle^  add  three  drops  of  water.  It  takes  away  all  defects  of  the 
eyes  if  you  annoint  them  with  it  It  will  heal  the  most  desperate 
cases. 

III.  To  Drive  Away  Filts-Lice  —  Body-Lice: 
Take  Monk's  dust,  mix  it  with  hog's  fat,  and  besmear  yourself 
with  it 

Another —  Steep  Cowslip  and  wash  the  parts  infested  by  the 
vermin. 

113.  For  Rheumatism.  — Very  Good  and  Sure. 
This  recipe  has  been  sold  as  high  as  ^2 ;  it  is  the  best  and  surest 
remedy  for  the  Rheumatism.   The  formula  is  written  on  a  letter 
and  sewed  up  in  a  piece  of  linen  cloth  with  thread  and  hung  to  the 

neck  by  a  band  on  the  last  Friday  in  the  old  of  the  moon.  The  cloth, 
band  and  thread  must  not  have  touched  the  water,  and  the  thread 
have  no  knot  in  it  In  folding  the  letter,  3  ends  must  be  laid  together 
at  one  side.  You  say  the  Lord's  prayer  and  the  Creed  when  you 
hang  it  on.  The  following  is  the  formula : 
God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  grant ;  Amen.  Like  sought 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOglc 


124 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


and  sought ;  that  God  the  Lord  grant  thee  by  the  first  man ;  so  God 
on  the  Earth  may  be  loved,  like  sought  and  sought :  that  God  the 
Lord  grant  thee  by  the  Evangelist  Luke  and  the  holy  Apostle  Paul 
Like  sought  and  sought ;  that  grant  thee  God  the  Lord  by  the  12 
Apostles.  Like  sought ;  that  grant  thee  God  the  Lord  by  the  first 
man,  so  God  may  be  loved.  Like  sought  and  sought,  that  God  the 
Lord  grant  thee  by  the  loving,  holy  Father,  so  as  it  is  done  in  the 
godly  holy  scriptures.  Like  sought  and  sought ;  that  God  the  Lord 
grant  them  by  the  loving,  holy  angels,  and  fatherly,  godly  Almighti- 
ness  and  heavenly  trust  and  faith,  like  sought  and  sought;  that 
grant  thee  God  the  Lord  by  the  fiery  furnace  which  is  supported  by 
God's  blcssinn;.  [Like  sought  and  sought.  That  grant  thee  God 
the  Lord  by  the  loving,  holy  an^^cls,  and  fatherly,  godly  Almighti- 
ness,  and  heavenly  trust  and  faith.  Like  sought  and  sought.  That 
grant  thee  God  the  Lord  by  the  fiery  furnace  which  is  supported  by 
God's  blessing.]  ^  Like  sought  and  confessed.  That  grant  thee  Grod 
the  Lord,  by  all  power  and  might,  by  the  prophet  Jonas  who,  for  3 
days  and  nights  is  preserved  in  the  whale's  belly.  Like  sought  and 
confessed.  That  grant  thee  God  the  Lord  by  all  the  power  and 
might,  out  of  godly  humility  to  go  even  to  eternity  ;  therefore  f  N  f 
be  no  evils  to  thy  whole  body,  whether  racking  gout,  or  yellow,  or 
white,  or  red,  or  black  gout  or  torturing  rheumatism,  or  pains  or  tor- 
tures known  by  any  name,  may  they  do  the  j-  N  f  no  harm  in 
thy  whole  body,  whether,  head,  neck,  heart,  belly,  in  thy  veins,  arms, 
legs,  eyes,  tongue ;  in  all  thy  veins  in  thy  whole  body  be  no  evil 
This  I  write  for  thee  t  N  f  with  these  words :  In  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  God  bless  thee. 
Amen. 

REMARK.  —  When  one  writes  for  another,  where  the  letter  N 
stands  he  must  write  the  first  name  of  the  patient 

113.  To  Free  Bee-Hives  of  Worms. 
With  a  little  care  and  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  one  can  keep  the  bee- 
hive free  of  worms  for  a  whole  year.  Buy  at  the  apothecaries  this 
powder — Flower  of  Prusse.  It  does  not  injure  the  honey  in  the 
least.  Take  as  much  as  will  lie  on  the  point  of  a  pen-knife,  mix  it 
in  a  p:lnss  in  a  small  quantity  of  good  corn-brandy ;  make  a  hole  in 
the  hive  and  squirt  in  the  mixture.  This  recipe  is  found  in  no  other 
book. 

1 14.  An  Unguent  to  Preserve  a  Weapon  <^  Iron  or  Steel  from  Rust. 
Bear's  grease,  i  ounce;  Snake's  grease,  %  ounce;  Badgei^s 

^  The  sentences  witUn  the  brackets  are  merely  a  repetition  of  the  preceding 
lines  and  have  evident^  been  added  tbxon^  the  printec^  error.  The  odier 
editions  do  not  repeat  these  sentences. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Long  Hiddtn  Friend, 


"5 


grease,  %  ounce;  Almond-oil,  i  ounce ;  Pulverized  Indigo,  ]^  ounce. 
Simmer  together  in  a  new  vessel,  stirring  it  well,  and  preserve  in 
the  vessel.  Apply  with  a  woolen  rag.  A  piece  the  size  of  a  walnut 
is  sufficient. 

115.  To  Make  a  Wick  (?)  that  will  not  Bum  Out. 
Take  i  oz.  asbestors,  boil  it  in  a  quart  of  strong  lye  for  2  hours* 
pour  o£f  the  lye  and  rinse  the  remainder  in  rain-water  two  or  three 
times,  and  pour  it  ofi  into  a  mortar ;  from  this  the  wick  is  made  and 
dried  in  the  sun. 

I  id  A  Morning  Prayer  on  Land  for  Protection  from  Misfortune. 

I  (here  pronounce  your  name)  to-day  purpose  to  go  out.  1  will  go 
God's  path  and  way,  where  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have 
gone,  and  the  Madonna  and  child,  with  her  seven  rings,  with  her 
true  things.  Oh,  my  dear  Lord,  I  am  thine  own ;  let  no  dog  bite 
me,  no  wolf  bite  me,  no  murderer  kill  me,  protect  me^  oh  God,  this  day. 
I  stand  in  God's  band ;  there  I  bind  myself ;  in  God's  hand  am  I 
bound  by  the  sacred  fire  wound  of  our  Lord  God,  that  no  weapon 
may  injure  me;  Say  three  Patter  NosterSi  three  Ave  Marias,  and  the 
creed. 

117.  A  True  and  Approved  Charm.    Useful  against  a  Conflagration 

and  Pestilence. 

Welcome  thou  fiery  guest  ;  seize  no  further  than  thou  hast.  This 
I  reckon  to  thee,  Fire,  for  a  penance,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  pray,  thee,  Fire,  by  God's  power  which  does  and  creates  all 
things,  that  thou  stay  and  go  no  further,  even  as  Christ  stood  on  the 
Jordan  and  was  baptized,  by  the  holy  man  John.  That  I  reckon  to 
thee,  Fire,  as  a  penance,  in  the  name  of  the  holy  Trinity. 

I  pray  thee,  Fire,  by  the  power  of  God,  that  thou  restrain  thy 
flames  ;  even  as  Mary  restrains  her  virginity  before  all  dames,  chaste 
and  pure ;  wherefore,  stay  thy  rage,  Fire.  This  I  reckon  to  thee  for 
a  penance,  Fire,  in  the  name  of  the  Almightiest  Trinity. 

I  pray  thee,  thou  wilt  allay  thy  ardor,  by  Jesus  Christ's  precious 
blood,  which  he  shed  for  us,  our  sins  and  misdeeds.  That  I  reckon 
thee,  Fire,  for  a  penance,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  and 
the  Holy  Ghost 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews,  help  us  out  of  this  stress  of 
fire^  and  protect  this  land  and  country  from  all  plague  and  pestilence. 

REMARKS. — This  charm  was  brought  from  Egypt  by  a  chris- 
tian Gipsy  King.  In  the  year  1714,  the  ist  day  of  June^  six  gipsys 
were  brought  into  the  Prussian  Kingdom,  condemned  to  be  hung. 
A  seventh,  an  old  man  of  80  years  of  agCt  and  condemned  to  be  he- 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 26  ydumal  of  Ameruan  Folh-Lore, 


headed,  was  brought  in  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month.  Fortunately 
for  him,  a  conflagration  broke  out ;  the  old  gipsy  was  loosed  and 
brought  to  the  fire  to  try  his  art,  and  to  the  wonder  of  all,  he  subdued 
the  fire  in  a  half  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  for  which  he  was  pardoned 
and  set  free.  This  was  known  in  the  royal  palace  of  Prussia,  and  in 
the  general  Superintendency  oi  Konigsburg,  and  has  been  openly 
put  to  the  proof. 

It  was  first  tested  in  Konigsberg  by  Alexander  Banman,  in  1715. 

Whoever  has  this  formula  written  in  the  house,  is  safe  from  the 
danger  of  conflagration  or  thunderstorm  ;  likewise,  if  a  pregnant 
woman  has  it  about  her,  magic  cannot  injure  her  or  her  child  ;  it 
protects  likewise  against  plague  and  pestilence.  When  one  repeats 
the  form  he  must  go  around  the  fire  3  times.    It  always  helps. 

118.  To  Ward  off  the  Disaster  of  Fire. 
Take  a  black  hen  from  the  nest  in  the  morning  or  evening,  cut  off 
the  head  and  lay  it  on  the  ground;  take  out  the  crop  and  ky  that 
with  the  head,  taking  nothing  out  of  it ;  get  a  piece  from  the  chemise 
of  a  maiden,  who  is  a  pure  virgin,  in  which  she  has  had  her  monthly 
courses,  take  the  part  she  has  most  stained,  a  patch  the  size  of  a 
plate ;  get  an  egg  laid  on  Maundy  Thursday,  wrap  the  three  together 
with  wax,  put  it  in  a  neat  little  earthen  pot  and  bury  it  under  the 
threshold  as  long  as  a  stick  remains  in  the  house,  with  God's  help. 
The  fire  may  rage  before  and  behind  the  dwelling,  it  cannot  harm 
thee  or  thy  chUdren.  It  is  with  God's  power  sure  and  certain.  If 
an  unforeseen  conflagration  arises,  it  becomes  yott  to  get  an  entire 
chemise  in  which  a  maiden  has  had  her  courses,  or  a  sheet  in  which 
a  woman  has  given  birth,  wrap  it  up  and  throw  it  all  on  the  fire  with- 
out saying  a  word.   It  always  helps  sure. 

119.  Against  Witches  —  for  Beasts  Write  it  one  Stall  —  for  Human 

Beings  Write  it  on  the  Bedsteads. 
Trotter  head,  I  pray  thee  my  house  and  my  Court,  I  pray  then  my 
horse  and-cow-stall,  I  pray  thee  my  bedstead,  that  thou  shed  not  thy 
consolations  on  me  ;  be  they  on  another  house  till  thou  goest  overall 
mountains,  countest  all  the  sticks  in  the  hedges  and  goest  over  all 
waters.  So  come  the  happy  day  again  to  my  house,  in  the  name  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

120.  To  Prevent  Bad  People  from  Injuring  Cattle. 
Take  worm-wood,  black  cumin,  five-finger  and  asafatida,  of  each 
3  cents'  worth  ;  take  hog-bean  straw,  the  scrapings  behind  the  stable- 
door  and  a  little  salt ;  make  them  all  into  a  little  bundle  and  put  it  in 
a  hole  in  the  sill  and  plug  it  up  with  ivory  wood.    It  helps  sure. 


Digitized  by  G 


TAg  Lmg  Hidden  Friend. 


127 


121.  To  Quench  Fire  Without  Water. 
Write  the  f oUowing  order  ol  letters  on  the  side  of  a  plate  and  thiow 
it  into  the  fire: 

S  A  T  O  R 
A  K  E  P  O 
TENET 
OPERA 
ROTAS 

122.  Another  Remedy  for  a  Bum. 

One  lovely  Sara  goes  through  the  land,  with  a  fiery,  burning  brand 
in  her  hand.  The  fire  brand  bums,  the  fire  brand  sweats.  Fire 
brand,  thou  thy  burning  leave:  Fire  brand,  thou  thy  sweating 

leave.ttt 

123.  A  Charm  for  Personal  Safety. 

Cross  of  Christ  and  Crown  of  Christ  and  Jesus  Christ ;  red  blood, 
be  to  me  at  all  times  and  all  hours  good.  God  the  Father  is  before 
me ;  God  the  Son  is  at  my  side,  God  the  Holy  Ghost  is  behind  me. 
Who  now  is  stronger  than  the  three  Persons,  he  comes  day  or  night 
and  seises  me.ttt  3  Pater  Nosters. 

124.  Another  for  the  Same. 
Every  step  Jesus  goes  with  N.  He  is  my  head,  I  am  his  member; 
therefore  Jesus  goes  with  N. 

125.  A  Certain  Remedy  Against  Fire. 
As  surged  the  bitter  sufferings  and  death  of  our  dear  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Fire  and  wind  and  heated  glow,  what  thou  hast  in  thy  ele- 
mented power,  I  bid  thee,  bid  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  commanded 
the  wind,  and  the  sea,  and  they  obeyed  Him,  by  these  mighty  words 
which  Jesus  spake,  I  bid,  command  and  proclaim  to  thee,  Fire,  that 
thou  likewise  flee,  and  thy  elemented  power,  thou  fiame  and  glow. 
As  flowed  the  rose-red  blood  of  our  dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Thou 
Fire  and  wind  and  heated  glow,  bid  thee,  as  God  has  bidden  the  fire 
by  his  holy  angel,  who  the  fiery  glow  in  the  fiery  furnace,  when  the 
three  holy  children,  Shadrach  and  his  fellows,  Meshach  and  Abed- 
Nego,  by  God's  command  given  to  his  holy  angel,  that  they  should 
remain  unhurt,  and  it  also  happened  ;  that  thou  likewise,  Fire-fiame 
and  heated  glow,  that  thou  lay  thyself,  as  the  Almighty  God  has 
spoken  when  he  created  the  four  elements,  together  heaven  and 
esrth.  Fiat,  fiat,  fiat  t  i  e.  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  ol  this  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

126.  For  a  Man  or  Beast  Perverted  by  Evil  Influences. 
Three  false  tongues  have  pierced  thee  ;  three  holy  tongues  have 
befriended  thee.   The  first  is  God  the  Father,  the  second  is  God  the 


L-iyui^uO  by  Google 


12S 


yourmal  of  American  Folk-Lor§* 


Son,  the  third  is  God  the  Holy  Ghost  They  give  thee  thy  blood 
and  flesh,  thy  joy  and  courage.  Flesh  and  blood  is  in  thee  grown, 
born  and  lost.  Has  a  man  over-ridden  thee  so  bless  thee  God  and 
the  holy  Cyprian.  Has  a  wife  over-slaughed  thee,  so  bless  thee  God 
and  the  body  of  Mary.  Has  a  knight  troubled  thee,  so  bless  thee 
by  God  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Has  a  maid  or  a  servant  run 
away  from  thee  ;  so  bless  thee  God  and  the  Heavenly  stars.  Heaven 
is  above  thee  ;  the  earth-realm  under  thee,  thou  art  in  the  midst.  I 
bless  thee  before  thou  art  destroyed.  Our  dear  Lord  Jesus  in  his 
bitter  sufferings  and  death  underwent  every  thing  which  the  false 
tongues  of  the  Jews  uttered  against  him,  in  malice.  See  how  the 
Son  of  God  trembled  when  he  was  oppressed.  Then  said  our  Lord 
Christ :  If  I  have  not  the  rider  (oppresses)  no  one  will  have  him. 
Who  helps  me  to  mourn  and  carry  my  cross,  him  will  I  defend  from 
the  rider,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  Amen. 

127.  For  a  Sprite  and  other  Kmd«of  Witchcraft 

I. 

M.  I.R. 
I. 

Sancto*  Spiritos 
I. 

N.I.R. 
I. 

Let  tins  all  be  preserved,  here  for  time,  there  eternal.  Amen. 

The  character  which  pertains  to  it  is  called : 

God  Uess  thee*  here  for  time^  there  eternal.  Amen. 

128.  For  Misfortune  and  Danger  in  the  House. 
Sanct  Mattheu8»  Sanct  Marcus,  Sanct  Lucasi  Sanct.  Johannis. 

129.  Protection  of  the  House  and  Court  from  Sickness  and  Robbery. 
Ito,  Alo  Massa  Dandi  Bando,  HL  Amen. 
L  R.  N.  R.  I. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  went  into  the  hall,  there  the  Jews  specially 
sought  him.  So  also  must  niy  days  be  with  those  who  revile  me  with 
their  evil  tongues  falsely,  and  smite,  and  for  praise  of  God  must  I 
bear  the  suffering,  be  silent,  be  dumb,  faint,  ashamed,  ever  and  always. 
God  thereby  bestows  praise.  Help  me  L  L  L  ever  and  eternally. 
Amen. 

130.  Against  the  Influence  of  the  Gipsy  Art. 

Like  as  the  prophet  Jonas,  as  a  type  of  Christ,  was  3  days  and  3 
nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  also  may  the  Almighty  God,  of  bis 
fatherly  goodness  keep  and  protect  me  against  all  evil   I.  I.  L 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


TAe  Long  Hiddm  FrkmL 


129 


131.  To  be  Used  in  the  Crisis  of  Distress  and  Death* 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth  and  that  he  will  raise  me  up  in 
the  latter  day  upon  the  earth. 

132.  For  a  Tumor. 
There  went  three  virgins,  to  view  a  tumor  and  sickness.   The  first 
said  :  it  is  rough.    The  second  said  :  it  is  not.    The  third  said  :  if  it 
is  not,  come  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ   Said  in  the  name  of  the  holy 
Trinity. 

133.  For  Adversity  and  Divers  Conflicts. 
Strength,  Hero^  Joy,  Prince.   L  I.  L 

134.  To  Help  a  Cow  that  has  Lost  her  Milk. 

Give  to  a  cow  3  spoonsful  of  the  first  milk,  and  say  to  it  :  If  any 
one  asks  thee  what  thou  hast  done  with  the  milk,  say ;  the  milk- 
maid has  taken  it,  and  I  have  poured  it  out,  in  the  Father,  etc. 
Amen.    Add  a  prayer. 

135.  Another. 

I.  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ  milk  pour  ; 
I.  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ  water  pour  ; 
I.  Cross  of  Jesus  Christ  to  have  pour. 

These  words  must  be  written  on  3  bits  of  paper,  then  take  milk 
from  the  sick  cow,  and  the  3  bits  of  paper  and  some  scrapings  from 
the  skull  of  a  poor  sinner,  put  them  in  a  furnace  and  boil  them  well ; 
and  so  will  you  exercise  the  witch.  Or  you  can  mix  the  bits  of 
paper  in  the  meal  and  put  it  in  the  feeding  trough,  and  say  the  for- 
mula 3  times,  and  after  that  give  it  to  the  cow.  Thus  you  will  not 
see  the  witch  but  it  will  help  the  cow. 

13d  For  a  Fever. 
Make  a  prayer  early  in  the  morning,  then  tarn  the  shirt  around 
the  left  sleeve  and  say :  Shirt,  turn  thee  around,  and  thou  Fever, 
torn ;  at  the  same  time  name  the  name  of  the  patient.  Say  this  for 
a  penance  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  etc  Amen.  Say  these  words 
3  days  m  succession. 

137.  To  Curse  a  Thief  to  Make  Him  Stand. 

This  saw  must  be  said  on  Thursday,  early  in  the  morning,  before 
sunrise,  under  the  open  sky. 

So  grant  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  Full 
three  and  thirty  angels  by  one  another  stand.  They  come  with 
Mary  to  comfort  her.  Then  said  the  dear,  holy  Daniel :  Sad,  dear, 
lady  I  see  thieves,  go  which  wish  thy  precious  child  to  steal ;  that 
can  I  not  from  thee  conceal.    Then  said  our  dear  lady  St.  Peter : 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


I30 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lam. 


Bind,  St.  Peter,  bind.  Then  said  St.  Peter  :  I  have  bound  with  a 
band,  with  Christ  his  own  hand,  as  my  thieves  are  bound  with  Christ's 
own  hands,  if  they  would  steal  anything  of  mine,  in  the  house,  in  the 
chest,  in  the  meadow  and  acre,  in  wood  or  field,  in  tree,  and  plant, 
and  garden,  or  wherever  they  would  steal  anything  of  mine.  Our 
dear  lady  then  said  :  Steal  who  will,  but  if  he  steal,  he  shall  stand  as 
a  bock,  and  stand  as  a  block  ;  and  count  all  the  stones  that  on  the 
earth  lie,  and  count  all  the  stars  as  they  stand  in  the  sky.  So  gave 
I  thee  praise  and  demanded  of  thee  for  every  spirit,  that  every  thief 
may  know  a  master,  by  St.  Daniel,  to  bring  the  goods  of  earth,  to 
one's  burden,  to  one's  hearth  ;  and  thy  face  must  not  be  towards 
the  place,  that  my  eyes  may  not  see  thee  and  my  fleshly  tongue  may 
not  praise  thee.  This  demand  I  of  thee  holy  Virgin  Mary.  Mother 
of  God,  by  the  power  and  might,  when  he  created  heaven  and  earth, 
by  the  angelic  host  and  by  all  God's  holy  ones,  in  the  name  of  God 
the  1  cither,  (iod  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  When 
you  would  lift  the  bann,  bid  him  go  in  the  name  of  Sl  John. 

I38w  Another  Similar. 
Ye  thieves,  I  conjure  you  to  obey,  even  to  the  cross,  and  stand 
with  me,  and  go  not  from  my  sight,  in  the  name  of  the  holy  Trinity, 
I  command  you  by  the  power  ot  God  and  the  humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  that  ye  go  not  from  my  sight,fff  as  Jesus  the  Lord 
Stood  in  Jordan,  when  St.  John  baptized  him.  After  this,  I  com- 
mand you,  horse  and  man,  that  you  stand  to  go  not  from  my  sight, 
as  Christ  the  Lord  stood  when  they  nailed  him  to  the  cross,  and  he 
destroyed  the  power  of  the  old-father  of  hell.  Ye  thieves,  I  bind 
you  with  bonds,  as  Christ  the  Lord  has  bound  Hell,  so  are  ye 
bound ;  f  f  f  with  the  words  with  which  they  are  hxed,  they  are  also 
loosed. 

139.  Another,  very  Swift. 
Thou  rider  and  footman,  comest  here  well  under  thy  care.  Thou 
are  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  five  wounds  ; 
thou  hast  thy  gun,  flint  and  pistol  bound,  sabre  and  knife  are  cursed 
and  bound,  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 
Amen.   To  be  said  thrice. 

14a  To  Release  the  Same. 
Yes  rider  and  footman,  as  I  have  bound  you  in  the  curse  till  this 
time,  so  now  ride  forth  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  word  of 
God  and  the  shield  of  Christ ;  so  ride  ye  now  all  forth. 

141.  To  Cause  the  Thief  to  Return  Stolen  Goods. 
Early  in  the  morning,  before  sunrise,  go  to  a  birch-tree,  take  with 
you  three  nails  out  of  a  hearse  or  three  horse-shoe  nails  that  have 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


'    Tke  Lmg  Hidden  Frund, 


never  been  used ;  hold  up  the  nails  towards  the  rising  sun  and  say ; 
Oh  Thief,  I  bind  thee  by  the  first  nail  which  I  make  to  pierce  thee  in 
the  brow  and  brain,  that  thou  return  the  stolen  goods  to  their  for- 
mer place  ;  to  the  man  and  place  whence  thou  stealest  them,  else 
it  shall  be  as  sad  to  thee  as  it  was  to  the  disciple  Judas  when  he  be- 
trayed Jesus.  The  second  nail  which  I  make  to  pierce  thy  lungs 
and  liver,  that  thou  return  the  stolen  goods  to  their  lormer  place  ;  to 
the  man  and  the  place  whence  thou  hast  stolen  them,  else  it  shall 
be  as  sad  to  thee  as  it  was  to  Pilate  in  the  pains  of  hell.  The  third 
nail  which  I  make  to  pierce  thy  foot,  thou  thief,  that  thou  must  re- 
turn the  stolen  goods  to  their  former  place,  whence  thou  hast  stolen 
them.  Oh  thief,  I  bind  thee  and  bring  thee  by  the  sacred  three 
nails  which  pierced  Chfist  through  his  hands  and  feet,  that  thou 
must  return  the  stolen  goods  to  their  former  place,  whence  thou 
hast  stolen  them.ttt 

142.  A  General  Prayer. 

Jesus,  I  am  about  to  undertake  (such  a  thing).  Jesus,  thou  wilt  go 
with  me.  Jesus,  shut  my  heart  in  thy  heart,  to  thee  I  commend  my 
body  and  soul.  The  Lord  was  crucified.  And  my  understanding, 
oh  God,  that  wicked  foes  may  not  overcome  me,  in  the  name  o£  the 
Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

143.  To  Win  in  a  Play. 

Bind  to  the  arm  with  which  you  throw  the  heart  of  a  field  mous^ 
with  a  red  silk  thread  and  you  will  always  win. 

144.  For  a  Bum. 
Our  dear  Lord  Jesus  went  over  the  land ;  there  he  saw  a  burning 
brand ;  there  lay  St.  Lawrence^  all  in  a  roast ;  he  came  to  him  in 
help  and  trust ;  he  lifted  up  his  holy  hand,  and  blessed  he  him  and 
blessed  the  hand ;  and  lifted  away  the  fire  that  fed ;  that  it  never 
deeper  nor  wider  spread.  Let  the  bum  be  blessed  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Amen. 

145.  Another  for  a  Burn. 
Yield  brand  away,  and  never  press  oh  ;  cold  or  warm,  let  burning 
alone.  God  protect  thee,  blood  and  flesh,  marrow  and  bone,  and  all 
thy  vines,  be  thou  great  or  small,  they  shall  be  for  the  fire  hand  cold 
or  warm,  unhurt  and  protected  in  the  name  of  the  God  the  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

146.  To  Administer  to  a  Beast  for  Witchery  and  Devilwork. 

S  A  T  O  R 
A  R  E  P  O 
TENET 
OPERA 
K  O  T  A  S 


uiyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


yaurmU  of  Ammean  Folh-Lcn. 


147.  To  Dress  and  Heal  Wounds. 
Say  thus :  I  dress  the  wounds  in  three  names,  whether  they  be 
from  fire,  water,  decay  or  swelling  or  any  other  evil,  in  the  name 
of  the  holy  Trinity.  This  must  be  said  thrice.  Put  a  thread  three 
times  around  the  wound,  lay  it  under  the  right  corner  against  the 
sun  and  say  :  I  lay  thee  here  fff,  that  thou  may  est  take  on  thy- 
self the  lymple,  swelling,  and  one  and  all,  whatever  can  injure  the 
wound.   Amen.   Say  a  Pater  Noster,  and  a  God  grant  it 

148.  To  Relieve  a  Fresh  Wound  of  Pain. 
Our  dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  many  sores  and  wounds,  and  yet 
they  arc  not  bound  up.  They  endure  not  long,  nor  do  they  mortify 
nor  generate  matter.  Jonas  was  blind,  I,  said  the  heavenly  child,  as 
true  the  five  sacred  wounds  were  pierced.  They  fester  not  nor  be- 
come corrupt.  I  take  therefrom  water  and  blood  ;  that  is  good  for 
all  wounds  and  hurts.  Holy  is  the  man  who  can  heal  all  hurts  and 
wounds,  f  ft  Amen. 

149L  For  Worms  in  the  Body. 
Peter  and  Jesus  went  out  into  the  field ;  tfaey  ploughed  three  fur- 
rows ;  they  ploughed  up  three  worms.   One  is  whiter  one  is  black, 
the  third  is  red.  The  worms  are  all  dead^  in  the  name  fft*  Say 
these  words  thrice. 

15OL  For  all  Evils. 
Lord  Jesus,  thy  wounds  red ;  stand  we  before  thee  dead 

151.  To  Maintain  the  Right  Before  the  Court  and  Council 

Jesus  Mazarenus,  Rex  Judcorum. 

First  draw  this  character  by  you  in  the  figure  and  then  say  :  I.  N.  N. 
went  before  the  house  of  the  judge  ;  there  appeared  3  dead  men  at 
the  window  ;  one  had  no  tongue  ;  the  second  had  no  lungs ;  the 
third  was  sick,  blind  and  dumb.  When  you  go  before  the  judge  or 
officer,  and  they  are  not  favorable  to  you,  and  you  have  a  just  cause, 
say  the  above; 

152.  To  Staunch  Blood 

As  soon  as  you  are  wounded,  say  :  Blessed  wounds,  blessed  hours ; 
blessed  is  the  day  that  Jesus  was  born,  in  the  name  fff.  Amen. 

•  153.  Another,  for  the  Same. 

Write  on  a  slip  of  paper  the  four  chief  rivers  of  the  world,  which 
flowed  out  of  Paradise,  namely,  Pison,  Gihon,  Hidekel,  and  Eu- 
phrates. Open  to  the  xst  Book  of  Moses,  C.  20,  V.  11,  12,  13,  and 
you  will  see  them.  It  helps. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tki  Lamg  Hiddm  FrietuL 


133 


154.  Another  Similar. 
Or  breathe  on  the  patient  thrice ;  say  the  Pater  Noster  twice  as 
tu  as  — M  Earth,  and  say  that  thrice ;  the  blood  soon  stops. 

155.  Another,  Perfectly  Sure. 
When  the  blood  will  not  stop,  or  a  vein  is  cut,  lay  the  letter  on  it, 
and  stand  by  an  hour.  If  any  one  does  not  believe  it,  let  him  write 
the  letters  on  a  knife  and  stick  it  into  a  brute :  it  will  not  bleed. 
Whoever  keeps  it  by  him  can  stand  before  all  his  enemies  :  I.  m. 
I.  K.  I.  B.  I.  P.  a.  X.  V.  ss.  Ss.  vas.  I.  P.  O.  unay  Lit.  Dom.  mper 
vabism.  And  when  a  woman  is  childbed,  or  otherwise  has  heart- 
grief,  let  her  take  this  letter  with  her ;  it  surely  will  not  fail. 

156.  A  Separate  Form  to  Protect  Oneself  Against  Man  or  Beast. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  defend  yourself,  use  this  formula :  In 
God's  name  I  attack.  My  Redeemer  will  stand  by  me.  On  the 
holy'help  of  God,  I  go  at  it  full  fierce.  On  the  holy  help  of  God  and 
my  own  sword  I  go  at  it,  full  fierce ;  God  with  us  alone.  Jesus, 
heath  and  blessing. 

157.  Protection  of  the  House  and  Court. 

Under  thy  shelter  I  be^  from  storms  and  all  enemies  free.  1. 1. 1. 
The  3  I's  signify  Jesus  three  times. 

158.  Precaution  Against  Firearms. 
Wear  these  words  by  you  and  one  cannot  hit  you :  Annanias, 
Azarias,  and  Misael,  praise  the  Lord,  for  he  has  redeemed  us  from 
hell,  and  has  saved  us  from  death,  and  has  redeemed  us  from  the 
fiery  furnace  and  has  kept  us  in  the  midst  of  the  fire ;  therefore  shall 
he  the  Lord  permit  no  fire  to  touch  us. 

I. 

N.  I.  R. 
1. 

1 59.  To  Fix  all  Foes,  Robbers  and  Murderers. 
God  greet  you,  ye  brothers,  hold  on,  ye  thieves,  robbers,  murder- 
ers and  soldiers,  in  humility  though  we  have  drunk  the  rose-red 
blood  of  Jesus,  your  rifles  and  guns,  and  rendered  powerless  by  the 
holy  blood-drops  of  Jesus  Christ ;  all  sabres  and  all  swords  are  also 
bound  with  the  sacred  five  wounds  of  Jesus.  There  stand  3  roses 
on  God's  heart  ;  the  ist  is  lawful,  the  2d  is  mighty,  the  3d  is  his  own 
godly  will.  Ye  thieves  must  herewith  thereunder  stay  and  hold  still 
as  long  as  I  will.  In  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost ;  be  ye  staid  and  conjured. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


134 


youmai  of  American  Folk-Lar$. 


i6a  A  Safeguard  Against  all  Weapons. 
Jesus,  God  and  Maii»  protect  me  from  every  kind  of  firearms, 
weapons*  long  and  short,  sword  of  every  kind  of  metal  and,  hold  thy 
fire,  as  Mary  retained  her  virginity  before  and  after  her  parturition. 
Christ  bound  every  weapon  as  he  bound  himself  in  humanity  full  of 
humility.  Jesus  stops  every  gun  and  sword,  as  Mary,  spouse  of  the 
moUierofGod;  therefore  protect  the  three  holy  blood-drops  which 
Jesus  sweat  on  the  Mt.  of  Olives :  Jesus  Christ  protects  me  from 
the  death-stroke  and  burning  fire.  Jesus  permits  me  not  to  die, 
much  less  to  be  damned,  without  partaking  of  the  holy  supper.  That 
helps  me  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

i6i.  Shooting  Weapons  and  Representation. 

Jesus  went  over  the  red  sea  and  looked  on  the  land ;  therefore 

must  all  riflc-muskets,  flints  and  pistols  become  useless,  and  all  false 
tongues  dumb.  The  blessing  which  God  made  when  he  created 
man,  that  goes  over  me  always  ;  the  blessing  which  God  made  when 
he  commanded  in  the  dream  Joseph  and  Mary  to  flee  into  Eg^ypt 
with  James,  that  goes  over  me  always,  be  dear  and  precious  the  holy 
cross  in  my  right  hand.  I  go  through  the  freedom  of  the  land,  where 
no  one  will  be  robbed,  or  killed,  or  murdered,  so  shall  no  one  be 
able  to  cause  any  suffering  to  me,  moreover,  no  dog  shall  bite  me, 
no  beast  shall  tear  me.  In  all  things  preserve  my  flesh  and  blood, 
from  sins  and  false  tongues  which  reach  from  earth  to  heaven,  by  the 
power  of  the  four  evangelists,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Amen. 

162.  Another. 

I.  N.  N.  conjure  thee,  gun,  sabre  and  knife,  may  all  weapons  by 
the  spear  which  went  into  the  side  of  the  Lord,  that  water  an4 
blood  flowed  out,  that  ye  be  not  permitted  to  hurt  me,  the  servant 
of  God  in  the  I  conjure  thee  by  St  Stephen,  whom  the  Jews 
stoned,  that  they  be  not  able  to  trouble  me,  a  servant  of  God,  in  the 
name  Amen. 

163.  Safeguards  from  Shots,  Cuts,  and  Stabs. 
In  the  name  T.  T.  I.  Amen.  I.  N.  N.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true 
Saviour.  Jesus  Christ  rules  and  reigns,  breaks  down  and  overcomes 
all  foes,  visible  and  invisible.  Jesus  is  with  me  always,  ever  and 
eternally,  in  all  paths  and  ways,  on  water  and  on  land,  in  mount  and 
vale,  in  cot  and  court,  in  the  whole  world  where  I  am,  where  I  stand, 
go,  ride,  run,  journey  ;  whether  I  sleep  or  wake,  eat  or  drink,  there  art 
thou,  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  at  all  times,  early  and  late,  all  hours  and 
moments ;  whether  I  go  out  or  in.   The  sacred  five  wounds  red,  oh 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tki  Long  Hiddm  Friend. 


135 


Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  at  all  times  good  for  my  sins,  private  or 
public  ;  that  the  sword  may  not  cut  me,  destroy  me,  nor  injure  me,  help 
mc  XXX  Jesus  Christ  with  his  shield  and  defence ;  protect  me  N.  N, 
at  all  times  from  daily  sins,  worldly  harm,  injustice,  contempt,  pesti- 
lence and  other  sickness,  from  anguish,  torture  and  pain,  from  all 
wicked  enemies,  from  false  tongues  and  old  scandal-mongers ;  that 
no  shot  may  injure  my  body,  help  me  XXX  and  no  band  of  thieves,  nor 
gypsies,  street-robbers,  murderers,  sorcery,  or  other  kind  of  devil- 
spirits  may  enter  my  house  or  court,  nor  break  in  ;  that  the  dear 
lady  Mary  may  protect  every  thing,  and  also  all  the  children,  by  the 
help  of  God  in  heaven,  in  the  eternal  joy  and  sovereignty  of  God  the 
Father,  quicken  me,  the  wisdom  of  God  the  Son  enlighten  me,  the 
virtue  and  grace  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost  strengthen  me  from  this 
hour  to  all  eternity.  Amen. 

164.  Prayer  Against  the  Sword  and  Weapons. 
The  blessing  which  came  from  heaven  when  Jesus  Christ  was 
born,  come  upon  me  N.  N.  The  blessing  which  God  the  Lord  made 
when  he  created  the  first  man  come  upon  me  ;  the  blessing  which  fol- 
lowed when  Christ  was  seized,  bound,  scourged,  mockingly  crowned 
and  smitten,  when  on  the  cross  he  gave  up  the  Ghost,  come  upon 
me  ;  the  blessing  which  the  priest  gave  to  the  tender,  sacred  body 
of  our  dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ  come  upon  me.  The  steadfastness  of 
the  holy  Mary  and  all  the  holy  ones  of  God,  the  holy  three  kings, 
Caspar,  Melchoir,  and  Balthasar,  be  with  me  ;  the  holy  four  evangel- 
ists, Mathcw,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  be  with  me  ;  the  earthangels, 
St.  Michael,  St.  Gabriel,  St.  Raphael,  and  St.  Ariel,  be  with  me  ; 
the  holy  twelve  Apostles  of  the  Patriarchs  and  the  whole  heavenly 
host  be  with  me ;  the  innumerable  company  of  the  holy  ones  be 
with  me.  Amen. 

Fapa.  R.  tarn,  Tetragrammaten,  Angen, 
Jesus,  Nazaremus,  Rex  Judeorum. 

165.  That  no  Wicked  Man  may  Defraud  me.  Bewitch  or  Effect  me 
with  Magic,  and  that  I  may  be  always  Blessed. 
As  the  cup  and  the  wine  and  the  consecrated  bread,  when  our 
dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on  Maundy  Thursday  prayed  for  his  loving 
disciples ;  and  that  me  at  all  times,  day  nor  night,  no  dog  may  be 
bite,  no  wild  beast  tear,  no  tree  fall  on  me,  no  water  drown,  no  gun 
shoot  me,  no  weapon  of  iron  or  steel  cut  me,  no  fire  bum,  and  from 
false  judgment,  no  false  tongue  swear  against  me,  no  rogue  vex  me, 
from  all  vile  friends,  from  magic  and  witchcraft,  from  all  these,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  protect  me.  Amen. 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOglc 


1 36  yaumal  of  Ammcan  FoihLon. 

166.  Another. 

The  holy  Trinity  protect  me  ;  be  with  and  remain  with  me,  N.  N. 
on  water  and  land,  by  flood  or  field,  in  city  or  hamlet,  in  the  whole 
world,  wherever  I  am.    The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  protect  me  from 

all  my  foes,  private  and  public ;  also  protect  me  the  eternal  God- 
head and  the  bitter  passion  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  rose-red  blood 
which  he  poured  out  on  the  holy  cross,  help  me,  I.  I.  Jesus  was 
crucified,  tortured  and  dead.  These  are  true  words  ;  so  must  also 
all  words  be  by  his  power,  which  are  herein  written,  and  spoken  and 
prayed  by  me.  So  help  me  that  I  may  not  be  sinned,  bound  or 
overcome  by  any  man.  May  all  swords  and  weapons  be  before  me, 
useless  and  powerless.  Gun,  withold  thy  fire  in  the  almighty  hand 
of  God.  So  let  all  gun  shots  be  prohibited  %XX.  As  they  bound  the 
right  hand  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Cross.  Like  as  the  Son 
was  obedient  to  his  Heavenly  Father,  so  also  may  the  eternal  God- 
head bless  and  protect  me  by  his  rose-red  blood,  by  the  holy  five 
wounds  which  were  opened  on  the  tree  of  the  holy  Cross  ;  therefore 
may  I  be  blessed  and  defended,  as  the  cup  and  the  wine  and  the 
true  bread  which  Jesus  blessed  for  his  twelve  disciples  on  the 
Maundy  Thursday  Evening.    I.  I.  I. 

167.  Another. 

God's  grace  and  mercy  go  with  me,  N.  N.  Now  I  purpose  to  ride 
out  or  go  out  I  would  gird,  I  would  bind  myself  round  with  a  safe 
ring,  if  God  the  heavenly  Father  will,  and  may  he  protect  me,  flesh 
and  blood,  veins  and  members,  the  present  day  and  ni|^t  as  I  have 
it  before  me ;  may  my  enemies,  however  many  they  may  be,  all  be 
confounded,  and  become  as  a  snow-white  dead  man.  May  no  one 
shoot,  cut  or  throw  me,  nor  overcome  me  with  gun  or  steel  in  his 
hand,  of  any  kind  of  metal,  as  all  ugly  weapons  are  called.  But  may 
my  gun  go  off  like  the  thunder  of  heaven,  and  my  sword  hew  like  the 
sword  of  a  host.  Our  dear  lady  went  upon  to  a  very  high  mountain  ; 
she  looked  down  into  a  very  dark  valley,  and  saw  her  dear  child 
standing  among  the  Jews,  harsh,  so  harsh,  that  He,  seized  so  harsh, 
that  He,  bound  so  bard,  that,  —  protect  me  the  dear  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  from  everything  which  is  hurtful  to  me.  ftt  •  Amen. 

t68.  Another  for  the  Same. 
Then  I  cried  out  on  this  present  day  and  night,  that  thou  wouldst 
not  permit  any  of  my  foes  or  company  of  thieves  to  come  near  me, 
they  bring  to  me  then  his  rose-red  blood  into  my  bosom.  But  they 
do  not  bring  that  which  was  laid  on  the  holy  altar.  For  God  the 
'  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  gone  with  his  precious  body  to  heaven.  Oh 
Lord,  that  is  to  me  good  for  the  present  day  and  night  ftt  •  Amen. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend. 


137 


169.  Another  for  the  Same. 
In  God's  name  cried  I  out.  God  the  Son  be  with  me   God  the 
Holy  Ghost,  with  me.  Who  is  stranger  than  these  three,  he  shall 
answer  to  me  for  my  body  and  life:  hot  who  is  not  stronger  than 
these  three,  he  shall  not  detain  me  long.  1. 1. 1 : 

170.  A  Good  Prayer  Against  the  Danger  of  Shooting. 
The  peace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  me,  N.  N.  Gun, 
stand  still,  in  the  name  of  the  powerful  prophets,  Agtion  and  Elias 
and  kill  me  not !  Oh  gun,  stand  still!  I  conjure  thee  by  heaven 
and  earth  and  by  the  will  of  the  last  judgment,  that  thou  wilt  not 
cause  me^  as  a  child  of  God  to  suffer,  ftt  -  Amen. 

171.  Another,  Similar. 
I  conjure  thee,  sword,  rapier,  knife,  whatever  is  injurious  and 
destructive  to  me,  by  every  prayer  of  the  priest,  and  him  who  brought 
Jesus  into  the  temple  and  said,  a  piercing  sword  shall  go  through 
thine  soul,  that  thou  suffer  not  me,  as  a  child  of  God  to  suffer.  J.  J.  J. 

172.  A  Very  Speedy  Remedy. 
I  conjure  the,  sabre  and  knife,  and  every  weapon,  by  the  spear 
which  went  into  the  side  of  Jesus  and  opened  it,  that  water  and  blood 
flowed  forth,  that  it  be  not  permitted  to  injure  me  as  the  servant  of 
God.  \XX  Amen. 

173.  A  Good  Safeguard  Against  Thieves. 
There  stand  three  lilies  on  the  grave  of  our  Lord  God :  the  first  b 
God's  ti»rit ;  the  second  is  God's  blood ;  the  third  is  God's  will. 
Stand  stin,  thief!  As  little  as  Jesus  Christ  departed  from  the  holy 
ones,  so  little  shalt  thou  run  from  thy  place,  that  I  command  thee  1^ 
the  four  evangelists  and  the  elements  of  heaven — in  flood  or  shot, 
sentence  or  sight.  I  conjure  thee  by  the  last  judgment  that  thou 
stand  still  and  go  no  further  till  I  see  all  the  Stars  in  heaven,  and  the 
sun  gives  it  light.  And  so  I  fix  for  thee  thy  running  and  thy  spring- 
ing ;  I  command  thee  in  the  name  ftt  •  Amen.  This  must  be  said 
thrice. 

174.  To  Cause  the  Return  of  Stolen  Goods. 

Observe  carefully  whether  the  thief  went  out  at  the  door  or  else- 
where ;  then  cut  three  splinters  in  the  three  highest  names,  then  go 
with  the  splinters  to  a  wagon,  but  unwashed,  take  off  a  ^heel,  put 
the  splinters  in  the  hub,  in  the  highest  names,  then,  whirl  the  wheel 
and  say :  Thief,  thief,  thief  1  turn  back  again  with  the  stolen  things. 
Thou  wilt  be  constrained  by  the  might  of  God ;  XXX  God  the  Father 
calls  thee  back ;  the  Son  of  God  turn  thee  about,  that  thou  must  go 

VOL.  xvn.  —  NO.  65.  10 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


youmal  of  American  Folk^Lore. 


back  ;  God  the  Holy  Ghost  carries  thee  back,  till  thou  art  at  the  place 

where  thou  hast  stolen.  By  the  might  of  God  must  thou  come ;  by 
the  wisdom  of  God  the  Son  thou  hast  neither  rest  nor  repose  till  thou 
puttest  the  stolen  things  in  their  former  place  ;  by  the  grace  of  God 
the  Holy  Ghost  must  thou  run  and  spring;  thou  canst  neither  rest 
nor  repose  till  thou  comest  to  the  j^Iace  where  thou  hast  stolen.  God 
the  Father  binds  thee.  God  the  Son  constrains  thee.  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  turns  thee  back.  (Turn  the  wheel  moderately.)  Thief, 
thou  must  come,  Xtt  •  Thief,  thou  must  come,  XX\  thou  art 
almighticr,  thief,  thief,  thief,  if  thou  art  almightier  than  God,  then 
remain  where  thou  art  The  ten  Commandments  constrain  thee  — 
thou  shalt  not  steal,  wherefore  thou  must  come.        .  Amen. 

175.  A  Mode  of  Stopping  a  Shot. 
There  are  three  holy  blood-drops,  flowing  over  the  face  of  Go  l  the 
Lord ;  the  three  holy  blood-drops  are  suspended  before  the  sinner. 
As  pure  as  our  dear  lady  was  of  all  men,  so  little  shall  fire  or  smoke 
go  out  of  the  gun.  Gun,  give  thou  neither  fire,  nor  smoke,  nor  flame, 
nor  hiss.  Now  I  go  out,  for  God  the  Lord  goes  out  with  me,  God  the 
Son  is  by  me,  God  the  Holy  Ghost  hovers  over  me  always.  Amen. 

176.  Another  for  the  Same. 
Blessed  is  the  hour  when  Jesus  was  born  ;  blessed  was  the  hour 
when  Jesus  died  ;  blessed  is  the  hour  when  Jesus  arose  from  the 
dead  ;  blessed  are  the  three  hours  combined  over  thy  shooting 
weapons ;  that  no  shot  may  hit  me,  my  head  or  hair,  that  my  blood 
and  flesh  may  not  be  destroyed,  nor  wounded  by  any  lead  nor  pow- 
der,  iron,  steel,  or  other  metal,  so  true  as  the  dear  mother  of  God 
bare  no  other  son.  Amen. 

177.  A  Charm  for  Bad  People. 
It  is  said,  that  if  you  suspect  a  person  for  badness,  and  he  sits 
down  on  a  chair,  and  you  take  a  shoemaker's  wax-end,  that  has  not 
been  used,  and  stick  one  end  of  it  on  the  under  side  of  the  chair,  and 
you  sit  on  the  other  end  of  it,  he  will  immediately  make  water,  and 
in  a  short  time  die. 

178.  A  Charm  to  Constrain  a  Man  from  Growing  too  Large. 
I.  N.  N.  make  to  breathe  on  thee ;  I  make  to  take  away  from  thee 
three  drops  of  blood  ;  one  from  thy  heart,  one  from  thy  liver,  the 
third  from  thy  vital  strength ;  therewith  I  take  away  thy  strength 
and  manhood. 

Hbbi  Mofsy  danti  Lantien.   L  I.  L 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


139 


179.  To  Drive  Away  the  Spring-Tail,  or  Earth-Flea. 

Take  the  chaff  on  which  a  child  has  lain  in  the  cradle^  or  take 
short  horsedung  and  strew  it  over  the  land,  and  the  earth-fleas  can 
do  no  harm. 

1 8a  That  Another  can  Shoot  no  Game. 

Say  three  names  ;  namely  Jacob  Gay  ;  shoot  what  thou  wilt ; 
shoot  only  hair  and  feathers,  and  what  thou  givest  to  the  poor,  fff 
Amen. 

181.  A  Prayer  for  and  Against  all  Enemies. 

Christ's  Cross  be  with  me  N.  N.  Christ  overcomes  for  me  all 
water  and  fire ;  Christ  overcomes  for  me  all  weapons  ;  Christ  is  for 
me  a  perfect  sign  and  cure  for  my  soul ;  Christ  be  with  me  and  my  . 
body,  for  my  life,  day  and  night  Now  I.  N.  N.  pray  God  the  Father 
by  the  will  of  the  son,  and  pray  God  the  Son  by  the  will  of  the 
Father,  and  pray  God  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  will  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  God's  holy  body  hicsses  mc  from  all  harmful  things,  words 
and  works.  Christ  offers  mc  nlso  all  happiness  ;  Christ  wards  off 
from  me  all  evil;  Christ  be  with  me,  over  me,  before  me,  behind  me, 
beneath  me,  with  me  and  in  all  places  and  from  all  my  enemies,  vis- 
ible and  invisible  ;  they  all  flee  before  me  when  they  know  and  hear 
me.  Enoch  and  Elias,  the  two  Prophets  who  were  never  taken, 
bound  and  slain,  and  never  come  out  of  their  power;  therefore,  must 
no  one  of  my  enemies  injure  me  in  my  body  and  life,  nor  be  able  to 
destroy  or  seize  me,  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost.  Amen. 

182.  Another  Blessing  for  Foes,  Sickness  and  Misfortune. 

The  blessing  which  is  come  from  heaven  when  the  true  living  Son 
of  God  was  born,  come  upon  me,  always ;  the  blessing  which  God 
bestows  on  the  human  race,  come  upon  me  always.  The  holy  t  of 
God,  so  long  and  broad,  as  God,  has  so  blessed,  haul  suffered  between 
anguish  therefor,  bless  me  now  and  always.  The  three  sacred  nails 
which  pierced  the  holy  hands  and  feet  of  Jesus,  bless  me  now  and 
at  all  times.  The  spear  with  which  the  side  of  Jesus  was  opened 
bless  me  now  and  always.  The  red  blood  be  my  defence  from  my 
enemies  and  from  everything  that  could  injure  me,  in  body,  life,  or 
estate.  Bless  me  the  sacred  five  wounds,  wherewith  all  my  enemies 
will  be  driven  away  or  bound  when  God  has  surrounded  me  with  all 
christian  graces.  Help  me  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 
Amen.  Therefore  must  I.  N.  N.  be  blessed  so  well  as  the  holy  cup 
and  wine  and  the  true  life-giving  bread  which  Jesus  gave  to  the  12 
disciples  on  the  Maundy  Thursday  evening.  Let  all  who  hate  me 
be  put  to  silence let  their  hearts  towards  me  be  dead,  their  tongues 


Digitized  by  Google 


I40  Jounud  of  Ameriean  Folk'Lon. 

dumb,  let  them  not  be  able  to  hurt  me  at  all,  in  house,  or  court,  or 
otherwise.  Also,  let  all  those  who  would  attack  or  wound  me  with 
the  sword,  be  unvictorious,  cowardly  and  undexterous.  To  this  help 
me  the  holy  power  of  God,  which  makes  all  weapons  and  guns  use- 
less. Ail  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost 
Amen. 

183.  A  Good  Remedy  for  the  Toothadie. 
Take  a  needle  and  stab  the  aching  tooth  with  it  till  you  bring 
blood ;  take  a  thread  and  saturate  it  with  the  blood ;  take  vinegar 
and  meal,  mix,  put  them  in  a  patch  of  cloth,  wrap  the  patch  around 
the  foot  of  an  apple  tree^  wind  the  thread  around  it  very  &8t  and 
cover  the  root  wdl  with  earth. 

184.  The  Talisman. 

It  is  said :  that  whoever  goes  a  hunting  and  carries  this  in  his 
pouch,  cannot  fail  to  shoot  and  bring  home  something  worth  having. 

An  aged  hermit  once  found  an  old  lame  hunter  in  the  forest  of 
Thuringia,  lymg  by  the  way  and  weeping.  The  hermit  asked  him 
why  he  was  so  sad.  Oh,  man  of  God  I  said  he,  I  am  a  poor  unfortu* 
nate  man ;  I  must  deliver  to  my  lord  yearly  so  many  stags,  roebucks, 
hares  and  snipes,  as  a  young  healthy  hunter  could  hardly  scare  up, 
else  he  hunts  me  out  of  his  service.  Now,  I  am  old  and  lame,  the 
forest  is  poorly  supplied,  I  can  no  longer  meet  the  demand,  I  know 
not  how  it  will  go  with  me.  Here  he  was  not  able  to  speak  another 
word  for  sadness.  Thereupon,  the  hermit  took  a  little  piece  of  paper 
and  wrote  on  it  the  following  formula :  There,  old  man,  stick  that 
in  thy  hunting  pouch  as  often  as  thou  goest  out  to  the  forest,  it  can' 
not  fail  that  thou  wilt  shoot  and  bring  home  something  worth  having. 
But  beware  that  you  never  shoot  more  than  is  necessary,  and  that  you 
teach  the  deep  meaning  of  the  words  to  no  one  till  he  promises  not 
to  make  a  misuse  of  it.  The  hermit  now  went  on  his  way,  and  after 
a  while  the  hunter  also  arose,  and  went  into  the  thicket  without  think- 
ing of  anything.  Scarcely  had  he  gone  a  hundred  steps  before  he 
shot  a  Roebuck,  a  finer  one  than  he  had  seen  for  a  long  time.  After 
this  he  was  always  successful  in  the  hunt  every  day  and  was  con- 
sidered the  best  woodman  in  the  whole  land. 

At  nemo  in  sese  tantat,  desendere  nema 

t  t  t 

At  precedenti  spectatur  mantica  terga 
Do  your  best  and  it  suffices. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


141 


185.  To  Cause  the  Return  of  Stolen  Goods. 

Go  out  early  in  the  momhig  before  sunrise;,  to  a  juntper-bush  and 
bend  it  towards  the  sun  with  the  left  hand  and  say :  Juniper-bush,  I 
make  you  bow  and  stoop  till  tiiief  puts  the  stolen  goods  of  N.  N.  to 
their  place.  Then  take  a  stone,  lay  it  on  the  bush  and  under  the 
stone  on  the  bush,  place  the  skull  of  a  malefactor  fff  .  You  must 
take  care  when  the  thief  has  returned  the  stolen  goods,  to  take  the 
stone  off  the  bush,  and  lay  it  where  and  as  it  was  and  release  the 
bush. 

lad  A  Warding  off  of  Balls. 

May  the  heavenly  and  holy  sackbuts  warn  and  ward  off  £roni  me 
all  btdls  and  misfortune^ — off  from  me  instantly.  I  take  refuge 
under  the  tree  of  life  which  bears  twelve  manner  of  fruit  I  stand 
under  the  sacred  altar  of  the  christian  church.  I  commend  myself 
to  the  holy  Trinity.  I.  N.  N.  entrench  myself  behind  the  sacred 
body  of  Jesus  Christ  I  commend  myself  to  the  wounds  of  Jesus 
Christ,  that  I  may  not  be  seized  by  the  hand  of  any  man,  nor  bound, 
nor  cut  nor  shot  nor  stabbed,  nor  thrown  down,  nor  slain,  and  espe- 
cially may  not  be  wounded  ;  to  this  help  me  N.  N. 

WSr  Whosoever  carries  this  little  book  with  him  is  safe  from  all  his 
foes,  visible  or  invisible,  and  so  also  he  who  carries  this  little  book 
with  him  can  never  be  killed  without  the  entire  sacred  body  of  Jesus 
Christ,  nor  be  drowned  in  water,  nor  burned  in  fire,  and  no  unjust 
judgment  can  be  pronounced  against  him.   Thereto  help  me  fff  . 

187.  Unlucky  days  in  Each  Month. 

January,  i,  2,  3,  4,  6,  ii,  12.  July,  17,  21. 

Febnwry,  i,  17,  18.  August,  20,  21. 

March,  14;  id  September,  10, 18. 

April,  \0t  17,  18.  October,  6. 

May,  7,  8.  November,  6,  10. 

June,  17.  December,  6,  11,  15. 

Whoever  is  bom  on  one  of  these  days  is  unlucky  and  suffers  pov- 
erty. Also,  whoever  is  sick  on  one  of  the  aforesaid  days,  seldom 
recovers  his  health ;  and  whoever  betrothes  himself  or  marries,  comes 
into  great  poverty  and  misery.  One  must  not  go  abroad,  set  out  on 
a  journey,  begin  a  business,  or  enter  a  law-suit  on  these  days. 

N.  B.  On  the  annunciation  day  of  Mary,  Simon  and  Judas,  and  the 
Apostle  St.  Andrew,  one  must  be  bled.  The  sig^ns  of  the  zodiac,  as 
they  are  indicated  in  the  Almanac,  as  to  be  observed,  in  the  course  of 
the  month. 

If  a  cow  calves  in  the  sign  of  the  virgin,  the  calf  will  not  live  a 
year  ;  if  in  the  sign  of  the  Scorpion,  it  will  die  still  earlier,  and  you 
must  not  wean  it  in  this  sign,  nor  in  the  goat  nor  waterman. 


Digitized  by  Google 


142  yaurual  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

Only  this  one  fonntila  has  been  taken  from  a  hundred  year  calen- 
dar, brought  from  Germany,  and  many  believe  it 

HOHMAN. 

In  Conclusion,  the  following  Morning  Prayer,  to  be  said  in  Journey- 
ing. It  Frotects  from  111  Luck. 

Oh  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews,  yea  King  of  the  whole 
world,  protect  me  N.  N.  this  day  and  night,  protect  me  always  by 
the  holy  five  wounds,  that  I  may  not  be  seized  nor  bound.  Protect 
me  the  hxAy  Trinity,  that  no  sword,  nor  shot,  nor  ball,  nor  lead  may 
enter  my  body ;  may  they  be  mild  as  the  blood-sweat  and  tears  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 


CONTENTS. 

rACs 

Preface.      .      .      .  .    *  102 

Testimonials  105 


REMEDIES. 

For  diseases  of  the  womb ;  also  for  colds ;  to  stop  Uood ;  ma- 
rasmus (wasting) ;  sickness  1-5 

For  worms;  for  slander  or  witchery;  for  fever;  for  colic;  to 
wont  a  dog  6-10 

To  make  a  winkel-rod ;  for  palpitation  of  the  heart ;  to  hit  in 
shooting ;  to  make  one  talk  in  his  sleep  and  to  prevent  a  dog 
from  barking  11-17 

To  make  a  black  horse  white ;  against  ill-luck ;  to  catch  fish ;  for 
ulcers ;  for  burns  and  gangrene  1^23 

For  bod  people ;  for  worms  in  horses ;  for  poU-evil ;  for  wounds 
and  bums ;  for  erysipelas  ;  to  ease  pain  ;  for  warts  .      .  24-30 

For  blue  cough  ;  for  camp-fever ;  for  colic  ;  for  fever  3 1-35 

To  stop  blood  ;  for  personal  security ;  a  plaster ;  eye-water ;  to 
stop  blood  ;  for  white  swelling  ......  36-41 

For  falling  sickness  ;  to  ease  pain  ;  for  a  bum  ;  for  toothache  ;  a 
decopillary;  to  reconcile  enemies;  for  gout  and  rheumatism  42-48 

For  headache;  to  cure  wounds  and  pains;  to  wont  animals  ;  to 
cement  glass ;  to  keep  the  hessian  louse  from  corn  ;  to  ripen 
cherries  ;  for  sore  mouth  ;  to  cure  frights  and  fantasies    .  49-56 

To  detect  incontinence ;  to  win  the  battle ;  shot-blister  on  the 
eye  57-6o 

To  make  chickens  lay  ;  to  make  a  divining-rod  ;  for  worms  ;  for 
consumption  ;  for  a. burn ;  for  a  snake-bite ;  for  a  bad  dog ;  for 
the  hollow-horn  61-68 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Long  Hidden  Friend,  143 

For  the  botts ;  for  pain  and  wounds ;  for  colic ;  for  weakness  of 

the  limbs  ;  for  mice  ^9~74 

For  ring-bone;  to  make  a  horse  eat ;  eye-water;  to  cast  a  spell 

on  a  thief ;  for  decay  of  the  leg  of  a  horse        .       ,       ,  75-79 
To  make  molasses ;  to  make  good  beer  ;  for  falling  sickness  ; 
for  poor  paper ;  for  stooein  the  bladder ;  for  incontinence ;  for 

excrescences    80-86 

For  mice  and  moles  ;  for  film  on  the  eyes;  for  obstructed  ears 
and  toothache  ;  for  teething  of  children  ;  for  puking  and  pur- 
ging; for  burns  ;  for  weakness  and  dizziness    .       .       .  87-93 
For  dysentery  and  diarrhoea  ;  for  toothache ;  for  pregnant  wo- 
men ;  for  bite  of  a  mad  dog      ......  94-97 

Diseases  in  sheep  and  to  make  the  wool  grow ;  plaster  for 

burns  ;  for  poll-evil  98-101 

To  stop  blood  ;  to  cure  wounds  ;  for  scurvy  of  the  gums  ;  to 

gain  a  law-suit ;  to  catch  small  fish  ....  102-106 
To  wont  a  beast;  to  cure  ulcers;  for  a  bad  mouth;  salve  for 
the  eyes  from  paper ;  to  drive  away  body-lice ;  for  rheuma- 
tism   107-112 

For  worms  In  bee-hives;  to  preserve  iron  weapons  from  rust  1 13-1 14 
To  make  a  perpetual  wick ;  a  morning  prayer  on  land ;  a  charm* 
against  pestUence  and  conflagration  .      .      .      •   *   11 5-1 17 

Against  fire  1 18 

Against  witches ;  against  bad  people ;  against  fire;  for  a  bum  1 19-1 24 
Against  fire ;  against  evil  influences   .      .      .  *    .  125-126 
Against  sprites  and  witchcraft ;  against  misfortune  and  danger; 
for  protection  from  sickness  and  lobbeiy ;  against  the  influ- 
ence of  the  gypsy  art ;  for  the  crisis  of  distress  and  death  r  a 
tumor ;  adversity  and  conflicts       ....  127-133 
For  a  cow  that  has  lost  her  milk ;  for  a  fever ;  to  curse  a  thi^ 

and  stop  him  1341-139 

To  release  the  same;  to  cause  a  thief  to  return  stolen  goods- 140-141 
A  general  prayer  ;  to  win  in  a  play ;  for  a  bum  .  .  142-145 
Against  witchcraft ;  to  dress  and  heal  wounds ;  for  worms  in  the 

body ;  for  all  evils  146-151 

For  protection  against  man  or  beast;  for  protection  to  the 

bouse  ;  for  danger  of  firearms ;  to  stop  blood  .  1 52-158 

To  fix  all  foes,  robbers  and  murderers;  safeguard  against 

weapons    159-164 

Against  fraud  and  magic  165-169 

Against  danger  of  shooting  170 

Against  danger  of  all  weapons;  to  cause  the  thief  to  return 

stolen  goods     .  1 7 1- 174 

To  stop  a  shot ;  charm  for  bad  people  .      .      .      .  175-176 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


144 


yaumal  of  Ammcan  Foik'Lon. 


Charm  for  bad  people  ;  to  prevent  growing  too  large  ;  against 
the  springtail  ;  to  prevent  another  from  shooting  game;  a 
prayer  against  all  foes  ;  another,  and  for  sickne&s  .      .  177-182 

For  toothache  ;  the  talisman  183-184 

To  cause  the  return  of  stolen  goods;  to  ward  o£E  balls  •  185-186 
Unlucky  days ;  conclusion  187 

[In  this  Table  of  Contents  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  use  cbarm  numbers  in- 
stead of  page  numbers,  as  the  latter,  on  account  of  the  changed  pagination,  would 
be  of  no  value  to  the  reader.  Except  for  the  change,  the  Table  of  Contents  is 
reprini«d  as  in  tlie  edition  of  1S63.] 


NOTES. 

MEANS  AND  ARTS. 

In  the  German  edition  tlie  following  general  direction  immediateiy  precedes  the 

first  charm  :  — 

"  Gebrauchs-Anweisung :  In  alien  Krankheiten,  wo  man  mit  Worten  brauch^ 
1^  man  die  Hand  auf  die  blosae  Haut,  wahrend  man  die  Worte  spricht" 

No.  4.  Fasting  and  UninnkL  The  German  is,  **ttn1)eschranen,  nfiditen.** 
The  latter  word,  '*  niichtem,"  evidently  means  "  on  an  empty  stomadi  ^ ;  but  I 
can  find  no  satisfactory  translation  for  "  unbeschrauen,"  a  term  frequently  used  in 
this  book.  Rev.  Mr.  Early,  the  owner  of  the  German  copy  writes:  "The  man 
frequently  uses  the  words  bcschratun  and  unbeschrauen.  This  word  I  have  never 
seen  dsewhere,  and  I  liave  never  found  any  one  who  couid  tell  precisely  what  it 
means.  In  some  cases  apparently  it  means  'before  eating  anything^*  in  others 
this  meaning  will  hardly  fit." 

The  most  probable  explanation  of  "unbeschrauen  "  is  to  regard  it  as  a  dialect 
form  of  unbeschrieen,"  "  unenchanted."  But  it  is  difficult  to  fit  this  meaning  in 
all  the  passages  where  the  word  occois. 

In  No.  32,  the  diild  sufferii^  60m  bltie  ooogh  is  to  be  pnt  through  the  black* 
berry  bush,  "  ohne  beschrauen."  Our  edition  omits  the  phrase.  The  edition  of 
1856  translates,  '*  without  speaking  or  saying  anything."  In  No.  42,  the  patient 
is  instructed  to  hang  on  the  written  charm,  "unbeschrauen."  The  edition  of 
1856  translates, "  written  bnt  once.**  Our  edition  again  omits  the  word  altogether. 
In  Now  45  the  patient  must  perform  the  charm  before  sunrise  and  "gaas  onbe- 
schrauen."  The  1856  edition  translates,  "quite  unbeshrewedly."  Our  edition 
reads,  "without  making  your  toilet"  Similarly  in  No.  48,  "unbeschrauen"  is 
translated  in  our  edition  as  "in  your  dishabille."  In  No.  112  the  charm  is  to  be 
hung  on,  "  erstlich  unbeschrauen,"  on  the  last  Friday  of  the  old  moon.  Our  edi- 
tion omit!  tiie  word;  the  edition  of  1856  translates,  as  nsnally,  "unbeshrewedly.** 
In  No.  174,  our  edition  translates  the  word  as  "  unwashed." 

No.  6.  Compsre  with  this  charm,  Nos.  25, 69^  and  149.  Sec^  also,  Note  on 
No.  25. 

No.  8.  The  77  Cover  Fever.  This  is  an  amazing  blunder  on  the  part  of  the 
translator.  The  German  text  reads,  **die  77-lei  Fieber,"  that  is  **the  seventy- 
seven  kinds  of  fever." 

No.  13.  The  heart  of  a  field  mouse  is  also  employed  in  Cham  No.  143.  Com- 
pare also  the  use  of  the  heart  of  a  mole  (No.  59). 
No.  23.  Sanctus  Siorius  res.   This  is  obviously  a  typographical  error.  The 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  LmgHiddm  Friend. 


MS 


German  text  reads,  "Sanct  Idonus  res."  There  is  no  St  Idorius  mentioned  in 
any  of  the  catalogues  oi  s^untsj  possibly  this  word  is  a  corruption  of  "  Isadore.'' 
Wbat''ret*'iiuy  mean,  I  cannot  imagine.  **Gi/ir  f»f#**is  apoorttantlatioa  of 
"nif  den  Rest,"  a,    **  CaU  the  otheis.** 

The  "cold  and  hot  brand,"  frequently  referred  to,  are  used  respectively  for 
mortification  (sphacelus)  and  gangrene.  In  the  preface  our  translator  wrongly 
defines  the  cold  brand  as  gangrene. 

Ko.  25.  As  an  interesting  parallel  to  tiiit  charm  I  quote  the  following  from 
C  G.  \j^KU^Gy^Sttr€mjamdFtfrimng'TaU>^{^  95)  :  — 

**  A  common  cure  for  worms  in  swine  among  the  Transylvanian  tent-g}'psies  is 
to  stand  ere  the  sun  rises  before  a  gadcerli,  or  nettl^  and  while  pouring  on  it  the 
urine  of  the  animal  to  be  cured^  repeat :  — 

Good,  good  morrowl 

I  ImVB  IWHCh  MNffOWn 
Wcfms  are  in  my  (swiat  to^qr) 
And  I  say,  to  70a  I  tay, 
Bbdc  m  th«7  or  wbile  oried 

Bgr  iMNnvw  be  liMr  dM>^"* 
I  have  given  tiiis  tpell  only  in  the  tniislatioo,  omittiag  tfie  vtnes  aa  they  atand 

in  the  originaL 

Other  charms  in  which  the  white^  brown,  and  red  worms  appear  will  be  found 
in  Nos.  6,  69,  and  149. 

No.  26.  With  the  method  of  procedure  given  In  the  charm,  compare  the  follow- 
ing remedy  reported  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffiaum  in  his  article  on  the  "  Folk-Lore  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Germans*' (7<wrwa/</i€jiii.^MI-Z/7rir,  vol.  ii.  p.  28):  — 

"  Blisters  on  the  tongue  (stomatitis)  are  caused  by  telling  fibs.  When  they  show 
no  disposition  to  leave,  the  following  process  is  adopted:  three  small  sticks  are 
cut  from  a  tree,  each  about  the  length  of  a  finger  and  as  thick  as  a  pencil.  These 
are  inserted  faito  the  month  and  buried  in  a  dunghill ;  the  next  day  the  operation 
la  repeated,  aa  well  as  on  the  third  day,  after  which  the  three  sets  d  sticks  are 
allowed  to  remain  hi  the  manure,  and  as  they  decay  the  complaint  will  disap" 
pear.' 

Other  charms  in  which  three  sticks  are  applied  to  the  spot  to  be  healed  and 
aflerwards  wrapped  up  wlO  be  found  in  Nos.  29  and  7a 

Na  2&  The  woids  of  this  cham  closely  agree  with  the  German  text  The 
edition  of  1856,  however,  has  mistranslated  *'Bach"  as  **  wagon,*'  apparently  for 
no  other  reason  than  to  make  a  rhyme  for  dragon.'* 

No.  29.  Compare  with  this  No.  70. 

No.  30.  Some  forty^even  cures  for  warts  have  been  collected  by  Mrs.  Fanny 
D.  Beigen  {Cunmii  St^erstUhiutt  1896*  pp.  102-105).  None  of  them,  however,  par> 
ticularly  resemble  the  one  here  given.  The  closest  parallels  to  Hohman's  remedy 
which  I  have  seen  are  those  reported  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Hofbnan  (''Popular  Superstr 
tions, "  I'op.  Set.  Monthly,  Nov.  1896,  p.  100):  — 

*'  Warts,  it  is  believed,  may  be  removed  by  rubbing  upon  them  a  piece  of  meat 
which  is  then  buried;  as  the  meat  decays  the  warts  go  away.  They  may  also  be 
transfoned  to  another  by  rubbing  upon  them  a  piece  of  bone,  and  potting  tills 
u]K)n  the  spot  where  found ;  whoever  jNcks  up  the  bone  will  have  the  warts  trans* 
ferred  to  his  own  hands." 

Cf .  also  a  cure  for  warts  given  by  J.  G.  Owens  ("  Folk-Lore  from  Bu^alo  Valley, 
Pa.,"  Journal  Am,  Ftik-Larv^  vol  iv.  p.  124) :  **  Steal  a  piece  of  meat  and  bury  it 
under  the  drop  of  the  house.** 

Na  32.  The  German  text  contsdns  an  important  detail  which  is  omitted  in 
our  edition :  **  Der  Stock  moss  aber  auf  nrei  Seiten  angewacbsen  sein,"  that  is, 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


146 


youmai  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


"the  bush  must  be  grown  fast  (to  the  ground)  on  cither  side."  Evidently,  then, 
the  child  was  not  thrust  through  the  thorny  branches,  but  was  merely  passed 
through  the  arch  fomed  by  a  bush  whose  branches  had  bent  down  and  taJeen  root 
in  the  ground.  This  is  made  clear  in  another  version  of  this  charm  which  is  re- 
ported by  Mrs.  Waller  R.  Bullock  ("  The  Collection  of  Maryland  Folk-Lore," 
youmai  Am.  Folk-Lore^  vol.  xi.  p.  lo):  "To  cure  whooping-cough,  find  a  black- 
berry or  raspberry  bush  whose  top  has  been  turned  down  and  taken  root,  and 
make  the  i»atient  crawl  under  it  duee  times.** 

Theie  woidd  appear  to  be  some  special  virtue  in  potting  an  aitinf  child  ihmtf^ 
something.  Thus,  Emma  G.  White  in  her  notes  on  **  Folk-Medicine  among  Penn- 
sylvania Germans  "  {Journal  Am.  Folk-Lore.,  vol.  x.  p.  79)  records  the  fact  that 
infants  who  fail  to  thrive  —  "gobacks,"as  they  are  aptly  termed  —  are  passed 
bodcwards  through  a  horB6«o]lar.  Veiy  likely  the  same  idea  explains  the  prac- 
tice, noted  bjf  Dr.  Hoffman  fjmirmtl  Am»  Fptk-Lnr*,  voL  ii.  p.  28X  of  curing 
pleurisy  in  children  by  passing  the  child  beneath  a  uble  toanasdbtant  Dr.  Hoff- 
man notes  in  connection  with  this  that  in  Scotland  children  are  cnied  of  whoop* 
ing-cough  by  passing  them  under  the  belly  of  a  donkey. 

No.  36.  TW  th*  Virgin  has  given  another  Son  birth.  That  is,  never.  We 
find  this  phrase  used  elsewhere  as  a  symbol  for  the  impossible.  Thus  the  hut  line 
of  Charm  No.  50^  according  to  the  German  text,  reads,  "  So  wenig  als  die  Jung- 
frau  Maria  einen  andem  Sohn  thut  gebaehren."  And  almost  the  identical  phrase 
occurs  in  Charm  No.  176:  So  wahr  als  die  liebe  Mutter  Gottes  Keinen  andern 
Sohn  gebaehren  wird." 

In  one  ol  the  charms  against  witches  given  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Bertolet  {Ntw  Ycrk 
Heraldt  January  14,  1900),  the  injunction  is  laid  upon  the  witch  not  to  again  enter 
the  premises,  *'  until  you  climb  every  little  tree,  wade  through  all  little  streams, 
count  all  the  little  leaves  on  the  trees,  and  count  all  the  little  stars  in  the  skies,  until 
the  beautiful  day  shall  come  when  the  mother  of  God  shall  bring  forth  her  second 
son.**  This  same  charm  occun  more  than  once  in  the  testimony  at  the  Hageman 
trial  {Pkilade^kia  Ncrih  Amurkam^  March  la,  1903, p.  ii»  ool.  4;  also  Maidi  13,' 
p.  13,  col.  5). 

No.  44.  Cf.  note  on  No.  122. 

No.  48.  A  cure  for  the  Gout.  The  German  text  reads,  "  Fiir  die  Gichter." 
But  the  1856  edition  wrongly  translates  by  "  Fits  and  Convulsions.** 

/  AvAten  MET  17iMy  G&uU  Here,  as  in  No.  8»  the  translator  falls  to  render 
properly  the  German,  '*  77erlei,"  which  signifies,  "seventy-seven  fold.** 

No.  50.  So  conjure  I  thee  by  the  Holy  Virgin.  The  German  reads,  "So 
wenig  als  die  Jun^frau  Maria  cinem  andem  Sohn  thut  gebaehren."  Apparently 
the  translator  was  baffled  by  the  German  idiom,  and  took  refuge  in  this  phrase  as 
being  safe  and  convenient.  The  1856  editkm  translates  conecUy :  No  more 
than  ^igin  Mary  shall  bring  forth  another  son."   Cf.  also.  No.  176,  last  line. 

No.  57.  This  charm  was  doubtless  Another  of  those  borrowed  by  Hohman 
from  the  "  Book  of  Albertus  Magnus  "  (cf.  Nos.  46  and  47).  According  to  Cock- 
ayne {LeechdomSf  IVortcunning,  and  Starcra/t  0/ Early  England,  Rolls  Series, 
voL  i.  p.  mdlX  Albertus  Magnus,  in  hb  treatise  De  VMui^ut  Htfharum^  gives 
the  folloiHng  account  of  the  magical  properties  of  tiie  Heliotrope  (Heliotropion) : — 

"  If  one  gather  It  in  August  and  wrap  it  in  a  bay  leaf  with  a  wolfs  tooth,  no  one 
can  speak  an  angry  word  to  the  wearer.  Put  under  the  pillow,  it  will  bring  in  a 
vision  before  the  eyes  of  a  man  who  has  been  robbed,  the  thief  and  all  his  belong- 
ings. If  it  be  set  up  in  a  place  (tf  worsh^  B<me  of  tiie  women  present  who  have 
broken  their  marriage  contract  will  be  aUe  to  quit  the  place  till  it  be  removed. 
This  last  is  tried  and  most  true." 

No.  59.  As  it  stands  in  our  edition,  this  charm  is  o£  little  value,  for  the  trans- 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tks  Long  Hidden  Friend, 


H7 


lator  has  omitted  the  name  of  the  root  referred  to.  In  the  German  text  the  title 
of  this  charm  reads,  "  Die  Schwellwurzel."  In  the  edition  of  1856  this  is  trans- 
lated, "  Swallow-wort"  This  does  not  seem  a  good  translation  of  the  German* 

The  heart  «fa  maie.  Id  andent  times  the  magical  virtue  of  a  mole*s  heart 
was  believed  in.  Cockayne  {op.  cit.  p.  xii.)  notes  a  reference  to  the  heart  of  a 
mole  in  Pliny  (XXX.-7-3),  who  says  that  the  Magi  had  a  special  admiration  for  the 
mole ;  if  any  one  swallowed  its  heart  palpitating  and  fresh,  he  would  become  at 
once  an  expert  in  divnnation.  In  connection  with  the  use  of  the  mole's  heart  we 
may  compare  diarma  Noa.  13  and  138,  which  attritmte  magical  virtue  to  tiie  heart 
of  a  field  mouse. 

No.  66.  Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman  {Pop.  Set.  Monthly,  November,  1896,  p.  97)  testi- 
fies to  the  use  of  this  cliarm  for  the  cure  of  snake-bite  :  "The  following  procedure 
was  formerly  practised  in  northern  Lehigh  County,  and  obtains  even  at  this  day 
in  Cnmbeiland  County.  The  operator  recites  the  following  words : 

***  Gott  bott  alles  krshaffi,  and  alles  w4r  g&t; 
Als  dft  alkF',  iUaflg  Usht  ferflacht, 
FMIndit  soWit  da  sa^  ud  dai»  gtft' 

The  speaker  then  witii  the  extended  index  finger  makes  the  sign  of  the  Cross 

three  times  over  the  wound,  each  time  pronouncing  the  word  tsing."  The  words 
of  the  spell,  which  Dr.  Hoffmann  has  written  down  in  phonetical  German,  corre* 
spond  exactly  to  the  words  in  the  German  text  of  Hohman's  book. 

No.  69.  CI  witii  thia  charm,  Noa.  6,  25,  and  144. 

No.  7a  CI  Charms  No.  a6  and  29;  also  Note  on  Charm  s6b 

No.  78.  This  pray  It»  my  foe  for  Mass.  The  German  text  reads,  "Dioes 
bitt"  ich  meinen  Feinden  zur  Buss,"  that  is,  "  This  I  beg  as  a  penance  for  my 
foes."  (Cf.  also  No.  187.)  The  meaning  in  No.  78  evidently  is  that  the  one  using 
this  charm  prays  that  the  impossible  tasks  just  enumerated  be  assigned  as  a 
penance  to  be  performed  by  his  enemies.  The  edition  of  1856  entirely  misses  the 
point:  "This  I  pray  for  the  repentance  of  my  enemies."  For  similar  lists  of 
impossible  things  prescribed  for  adversaries,  see  No.  119;  also  the  charm  against 
witches  reported  l)y  Dr.  liertolet.  which  is  quoted  in  note  on  No.  36. 

**  Or  those,  if  only  one,  or  a  womaH."  Obviously  "  those  "  is  the  printer's  error 
lor  " thou.'*  The  German  text  reads,  <*du.** 

No.  86.  "  Excrescence"  is  a  literal  rendering  of  the  word  **  Gewichs,"  which 
is  found  in  the  German  text.  One  finds  this  charm  among  those  reported  by  Mr. 
J,  G.  Owens  ("  Folk-Lorc  from  Hutfalo  Valley,  Pa.,"  Journal  Am.  Folk  Lor vol. 
iv.  p.  \z\) :  "  Goitre  :  look  at  the  waxing  moon,  pass  your  hand  over  the  diseased 
parts,  and  say :  *  What  I  see  must  increase ;  what  I  feel  must  decrease.*  '* 

No.  99^  This  plaster  is  not  for  a  bum  but  for  mortification  (sphacelus).  The 
German  text  reads,    fur  den  kalten  Brand.** 

No.  100.  The  translator  has  failed  to  make  out  all  the  German  herb-names. 
In  the  German  text  the  list  reads:  '*Wermuth,  Rauten,  Medeln,  Schafrippen, 
spiuigen  Wq^ch  und  Immettwacfas."  The  only  difficnlt  word  in  tiie  list  is 
**  Medeln."  The  English  edition  of  1856  reads  '*medels,**  which  is  no  translation 
at  an,  for  there  is  no  such  word,  — or,  at  least.  I  cannot  find  any.  The  only 
interpretation  which  I  can  suggest  is  that  in  *'  ?\redeln  "  we  have  a  dialect  form  of 
"  Middel,"  a  provincial  botanical  term  for  common  quaking-grass  {Briza  media). 
The  list  would  then  read, worm-wood,  rue,  quaking-grass,  yarrow,  pointed  plan- 
tain, and  beeswax.** 

No.  104.  This  curious  charm  is  closely  analogous  to  an  andent  SlavonUm  spell 

for  the  toothache  which  is  given  by  Leland  {Gypsy  Sorcfry,  p.  38):  — 

Speli  for  the  Toothache.   Saint  Peter  sat  on  a  stone  and  wept.   Christ  came 


Digitized  by  Google 


148 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


to  him  and  said,  '  Peter,  why  weepest  thou? '  Peter  answered,  'Lord,  my  teeth 
pain  me.'  The  Lord  thereupon  ordered  the  worm  in  Peter's  tooth  to  come  out  of 
it  and  never  more  go  in  again.  Scarcely  had  the  worm  come  out  when  the  pain 
cesMfL  Then  spoke  Peter, '  I  pray  you,  O  Lord,  that  when  ttese  wovds  be  writ- 
ten out  and  a  man  canies  them  he  shall  have  no  toodiache.*  And  the  Loid 
answered,  •  T  is  weD,  Peter  ;  so  may  it  be.'  ** 

This  spell  was  carried  about  as  an  amulet  prayer.  Leland  compares  with  this 
Slavonian  charm  the  following  found  in  the  north  of  England :  — 

"  Peter  was  sitting  on  a  natifale  stooe^ 
And  Jesus  pas!>eci  by, 
Peter  said, '  My  Lord,  my  God,' 
How  my  tooth  doth  ache  ! ' 
Jesus  said, '  Peter,  art  whole  I 
And  wbosocfw  kwps  thew  wovds  for  nhs 
SImU  MAW  liaw  dw  toothadtt.*  ** 

This  English  lonn  of  the  chann  is  evidently  the  direct  source  of  the  rather 
decadent  version  reported  from  Newfoundland  in  Mrs.  Bergenia  coUeetion  (Cur- 

rmt  Superstitions,  p.  96) :  — 

"  Toothache  may  be  cured  by  a  written  charm,  sealed  up  and  worn  around  the 
neck  of  the  afflicted  person.   The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  charm :  — 

*'  I     seen  it  written  a  feller  was  sitten 
Ob  a  luiuvcl  stone,  nd  vox  Lord  cans  I7, 
And  He  said  to  him, '  What     the  matter  with  HlM^flqrnMaP 
And  he  said, '  Got  the  toothache,  Marster 

And  He  said,  *  FoDow  me  and  tfaee  shall  lave  no  oaore  toothacTie.* " 

No.  105^.  The  (ierman  text  does  not  throw  much  lij^ht  upon  the  obscurity  of 
this  charm.  Instead  of  "desh"  and  "flesh,"  we  find  in  the  German, " Deisch " 
and  "FMscfa."  What  **Deisch*' may  mean  I  camiot  guess. 

No.  112.  In  die  directions  for  making  tiie  doth  bag  in  which  the  charm  ia  to 
be  sewed  up,  our  edition  omits  one  significant  requirement,  which  appears  in 
both  the  others  :  the  cloth  band  and  the  thread  used  must  have  been  Wpon  by  a 
child  not  yet  seven,  or  at  least  not  more  than  seven,  years  of  age. 

Some  ^  the  phrases  in  the  formubi  are  difficult.  The  ^quently  recurring 
**  Like  sought  and  soi^t,**  tfiough  not  clear  to  me,  is  a  fsithfol  rendering  of  the 
German, '<  Gleich  gesncht  und  gesucht."  The  translation  of  the  1856  edition, 
"  Seek  immediately  and  seek,"  can  hardly  be  justified.  The  variation  of  this 
phrase,  in  the  latter  portion  of  the  prayer,  *'  Like  sought  and  confessed,"  does  not 
correspond  to  the  German,  which  reads,  "  Gleich  gesucht  imd  gegicht."  "  Ge- 
gidit"  means  "tortared,**  and  probably  is  a  reference  to  tiie  pain  i^icted  by  the 
disease. 

The  other  phra'^e  often  repented  in  this  formula,  "that  God  the  Lord  grant 
thee,"  p*r.,  in  the  tjcrmnn  is  :  "  das  gebent  dir  Gott  der  Herr,"  which  is  literally, 
"  that  God  the  Lord  giving  thee."  The  edition  o£  1865  reads,  "  Thus  commandeth 
the  Lord  thy  God." 

No.  1 13.  Flower  of  Pnisse.  The  German  edition  reads,  **  Pennsses  Blum,*'  wUdl 
is  copied  without  translation  in  the  edition  of  1856. 

No.  117.  In  the  German  and  the  1856  edition  the  date  at  which  this  charm  was 
brought  to  Prussia  is  given  as  1740,  instead  of  17 14.  Also,  the  year  in  which  the 
charm  was  tested  at  Kdnigsburg  is  given  as  1745,  instead  of  1715- 

Na  iiS.  Taki  a  Hack  JUn,  etc*  In  Leland*s  C^ipsy  Sortery  (pp.  89-91)  the 
feathers  of  a  black  hen  and  the  cgg  of  a  blade  hen  are  aald  to  be  used  by  the 
gipsies  in  their  charms. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TJU  Long  Hidden  Friend. 


149 


No.  119.  An  instance  of  the  use  of  this  charm  is  related  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Bertolet 
of  Reading  (article  in  Neiv  York  Herald,  January  14,  1900).  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Garl  oi  Reading,  having  lost  in  succeiision  eleven  children,  all  of  whom  died 
iHien  lets  than  four  months^  finaUybecauM  convinced  that  they  were  **  hexed" 
and  sought  the  advice  of  two  witch-doctors.  Both  doctors  told  them  that  a  cer- 
tain woman  was  taking  the  lives  of  their  infants  by  means  of  a  spell — though 
they  declined  to  name  the  witch.  The  rest  of  the  story  can  be  told  best  in  Mrs* 
Garl's  own  words :  — 

**  We  agreed,  when  one  of  tbeee  witdi^octoiB  aaki  he  could  help  us,  to  let  him 
^  ahead.  When  our  twelfth  child  was  bom  and  seemed  to  be  ^ing,  the  witdf 
doctor  brought  a  piece  of  muslin  and  a  needle  with  thread.  He  had  what  he  said 
was  the  '  Seventh  Book  of  Moses,*  a  pen  and  red  ink.  He  looked  at  the  sick  child, 
blew  over  its  shrunken  arms  and  limbs,  waved  his  arms,  said  a  prayer,  then  copied 
from  tibe  bookitt  a  sUp  of  paper,  using  his  red  ink:~ 

Ttotteriiead  I  forbid  thee  my  house  and  premises.  I  forbid  tfieemy  house  and 
cow-stable.  I  foibid  thee  my  bedstead,  that  thou  mayst  not  breathe  upon  me. 
Breathe  into  some  other  house  until  thou  hast  ascended  every  hill,  until  thou  hast 
counted  every  fence-post,  and  until  thou  hast  crossed  every  water,  and  thus  dear 
day  may  come  again  into  my  house." 

This  charm  was  put  into  die  muslin  bag  and  hung  at  Ae  cradle-head — tfie 
child,  of  course,  recovered. 

In  the  course  of  the  suit  brought  by  Hageman,  the  witch-doctor  of  Reading, 
against  the  Philadelphia  North  American,  several  copies  of  this  charm  were  pro- 
duced iu  court.  I  quote  the  description  of  one  of  them  as  given  on  the  witness 
Stand  by  their  translator  (yKwfH  AmeHeoHy  March  13,  1903,  p.  13): — 

"  Mr.  Gordon  — '  I  now  propose  to  hand  the  witness  this  paper,  which  was  testi- 
fied to  by  a  witness  formerly  called,  as  being  a  paper  given  her  by  Dr.  Hageman 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  above  the  troii^h  oi  one  oi  the  cattle  which  he  attended. 
This  is  in  inverted  writing  ? ' 

"•Yes.* 

**  'I  hold  this  mirror  before  you** 

**  *  The  first  of  these  signs  are  like  five^ornered  stars,  and  then  comes  again  the 
combination  of  letters,  J.  N.  R.  J.  The  first  word,  as  near  as  I  can  make  out,  is 
Trottem,  and  then  the  next  is  clear  —  Kopf.*  '* 

Tlie  witness  finally  translated  the  diarm  as  follows :  — 

<*  *  TrottemlMpfi — trotte^head,  —  I,  Heniy  G.  Snyder,  focUd  yon  my  house  and 
my  yard.  I  forbid  you  my  horses  and  cow-stable.  I  forbid  you  my  bedstead. 
That  you  may  not  trot  over  me,  Henry  G.  Snyder,  into  another  house,  and  climb 
over  all  mountains  and  fence-posts  and  over  all  waters.'  Then  comes  '  the  good 
day  again  into  my  house.  In  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost"* 

Then  followed  certain  characters,  not  written,  like  the  above,  in  inverted  char* 
acters.  The  witness  spelled  these  out :  <'  1  T  £,  Alv.,  Massa  Dandi,  Band,  r, 
Amen.  J.  K.  N.  R.  ftt"   (Cf.  Charm  No.  120.) 

No.  120.  Cf.  the  following  remedy  against  witches  reported  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Owens 
(**  Folk-Loie  from  Buffido  Valley,  I^"  Journal  Am,  Foth-lMrty  wl.  iv.  p.  ia6) : 
''To  keep  witches  from  entering  the  house,  bore  lioles  in  the  door-sill,  and  place 
in  them  pieces  of  paper  containing  mysterious  writing.    Then  plug  up  the  holes." 

No.  121.  Cf.  also  No.  146.  This  cabalistic  word-square  is  widely  employed 
among  the  witch-doctors.  Mr.  J.  Hampden  Porter,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the  Folk- 
Lore  of  the  Monntain-vniltes  **  ijoumai  Am,  Fttlk-Lore^  voL  vii.  p.  1 13X  teUs  us 
that  he  procured  from  a  witch-doctor  with  considerable  difficulty  a  charm  which 
was  asserted  to  be  a  paaaoea  for  almost  all  ills.  **  Written  on  parchment,  in  inlc 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 50  yotmrnal  of  A  merican  Folh'Lore, 


dim  with  age,"  and  "surmounted  by  an  indistinct  device  that  looked  like  tlie  well- 
knowQ  symbol  of  «ui  equilateral  triangle  inscribed  in  a  circle)"  were  these  letters :  — 

S  A  T  O  R 
A  R  E  P  O 
TENET 
ROTAS 

It  will  be  obaerved  Chat  the  foaith  line  of  the  square  is  here  missing.  Mr.  Por- 
ter*s  notes,  as  he  tells  us,  were  made  **amaaig  scattered  settlements  in  remoter 
parts  ol  the  Alleghanies  between  soathwestero  Geoigia  and  the  Pennsylvania 
line." 

Dr.  Bertolet,  in  the  New  York  Herald  (January  14,  1900),  quotes  a  charm  used 
by  a  witcli^octor  of  Reading  which  condodes  iridi  tiie  wwd-square  precisely  in 
the  form  given  by  Hohman. 

The  same  word-square  was  also  found  on  several  of  the  charms  sold  by  Hage- 
man,  the  Reading  witch-doctor,  and  exhibited  before  the  court  during  the  trial  of 
his  suit  {Fhiia,  North  Americanf  March  12,  p*  lit  col  4;  March  13,  p.  13, 
col.  5). 

No.  122.  Otu  loitdy  Sareu  There  is  an  obvious  typographical  error  here ; 

**  one  "  should  be  "  our."   The  German  text  reads,  "  Unscre  liebe  Sahrah.'* 
With  this  spell  may  be  compared  a  charm  for  bums  given  by  Emma  G.  White 

("  Folk-Medicine  among  Pennsylvania  Germans,"  Journal  Am.  Folk-Lon^  vol.  z. 

p.  78):  — 
**Tberearethosewho*blowOllt*bum8,a8ititca]led.  This  is  ilnnly  believed 

in  by  many  people  who  claim  to  be  oUierwise  free  from  superstition. 

'  The  Dlesscd  Virgin  went  over  the  tand. 
What  docs  she  cuvy  in  her  hand? 

A  fire  brand. 

Eat  not  in  thee.  Eat  not  hvtiwr  aimnd.  Litlieiiameof  tfteFliacr  and  of  theSon  sad  «f  lbs 
HfifyGhoat.  Ancal* 

So  saying  these  words,  stroke  slowly  three  times  with  your  right  hand  over  it, 
'        bending  the  same  downward  one,  two,  and  three  times;  and  blow  three  times, 

each  time  three  times." 

This  practice  of  blowing  out  bums  is  found  in  Hohman's  book  as  well  (cf.  No. 
44).  Other  charm*  for  tmns  whkh  show  general  similarities  to  Na  123  will  be 
found  in  Nos.  23  and  144. 

No.  125.  I  hid  tJUt,  Hdt  etc.  Another  printer's  error.  It  should  read,  **!  bid 
thee  by,"  etc. 

No.  124.  Cf.  the  last  lines  of  my  note  on  No.  1 19. 

No.  134.  This  charm  is  difficult  to  understand.  The  German  text  reads: 
<*Gieb  der  Knh  drei  LOffd  von  der  ersten  Mildi,  und  sprich  su  den  Blutmelen: 
Fragt  dich  jemand,  wo  du  die  Milch  hingethan  hast,  so  sprich ;  Nunnefrau  ists 
pewesen,  und  ich  habe  zie  gegessen  in  Namen  Gottes  dcs  Vaters,  des  Sohnes  und 
des  heiligcn  Geistes.  Amen."  There  is  little  doubt  that  *' Blutmelen  "  is  to  be 
read  as  "  Blutmalen,"  "blood-marks"  or  "blood-moles."  The  edition  of  1856 
translates,  **die  spirits  in  her  Mood,'*  but  this  is  nonsense.  **  Nunnefran  "  seems 
to  be  a  compound  of  *'  Nonne^**  "  a  sucking  child."  The  gegessen  of  the  German 
text  does  not  make  sense,  and  I  suspect  that  it  is  a  misprint  for  "gegossen," 
which  would  agree  with  the  reading  in  our  English  edition.  The  following  is 
the  only  translation  I  can  offer:  "Give  to  the  cow  three  spoonfuls  of  the  first 
milk,  and  say  to  the  bloodHnavlis:  If  any  one  asks  thee  where  thou  hast  put  the 
milk,  speak  thus :  It  was  the  wd-nurse  and  I  have  poured  it  out,  in  the  name  of 
God,"  etc 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Long  Hiddm  FrimtL 


No.  143.  The  heart  of  a  f  eld-mouse.    Qi.  No.  13. 

A  red  silk  thread.  The  use  of  red  strings  as  talismans  is  mentioned  by  W.  J. 
Buck,  article  on  Local  Sopentllioiit  **  (CMAwiMmix  ^/Histarieal  Society  o/Fennsyh' 
t«MM»  voL  i.  Na    Nov.  1853,  p.  379X 

No.  146.  Cf.  Charm  No.  121  and  note  thereon. 

No.  148.  Cf.  note  by  Emma  G.  White  on  "  Folk-Medicine  among  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans  '*  {Journal  Am.  Folk-Lort^  vol.  x.  p.  79) :  For  stopping  of  blood. 
Pass  around  the  place  with  finger  or  hand,  saying  these  words  three  times « 
*  Cbrisf  s  wounds  were  never  bound.  In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 

and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.*** 

No.  149.  Cf.  Charms  Nos.  6,  25,  and  69,  and  note  on  No.  25. 

No.  152.  Mr.  J.  Hampden  I'orter  ("  Folk-Lore  of  the  Mountain  Whites  of  the 
Aliegbanies,"  Journal  Am.  f oik-Lure^  vol.  vii.  p.  \  \\)  reports  that  hemorrhages 
are  treated  by  repeating  tiie  following  words :  — 

*  GBck  sdtdM  woade^ 

Glick  seliche  stiindc, 

Click  seliche  ist  der  Engle, 

Das  Jesus  Chrittus  geborao  war." 

As  an  adjunct  to  the  above,"  he  adds,  "  three  crosses  are  to  be  made  on  the 
afflicted  member.**  Save  for  the  meanii^ess  substitution  of  **  Eqgel  **  ^)  for 
M  Tag,"  this  formula  is  word  for  woid  according  to  the  German  teitt  of  Hohman** 

charm.    Cf.  also  No.  176. 

No.  169.  ///  God's  name  cried  I  out.  Following  these  words,  the  (  .crman  text 
has  "  Gott  der  Vater  sei  ob  mir."    This  phrase  has  dropped  out  in  our  edition. 

No.  174.  This  charm  has  eridentiy  been  derived  from  the  mediaeval  cabalistic 
treatises.    I  quote  the  following  passage  from  G.  C.  Horst's  reprint  {Zauber 
iiothek^  Mainz,  1823,  vol.  iv.  p.  172)  of  a  book  entitled  Semhamphoras  I'nd  Schem- 
hamphoras  Salomonis  Regis  (published  in  1686  by  Andreas  Luppios,  Wesel* 
Duissbuig,  and  Frankfort) :  — 

**  Also  nehmen  etBche  von  der  Uberschwdlen,  da  der  Dieb  ist  ausgangen,  drey 
Hfihslein  im  Nahmen  Gottes  dM  Vatters,  Sohnes,  kbbA  Heiligea  Geistes,  legen 
sie  alle  in  ein  Wagen-Rad,  und  durch  die  Nabe  sagen  sie  :  Ich  bitte  dich  du  Hei- 
lige  Dreyfaltigkeit,  du  wollest  Schaffen  und  gebieten  dem  Dieb  N.  der  mir  N.  das 
N.  bdsslich  gestohlen,  dass  er  keine  Kuhe  babe,  biss  er  mirs  wieder  bringe. 
Kehren  das  Rad  3.  mal  umb,  und  steclcens  wieder  an  t/tsi  Wagen.** 

Ho,  Sa  irtu  as  ^  dear  Mathtr  «f  God  bar*  no  »tker  Son,  This  is  a  mis* 
ttandation.  The  German  text  reads,  "  So  wahr  als  die  liebe  Mutter  Gottes  Xei- 
ncn  andcm  Sohn  gebahren  wird."    Cf.  note  on  No.  36. 

No.  177.  This  diarm  is  not  contained  in  the  German  edition,  nor  in  the  edition 
of  1856W 

No.  t8o.  The  Gennan  text  of  this  ^pell  differs  somewhat :  **  Sprich  dessen 
Namen,  niimlich  Jakob  Wohlgemutii,  schiesse  was  du  willst:  schiess  nur  Haar 
und  Fedem  mit,  und  was  du  den  armen  Leuten  giebst."  An  interesting  varia- 
tion, which  well  illustrates  the  effects  of  oral  transmission,  is  given  by  Mr.  J. 
Hampden  Porter  ("  Folk- Lore  of  the  Mountain  Whites  of  the  Alleghanies," 
yournai  Atm,  FoOk-Lore^  voL  vii.  p.  112):  — 

**  No  rifle,  however  good,  will  throw  a  ball  that  can  penetrate,  if  a  woman,  with 
her  apron  upside  down,  ptooounces,  while  looldqg  after  its  bearer,  the  following 
formula:  — 

" '  Jacob  wunt  whole  genrnt, 
Slww  da  vas  da  wflst, 

Shees  nur  wahre  fclteren, 

Nicht  wun  vas  du  deo  lieben  leiden  gibst.' " 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


youmal  o/Amirican  Folk-Lore, 


No.  182.  Cf.  this  charm  with  one  recently  sold  by  Hageman,  the  Reading 
\sntch-doctor.  The  following  is  a  translation  of  Hageman's  charm,  made  on  the 
witness  stand  during  the  trial  of  his  libel  suit  against  the  Phila,  North  Amir- 
iean:  — 

"  The  blessing  that  came  down  ton  Heaven,  from  God  the  Father  by  the  birth 
of  the  living  Son,  pervades  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy.  All  the  blcssinp:s  that  God 
gave  to  the  human  race,  may  they  possess  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy.  By  the  bitter 
martyrdom  which  the  Lord  suffered  on  the  holy  cross  so  long  and  wide,  bless  me, 
Nora  May  Sheidy,  tonlay  and  all  time  to  come ;  and  by  the  three  holy  nafla  that 
pierced  Chriafs  hands  and  feet,  they  bless  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy,  to^ay  and  all 
the  time  to  come ;  and  by  the  bitter  crown  of  thorns  w'hich  pierced  the  brow  of 
Jesus  Christ,  bless  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy,  to-day  and  tiie  time  to  come  ;  and  the 
spear  which  pierced  the  holy  side  of  Jesus  Christ,  bless  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy. 
To4ay  and  ^  time  to  come  may  the  led  blood  stand  between  ue^  Noim  May 
Sheidy,  and  all  my  enemies  and  against  all  that  can  injnie  me  in  life  or  body  or 
household.  Bless  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy,  at  all  times.  By  the  holy  five  wounds 
with  which  my  enemies  were  vanquished  and  bound,  and  the  Christendom  that 
surrounds  me,  help  me,  Nora  May  Sheidy.  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  Amen. 

**  As  truly  as  the  Lord  Bvts  and  moves,  so  truly  will  you,  Non  May  Sheidy,  be 

made  a  holy  angel,  proteoled  in  your  going  and  coming.  God  the  Father  is  my 
might,  God  the  Son  is  my  pwwer,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  is  my  strength.  The 
angel  of  God  vanquish  all  my  enemies,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Giiost,  Amen.'"   {Fkila,  North  Amtrkan^  March  12,  1903,  p.  11,  col.  4.) 

No.  186.  Whatcever  carries  this  UttU  toek^  etc  In  the  German  edition  these 
lines  also  stand  on  page  10,  immediately  preceding  the  charms. 

No.  1S7.  Cf.  article  by  J.  G.  Owens  Folk-Lore  from  Bufiido  Valley,  Pa.»* 
youmal  Am,  Folk-Lort^  voL  iv.  pp.  1x9^  127, 128). 

Note  to  p.  gr.  Rev.  J.  W.  Early  communicates  the  additional  information  that, 
according  to  his  inquiries,  Hohman's  Rosenthal  is  not  the  present  Rosedale,  a 
suburb  of  Rea^ng,  but  that  the  name  is  perpetuated  in  Rosevallcy  sewer,  which 
runs  through  Mineral  Springs  Paric  Rosmthal,  Aerefore,  is  the  present  Mineral 
Springs,  now  a  part  <^  die  dty. 


Digitized  by  Google 


4- 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

Vol.  Xm— JULY-SEPTEMBER,  1904-— Na  LXVI. 


WICHITA  TALES. 


3.  THE  TWO  BOVS  WHO  SLEW  THE  MONSTERS  AND  BECAME  STARS. 

There  was  once  a  vilkige  where  there  were  two  chieb.  The  vil- 
lage was  divided  by  a  street,  so  that  each  chief  had  his  part  of  the 
viUage.  Each  chief  had  a  child.  The  child  of  the  chief  liviog  in 
the  westviUage  was  a  boy :  the  chfld  of  the  chief  living  in  the  east 
village  was  a  girL  The  boy  and  the  girl  remained  single  and  were 
not  acquainted  with  each  other.  In  these  times,  children  of  promi- 
nent families  were  shown  the  same  respect  as  was  shown  to  their 
parentSf  and  they  were  protected  from  danger.  The  chief's  son  had 
a  sort  of  scaffold  fixed  up  for  his  bed,  which  was  so  high  that  he  had 
to  use  a  ladder  to  get  upon  it  When  he  came  down  from  the  bed 
the  ladder  was  taken  away. 

Once  upon  a  time  the  young  man  set  out  to  visit  the  young  woman, . 
to  find  out  what  sort  of  a  looking  woman  she  was.  He  started  in  the 
ni^ht.  At  the  very  same  time,  the  prl  set  out  to  visit  the  young 
man,  to  see  what  sort  of  looking  man  he  was.  They  both  came  into 
the  street-like  place,  and  when  they  saw  one  another  the  girl  asked 
the  young  man  where  he  was  going.  The  young  man  re])lied  that 
he  was  going  to  see  the  chiefs  daughter,  and  he  asked  her  where  she 
was  going.  She  replied  that  she  was  goin^;  to  see  the  chief's  son. 
The  young  man  said  that  he  was  the  chief's  son,  and  the  girl  said 
that  she  was  the  chiefs  daughter.  They  were  undecided  whether 
to  go  to  the  young  man's  home  or  to  the  girl's  home.  They  finally 
decided  to  go  to  the  young  man's  home.  The  next  morning,  the 
young  man's  people  wondered  why  he  was  not  up  as  early  as  usual. 
It  was  the  custom  of  all  the  family  to  rise  early  and  sit  up  late, 
for  ihc  people  of  the  village  came  aruund  to  the  chiefs  place  at  all 
times.  They  generally  woke  the  young  man  by  tapping  on  the 
ladder,  so  they  tapped  on  the  ladder  to  have  him  come  down.  When 
they  could  not  arouse  the  young  man  they  sent  the  old  mother  up 
to  wake  him.  When  she  got  there  she  found  her  son  sleeping  with 
another  person.  She  came  down  and  tdd  the  others  about  it.  She 


Uiyiiized  by  Google 


154 


yimmai  of  Ammctm  Folk-Lone. 


was  sent  back  to  ask  them  to  come  down  from  the  bed  and  have 
breakfast.  When  they  came  down  it  was  found  that  the  son's  com- 
panion was  the  other  chief's  daughter. 

Meanwhile,  the  other  chief  wondered  why  his  daiii;hter  did  not  rise 
as  early  as  usual.  It  was  her  custom  to  rise  early  and  do  work  inside 
the  lodge.  In  the  village  where  the  girl  was  from,  there  lived  the 
Coyote.  *  Since  the  girl  was  not  to  be  found,  the  chief  called  the 
men  and  sent  them  out  to  find  her.  The  Coyote  was  there  when 
the  father  sent  the  men  in  search  of  his  daughter.  The  Coyote 
went  all  through  his  own  side  of  the  village,  and  then  went  to  the 
side  of  the  other  chief,  where  he  found  the  girl  living  with  the  chief's 
son.  He  went  back  immediately  to  the  girl's  father  and  told  where 
he  had  found  her.  After  she  was  found,  the  chief  was  angry  and 
sent  word  that  she  was  never  to  come  back  to  her  home  ;  and  the 
young  man's  father  did  not  like  the  way  his  son  had  acted. 

The  time  came  when  the  young  man  decided  to  leave  the  village. 
He  told  his  wife  to  get  what  she  needed  to  take  along  for  the  jour- 
ney. They  started  at  midnight,  and  went  towards  the  south.  They 
went  a  long  way  and  then  stopped  for  rest  and  fell  asleep.  On  the 
next  day  they  continued  their  journey  in  search  of  a  new  home. 
They  travelled  for  three  days,  then  they  found  a  good  place  where 
there  was  timber  and  water,  and  there  they  made  their  home.  The 
man  went  out  daily  to  hunt,  so  that  they  might  have  all  the  meat 
they  wanted.  The  woman  fixed  up  a  home^  building  a  grass-lodge, 
and  there  they  resided  for  a  long  while.  One  time^  when  the  man 
was  about  to  go  out  hunting,  he  cut  a  stick  and  put  some  meat  on 
it  and  set  it  by  the  fire  to  cook.  He  told  his  wife  that  the  meat  was 
for  some  one  who  would  come  to  visit  the  place ;  and  that  she  must 
not  look  at  him ;  that  when  she  should  hear  him  talking  she  should 
get  up  in  bed  and  cover  her  head  with  a  robe.  The  man  left  to  go 
hunting  that  day,  and  the  woman  stayed  and  remembered  what  she 
had  been  told.  After  her  husband  had  gone  the  woman  heard  some 
one  talking,  saying  that  he  was  coming  to  get  something  to  eat. 
When  she  heard  him  she  went  to  her  bed  and  covered  her  head 
The  visitor  came  in,  took  down  the  meat  that  the  woman's  husband 
had  placed  by  the  fire,  and  ate  \L.  Before  leaving,  he  spoke  and 
said,  "  I  have  eaten  the  meat  and  will  go  back  home."  When  the 
visitor  had  gone,  the  woman  got  up  again,  for  she  had  her  morning 
work  to  do.  It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  her  husband  returned 
from  his  hunting  trip.  Every  time  he  went  hunting  he  put  the  meat 
up  before  leaving,  and  when  the  visitor  came  the  wife  would  get  in 
her  bed  so  as  not  to  see  who  he  was.  Every  time  he  came  in  and 
ate  she  would  listen,  and  it  would  sound  like  two  persons  eating 
together. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


Wiekita  Tales. 


155 


One  morning,  after  her  husband  had  left,  the  woman  made  a  hole 
in  her  robe  and  took  a  piece  of  straw  that  had  a  hole  in  it.  When 
the  visitor  came  she  got  in  her  bed  and  put  the  robe  over  her,  with 
the  hole  over  her  eye,  having  the  straw  in  her  hand.  As  soon  as 
the  person  came  in  he  commenced  to  eat.  After  he  had  finished 
eating  and  was  starting  out,  the  woman  quickly  placed  the  straw  in 
the  hole  in  the  robe,  looked  through  it  and  saw  the  person.  She  saw 
that  he  had  two  faces,  one  face  on  the  front  and  one  on  the  back  side 
of  his  head.  When  she  looked  at  him  he  turned  back,  telling  the 
woman  that  she  had  disobeyed  her  husband's  orders  and  that  she 
would  be  killed.  Thereupon  the  Doublc-F"aced-Man  (Witschatska) 
took  hold  of  the  woman  and  cut  her  open.  She  was  pregnant,  so  that 
when  the  Double-Faced-Man  cut  her  open,  be  took  out  a  young  child, 
which  he  wrapped  with  lome  pieces  ol  a  robe  and  put  on  the  back  o£ 
some  timber  in  the  grass-lodge,  and  covered  the  woman  again  with 
her  robe.   Then  he  took  the  afterbirth  and  threw  it  into  the  water. 

When  the  husband  returned,  he  found  that  his  wife  was  dead.  He 
was  there  alone  and  so  he  spoke  out,  saying :  '*  Now  you  have  done 
wrong,  disobeying  my  orders.  I  told  you  never  to  run  any  risk,  but 
you  made  up  your  mind  to  look  and  see  what  sort  of  a  person  that 
was  who  came  here,  and  he  has  killed  you."  The  man  took  his  wife's 
body  to  the  south,  laid  her  on  the  ground,  and  covered  her  with  buf- 
&I0  robes.  When  he  came  back  he  heard  a  baby  ciying^  and  he 
looked  around  inside  of  the  lodg^  then  outside^  but  he  could  not  find 
the  child.  He  finally  heard  the  baby  crying  again  and  the  sound 
came  from  behind  one  of  the  lodge  poles.  He  looked  there  and  found 
the  child.  He  cooked  some  rare  meat  and  had  the  child  suck  the 
juice.  In  this  way  the  man  nourished  his  child.  He  stayed  with  it 
most  ol  the  time,  and  when  huntings  he  took  the  child  on  his  back. 
Whenever  he  killed  any  game  he  would  not  hunt  any  more  until  all 
of  his  meat  was  gone.  This  child  was  a  boy,  and  it  was  not  veiy 
long  before  he  began  to  walk,  though  his  father  would  still  take  him 
on  his  back  when  he  went  hunting.  When  the  child  was  old  enough 
the  father  made  him  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  left  him  at  home  when 
he  went  hunting. 

One  day  when  the  boy  had  been  left  he  heard  some  one  saying, 
"  My  brother,  come  out  and  let  us  have  an  arrow  g^ame."  When  he 
turned  around  he  saw  a  boy  about  his  own  ai;e  standing  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  grass-lodge.  The  little  boy  ran  out  to  see  his  little 
visitor,  who  told  him  that  he  was  his  brother.  They  fixed  up  a  place 
and  had  a  game  of  arrows,  which  is  often  played  to  this  day.  When 
Double-Faced-Man  had  killed  the  woman,  he  had  taken  a  stick  that 
she  had  used  for  a  poker  and  he  thrust  it  into  the  afterbirth  and 
threw  it  in  the  water.   This  stick  was  still  fastened  in  the  visiting 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


1 56  yeumal  pf  Amsneam  Falk-I^ore. 

boy.  The  boy  wondered  what  this  stick  was  there  for.  They  com- 
menced to  play.  The  visiting  boy  promised  not  to  tell  their  father 
about  winning  the  arrows,  and  the  other  boy  promised  not  to  tell  that 
he  had  had  company.  When  the  visiting  boy  left  he  went  towards 
the  river  and  jumped  into  the  water. 

When  the  father  came  home  he  asked  his  boy  what  had  become  of 
his  arrows.  The  boy  replied  that  he  had  lost  all  his  arrows  shooting 
at  birds.  His  father  tried  to  get  him  to  go  where  he  had  been  shoot- 
ing at  birds,  to  see  if  he  could  not  find  the  arrows,  but  the  boy  said 
that  he  could  not  find  the  arrows.  Next  day,  the  father  made  other 
arrows  for  the  boy  and  then  went  out  hunting  again.  As  soon  as  the 
father  left,  the  visiting  boy  came,  calling  his  brother  to  come  and 
have  another  game.  They  played  all  day,  until  the  visiting  boy  won 
all  the  arrows,  then  he  left  the  place,  going  toward  the  river.  When 
the  man  came  back  from  his  hunting  trip  he  found  the  boy  with  no 
arrows,  and  he  asked  him  what  had  become  of  them.  The  hoy  said 
that  he  had  lost  his  arrows  by  shooting  birds.  His  father  asked  him 
to  go  out  and  look  around  for  the  arrows,  but  the  boy  refused,  and 
said  that  the  arrows  could  not  be  found.  Again  the  father  made  more 
arrows  for  his  boy. 

After  a  long  time  the  boy  told  hit  father  of  his  brother^s  visits. 
The  father  undertook  to  capture  the  visiting  boy  one  day,  and  so  he 
postponed  his  hunting  trip  until  another  time.  About  the  time  the 
boy  was  accustomed  to  make  his  appearance^  the  &ther  hid  himself 
and  turned  himself  into  a  piece  of  stick  that  they  used  for  a  poker. 
The  father  instructed  his  son  to  mvite  his  brother  to  come  in  and 
have  something  to  eat  before  they  should  play.  As  soon  as  the  visit- 
ing boy  came  and  called  his  brother,  his  brother  invited  him  to  come 
in,  but  he  refused,  because  he  was  afraid  that  the  old  man  might  be 
inside.  He  looked  all  around,  and  when  he  saw  the  poker  he  knew 
at  once  that  it  was  the  old  man,  and  he  went  off.  The  father  stayed 
Still  all  that  day,  intending  to  capture  the  boy.  On  the  next  day  he 
again  postponed  and  instructed  his  boy  as  before  about  capturing  the 
visiting  boy.  About  the  time  for  the  boy  to  make  his  appearance 
the  father  hid  himself  behind  the  side  of  the  entrance  and  turned  into 
a  piece  of  straw.  When  the  visiting  boy  arrived,  he  called,  and  his 
brother  invited  him  in  again.  He  looked  around  in  the  g^mss-lodge, 
but  not  seeing  anythinj;^  this  time,  he  entered  and  ate  with  his  bro- 
ther. The  father  had  told  his  boy  that  when  his  brother  came  he 
should  get  him  to  look  into  his  hair  for  lice;  then  the  boy  was  to  look 
into  the  visiting  boy's  hair,  and  while  he  was  looking  he  was  to  tie  his 
hair  so  that  the  father  could  get  a  good  hold  on  it.  Then  he  was  to 
call  his  father.  After  eating,  they  both  went  out  to  begin  their  game. 
They  played  until  the  visiting  boy  won  all  his  brother's  arrows. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Wukiia  Taies. 


«57 


When  they  stopped,  the  boy  asked  his  brother  if  they  might  not  look 
into  each  other's  hair  for  lice.  The  visiting  boy  agreed  and  looked 
into  his  brother's  hair  first,  then  allowed  his  brother  to  look  into  his 
hair.  While  the  boy  was  looking  into  his  hair  the  visiting  boy  would 
ask  him  what  he  was  doing ;  and  he  would  say  that  he  was  having  a 
haid  time  to  part  his  hair.  When  he  got  a  good  hold  of  the  visiting 
boy's  hair  he  called  his  lather.  The  visiting  boy  dragged  him  a  good 
ways  before  their  father  reached  them.  When  the  old  man  got  hold, 
the  boy  was  so  strong  that  he  dragged  both  the  father  and  brother 
'  toward  the  river,  but  the  father  begged  him  to  stop.  They  finally 
released  the  visiting  boy  and  he  jumped  in  the  water  and  came  out 
again  with  his  arms  full  of  arrowa  They  started  hack  toward  their 
home.  This  boy  was  named  Afterbirth-Boy. 

After  that,  Afterbirth-Boy  began  to  dwell  with  his  father  and 
brother.  When  their  father  would  go  out  hunting  the  boys  would 
go  out  and  shoot  birds.  When  the  father  was  home  he  forbid  his 
boys  to  go  to  four  certain  (daces — one  on  the  north,  where  there 
lived  a  woman ;  on  the  east,  where  there  was  the  Thunderbird  that 
had  a  nest  up  in  a  high  tree;  on  the  south,  where  there  lived  the 
Double-Faced-Man.  The  father  made  his  boys  a  hoop  and  com- 
manded them  not  to  roll  it  toward  the  west.  It  was  a  long  time  be- 
fore the  boys  felt  inclined  to  lengthen  their  journeys  ;  but  after  a 
tlme^  during  their  father's  absence,  Afterbirth-Boy  asked  his  brother 
to  go  with  him  to  visit  the  place  at  the  north,  where  they  were  for- 
bidden to  go.  The  brother  agreed,  and  they  at  once  started  for  the 
place.  On  their  way,  they  shot  a  good  many  birds,  which  they  car- 
ried along  with  them.  When  they  arrived  they  saw  smoke.  The 
woman  who  lived  there  was  glad  to  see  the  little  boys  and  asked  them 
to  her  place.  They  gave  her  their  birds,  and  went  in.  The  old 
woman  was  pleased  to  get  the  birds,  and  said  that  she  always  liked  to 
eat  birds ;  then  she  asked  the  boys  to  go  to  the  creek  and  bring  her 
a  potful  of  water.  She  told  the  boys  that  she  must  put  the  birds  in 
the  water  and  boil  them  before  she  could  eat  them,  so  the  boys  went 
to  the  creek  and  brought  the  potful  of  water.  When  they  returned 
with  the  pot  of  water  the  woman  hung  it  over  the  fire,  snatched  the 
boys  and  threw  them  in,  instead  of  the  birds.  The  water  began  to 
boil  and  Afterbirth-Boy  got  on  the  side  where  the  water  was  bub- 
bling, lie  told  his  brother  to  make  a  quick  leap,  while  he  did  the 
same.  They  at  once  made  a  quick  jump  and  poured  the  boiling  water 
upon  the  old  woman  and  scalded  her  to  death.  When  they  had  done 
this  they  started  back  home.  They  reached  home  before  their  father. 
On  their  father's  arrival  they  told  him  that  they  bad  visited  the  place 
he  had  warned  them  against,  and  what  dangers  they  had  met  while 
visiting  the  woman,  who  was  the  Little-Spider-Woman. 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


y<mnuU  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


The  next  day  they  st^irtcd  to  visit  the  Thunderbird.  When  they 
came  to  the  place  they  saw  a  high  tree  where  was  the  nest  of  the 
Thunderbird.  Afterbirth-Boy  spoke  to  his  brother,  saying,  "Well, 
brother,  take  my  arrows  and  I  will  climb  the  tree  and  see  what  sort 
of  looking  young  ones  these  Thundcrbirds  have."  He  began  to  climb 
the  tree  and  all  at  once  he  heard  thundering  and  saw  a  streak  of 
lightning,  which  struck  him  and  took  off  his  left  leg.  Afterbirth- 
Boy  told  his  brother  to  take  care  of  his  leg  while  he  kept  on  climb- 
ing. When  he  began  to  climb  higher  the  bird  came  again.  The 
thundering  began  and  the  streak  df  Ughtning  came  down  and  took 
o£F  his  left  arm.  Still  be  kept  on,  for  be  was  anxious  to  get  to  the 
nest.  He  was  near  the  nest  when  his  right  leg  was  taken  off,  so 
that  be  had  just  one  arm  left  when  he  reached  the  nest.  Now  the 
Thunderbirds  did  not  bother  him  any  more.  He  picked  up  one  of 
the  young  ones  and  asked  whose  child  he  was.  The  young  one  re- 
plied that  he  was  the  child  of  the  Weather>Followed-by-hard-Winds, 
and  that  sometimes  he  appeared  in  thunder  and  lightning.  When 
the  boy  heard  this  he  threw  the  bird  down,  saying  that  he  was  not 
the  right  kind  of  a  child,  and  he  asked  his  brother  to  destroy  him. 
Afterbirth-Boy  took  another  bird  and  asked  him  the  same  question. 
The  young  one  replied  that  he  was  the  child  of  Clear- Weather-with 
Sun-rising-slowly.  He  put  the  bird  back  in  the  nest,  telling  him  that 
he  was  a  pretty  good  child.  He  took  up  another,  asking  whose  child 
he  was,  and  the  bird  said  that  he  was  the  child  of  Cold-Weather* 
following- Wind^and-Snow.  Afterbirth-Boy  dropped  him  down  and 
said  that  he  was  the  child  of  a  bad  being,  and  he  ordered  his  brother 
to  put  the  bird  to  death.  He  then  picked  up  the  last  one  and  asked 
whose  child  he  was.  The  young  one  answered  that  he  was  the  child 
of  Foggy-Day-followed-by-small-Showers.  This  child  Afterbirth-Boy 
put  back  into  the  nest,  telling  him  that  he  was  the  right  kind  of  a 
child.  He  then  started  to  climb  down  with  his  one  arm.  When  he 
reached  the  ground  his  brother  put  his  right  leg  on  bim,  and  he 
jumped  around  to  see  if  it  was  on  all  right.  His  brother  then  put 
his  left  arm  on  him,  and  he  swung  it  around  to  see  if  it  was  all  right. 
Then  the  brother  put  on  the  left  leg,  and  he  felt  just  as  good  as  he 
did  when  he  first  began  to  climb  the  tree.  The  two  boys  returned 
home  before  their  father  came  back  from  the  chase.  When  their 
father  came  back,  Afterbirth-Boy  began  to  tell  what  they  had  done 
while  visiting  the  Thunderbirds  and  how  his  limbs  were  taken  off, 
and  the  boys  laughed  to  think  how  Afterbirth-Boy  looked  with  one 
arm  and  both  legs  gone.  The  father  began  to  think  that  his  boy 
must  have  great  powers,  and  he  did  not  say  much  more  to  the  boys 
about  not  going  to  dangerous  places. 

Some  time  alter,  the  boys  went  out  again  and  came  to  the  place 


Digitized  by  Google 


Wichita  Tales. 


159 


where  their  mother  was  put  after  her  death.  They  saw  a  stone  in 
the  shape  of  a  human  being,  and  they  both  lay  on  the  stone.  When 
they  started  to  get  up  they  found  that  they  were  stuck  to  it»  and 
they  both  made  an  effort  and  got  up  with  the  stone.  They  took  it 
home  for  their  father  to  use  for  shaipening  his  stone  knifei  When 
they  reached  home  the  old  man  told  them  to  take  the  stone  back 
where  they  had  found  it  He  told  them  that  that  was  their  mother, 
for  she  had  turned  Into  stone  after  her  death.  They  took  the  stone 
back  where  they  had  found  it 

Some  time  after,  Afterbirth-Boy  and  his  brother  started  out  to  the 
forbidden  place  where  Double-Fa ccd-Man  lived  who  had  killed  their 
mother.  These  creatures  were  living  in  a  cave.  When  the  boys 
arrived  at  the  cave  they  both  went  in  and  the  Double-Faced-Man's 
children  came  forward  and  scratched  the  boys.  If  there  was  any 
blood  on  their  fingers  they  would  put  them  in  their  mouths.  After- 
birth-Boy took  the  string  of  his  bow  and  slew  the  young  ones.  He 
caught  the  old  Double-Faced-Man  and  tied  his  bow-string  around  his 
neck  so  that  he  could  take  him  home  to  his  father  to  have  in  the 
place  of  a  dog.  When  they  returned  home  the  old  man  walked  out, 
and  seeing  the  old  Double-Faced-Man,  told  his  boys  to  take  him  off 
and  kill  him,  and  they  obeyed. 

Every  day  they  played,  the  same  as  they  had  always  done  before, 
going  out  shooting  birds  and  playing  with  their  hoop.  Afterbirth- 
Boy  said  to  his  brother,  "  Let  us  roll  the  hoop  toward  the  west  and 
see  what  will  happen."  They  rolled  it  toward  the  west,  and  it  began 
going  faster  and  faster.  The  boys  kept  running  after  it  until  they 
were  going  so  fast  that  they  could  not  stop.  They  kept  going  faster, 
until  they  ran  into  the  water  where  the  hoop  rolled.  When  they 
went  into  the  water  they  fell  in  the  mouth  of  a  water-monster  called 
"  Kidiarkat,"  and  he  swallowed  them.  It  appeared  to  them  as  though 
they  were  in  a  tipi,  for  the  ribs  of  the  monster  reminded  them  of 
tipi  poles.  They  wondered  how  they  could  get  out.  Afterbirth-Boy 
took  his  bow-string  with  his  right  hand,  drew  it  through  his  left  hand 
to  stretch  it,  then  swung  it  round  and  round.  When  he  first  swung 
it,  the  monster  moved.  He  swung  the  string  the  second  time,  and 
the  monster  began  to  move  more.  He  swung  it  the  third  time,  and 
the  monster  began  to  move  still  more.  At  this  time  Afterbirth-Boy 
told  his  brother  that  their  father  was  getting  uneasy  about  them  and 
that  they  must  get  out  of  the  place  at  once,  for  they  had  been  away 
from  home  a  long  ttmei  Again  he  swung  his  bow-string,  and  the 
monster  jumped  so  high  that  he  fell  on  the  dry  land.  He  opened 
his  mouth  and  the  boys  quickly  stepped  out  and  started  for  home. 
When  the  boys  arrived  at  the  lodge  they  found  no  one.  Th^r 
father  had  gone  off  somewhere,  but  they  could  not  find  out  where 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


i6o  y^mmal  of  Amuriean  FalA-Lare, 

he  had  gone.  Afterbirth-Boy  looked  all  around  for  his  trail,  but 
could  find  no  trace  of  him.  At  last  he  grew  weary  and  decided  to 
wait  until  night  to  look  for  their  father.  When  darkness  came, 
Afterbirth-Boy  again  looked  around  to  see  where  his  father  had  gone. 
He  finally  found  bis  trail  and  he  followed  it  with  his  eye  until  he 
found  the  place  where  his  father  had  stopped.  He  called  his  brother 
and  told  him  to  bring  his  arrows  and  to  ^oot  up  right  straight  over- 
head. The  boy  biought  his  arrows  and  shot  one  op  into  the  sky. 
Then  he  waited  for  a  while  and  finally  saw  a  drop  of  blood  cone  down. 
It  was  the  blood  of  their  father.  When  the  boys  did  not  return,  he 
gave  up  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  them  again,  and  so  he  went  up  into 
the  sky  and  became  a  star.  They  knew  that  this  blood  belonged  to 
their  fatheri  and  in  this  way  they  found  out  where  he  had  gone. 
They  at  once  shot  up  two  arrows  and  then  caught  hold  of  them  and 
went  up  in  the  sky  with  the  arrows.  Now  the  two  brothers  stand  by 
their  father  in  the  sky. 

Giorg$  A.  ^ofs^* 

Field  Columbiam  Museum,  CHicAoa 


Digitized  by  Google 


Promrks  in  4ke  Making* 


i6i 


PROVERBS  IN  THE  MAKING:   SOME  SCIENTIFIC 
•  COMMONPLACES. 

Im  their  '*  AllgemeiDe  Methodik  der  Volkskimde  "  (Eriangen,  1899) 
L  Schennan  and  F.  S.  Krauss  fiad  a  rubric  for  what  the  Germana 
call  "  gefltigelte  Worte"  These  are  proverbs,  or  phrases  and  say- 
ings of  like  cleverness  or  triteness,  having  their  origin  in  literary  or 
semi-literary  sources.  Some  of  these  ^  winged  words  "  do  ultimately 
lose  their  particular  liteiaiy  character  and  pass  over  into  the  pos- 
aession  of  the  "folk,"  from  whom,  long  afterward,  some  folklorist 
may  gather  them  in  unsuspectingly  with  other  real  proverbs. 

The  present  writer  has  arranged  from  his  notebooks  a  consider- 
able number  of  brief  and  succinct  statements  of  scientific  facts  and 
fancies,  which  may  perhaps  come  under  the  rubric  in  question.  No 
attempt  has  been  made  to  exhaust  the  writers  from  which  citations 
are  made,  nor  has  it  been  sought  to  include  many  authors  whose 
words  one  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  here.  The  authors 
cited  are  chiefly  of  to-day,  and  the  subject-matter  largely  anthropo- 
logical in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term.  The  modernity  of  some  of 
the  saying^  from  writers  of  the  Elisabethan  and  Carolinian  ages, 
e,  g,  Elyot,  Bacon,  Browne  is  sometimes  very  striking.  Notable 
also  are  the  contradictory  opinions  expressed  by  some  of  the  men  of 
science,  particularly  concerning  woman  and  the  child,  their  various 
good  qualities,  defects,  etc.  It  has  not  been  possible  to  give  exact 
page  and  date  for  these  citations,  so  they  are  recorded  simply  with 
the  author's  name  attached  as  having  been  found  in  some  one  of  his 
works  by  the  present  writer.  Most  of  the  sentences  cited  will  not 
be  found  in  any  book  of   familiar  quotations." 

1.  Absence  of  discipline  is  the  greatest  triumph  of  the  teacher. 
B.  Machado  (Portuguese  statesman  and  educator,  1901). 

2.  A  child  without  gayety  is  a  spring  without  sun,  is  a  butterfly 
without  wings  ;  it  cannot  take  the  flight  that  proves  and  maintains 
health.    Mmc.  Necker  (173 7-1 794). 

3.  After  that  a  child  is  come  lo  seven  year  of  a^e,  I  hold  it  expe- 
dient that  he  be  taken  from  the  company  oi  women.  Sir  T.  Elyot 
(153 1). 

4.  Against  atheists  the  very  savages  take  part  with  the  very  sub< 
tlest  philosophers.  Bacon  (1597;  1625). 

5.  Age  doth  not  rectify  but  Incarvate  our  nature^  turning  bad 
di!q>ositions  into  ^rser  habits.   Sir  T,  Browne  (1635 ;  1643)- 

d  A  gentle  wit  is  therewith  [grammar]  soon  fot^^ate.  Sir  T. 
Elyot 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOglc 


i62  journal  of  American  FoU^Lare* 

y.  Agriculture  was*  in  its  beginning,  an  art  of  the  desert  W  J 
McGee  (American  anthropologist,  b.  1853). 

8.  All  culture  has  a  personal  factor.  J.  W.  Powell  (American 
anthropologist,  1834- 1902). 

9.  All  Nature  is  cbiy  in  the  hands  of  the  potter.  O.  T.  Mason 
(American  anthropologist,  b.  1838). 

la  All  the  faculties  are  sociable.  B.  Machada 

11.  All  the  social  fabrics  of  the  world  are  built  around  women. 
O.  T.  Mason. 

12.  Among  many  primitive  peoples  marriage  is  one  of  the  most 
effective  means  of  acculturatioa   W  J  McGee. 

13.  Among  the  most  seemingly  brutally  savages  there  is  a  higher, 
purer  society,  the  party  of  progress.   O.  T.  Mason. 

14.  Art  precedes  industry,  industry  science.    B.  Machado. 

1 5.  A  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul  among  Kanalcas  is  as  impossible  as 
a  Mozart  among  the  Fu^gians.  T.  Ribot  (contemporary  French  psy- 
chologist). 

16.  A  sound  Caesarian  nativity  may  outlast  a  natural  birth.  Sir 
T.  Browne. 

17.  At  no  period  of  man's  life  were  wars  the  normal  state  of  ex- 
istence.    Prince  Krapotkin  (contemporary  Russian  scientist). 

18.  Attention  is  the  stuff  that  memory  is  made  of,  and  memory  is 
accumulated  genius.  J.  R.  Lowell  (American  man  of  letters  and 
poet,  1819-1891). 

19.  Beast  is  beast,  man  is  man.    J.  W.  Powell. 

20.  Beauty  in  art  has  only  a  secondary  significance,  to  attract  at- 
tention.   Ivantzof  (contemporary  Russian  writer). 

21.  Beauty  is  the  somatic  genius  of  woman.    Tonnini  (Italian). 

22.  Be  Caesar  unto  thyself!    Sir  T.  Browne. 

23.  Being  well  and  being  ill  are  "catching."    B.  Machado. 

24.  Be  not  afraid  of  life !  W.  James  (American  psychologist,  b. 
1842). 

25.  Better  no  education  at  all  than  a  bad  one.  F.  Jahn  (German 
educator,  1778-1852). 

26.  Better  no  explanation  than  a  bad  one.    B.  Machado. 

27.  Certain  impulses  develop  in  childhood  which  disi^pear  entirely 
in  later  life.  H.  R.  Marshall  (American  architect  and  psychologist, 
b.  1852). 

28.  Change  of  detennination  is  not  always  repentance.  R  Ma- 
chado. 

29.  Changes  of  pronunciation  start  with  the  child.  A.  Darme- 
steter  (contemporary  French  philologist). 


Digitized  by  Google 


Prwerbs  in  ike  Makmg, 


163 


30.  Child-play  is  the  first  education  of  the  will  B.  Perez  (con- 
temporary French  psychologist). 

31.  Children  alone  are  sufficiently  child-like  for  children.  J.  P. 
Richter  (1763-1825). 

32.  Children  and  ignorant  people  are  the  most  credulous.  E. 
Darwin  (1731-1802). 

33.  Children  and  the  less  intelligent  of  men  crave  anger  of  a  low 
degree.    H.  R.  Marshall 

34.  Children  are  born,  and  not  made;  Dr.  P.  S.  Billings  (Ameri- 
can pathologist,  b.  1845). 

35.  Children  beg  to  be  tickled.   H.  R.  Marshall 

36.  Children  conjure  up  few  chimaeras.   Mme.  Necker. 

37.  Children  gesticulate  with  all  their  body.   B.  Machada 

38.  Children  should  be  permitted  to  use  their  hands  early  in  in- 
fancy.  E.  Darwin. 

39.  Children  tend  not  to  love,  but  to  be  loved.  Ftola  Lombroso 
(d.  of  C  Lombroso). 

40.  Children's  morality  is  more  negative  than  positive.  FftoU 
Lombroso. 

41.  Children  write  as  they  see.  Facia  Lombrosa 

42.  '  Civilization  is  syphilization.  E.  Krafft-Ebing  (contemporaiy 
German  pathologist). 

43.  Civilization  supplements  the  senses.  H.  Drummond  (con- 
temporary English  writer). 

44.  Columbus  discovered  a  new  world  only  when  he  was  in  the 
stream.    O.  T.  Mason. 

45.  Covetousness  cracks  the  sinews  of  faith.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

46.  Crime  is  a  phenomenon  of  atavism.  C.  Lombroso  (contem- 
porary Italian  criminologist). 

47.  Crime  is  a  phenomenon  of  failure  of  adaptation  to  a  given 
social  milieu.    Zuccarelli  (contemporary  Italian  criminologist). 

48.  Crime  is  not  an  organic  fatality,  but  is  progressive  decay. 
Anon. 

49.  Crime  is  psychic  atavism.  P.  Mantegazza  (contemporary 
Itahan  anthropologist  and  physiologist). 

50.  Crime  is  the  sensible  measure  of  the  degree  of  health, 
strength,  prosperity,  of  a  given  society  at  any  given  moment  of  its 
existence.    D.  Drill  (contemporary  Russian  criminoloEjist). 

51.  Crime,  like  prostitution,  is  nourished  by  idleness.  A.  Corre 
(contemporary  French  criminologist). 

52.  Crowds  arc  a  little  like  the  ancient  sphinx.  G.  Le  Bon  (con- 
temporary French  sociologist). 

53.  Crowds  are  feminine  everywhere  ;  but  most  feminine  of  all  is 
the  Latin  crowd.    G.  Le  Bon. 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


164 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore^ 


54.  Crowds  since  the  dawn  ol  civilisation,  have  always  been  sub- 
jected to  the  influence  of  illusions.  G.  Le  Bon. 

55.  Crowds  think  in  images.  G.  Le  Bon. 

56.  Culture  is  hunum  evolution ;  not  the  devdopment  of  man  as 
an  animal,  but  the  evolution  of  the  human  attributes  of  man.  J.  W. 
Powell. 

57.  Custom  is  a  second  nature.  Lord  Kames  (Scotch  philosopher, 
1696-1782). 

58.  Degeneration-signs  begin  where  characteristics  due  to  race 
and  milieu  leave  off.  Nacke  (oontempoiaiy  German  anthropologist 
and  criminologist). 

59.  Deism  for  the  social  intelligence,  realism  for  the  individual 
G.  Tarde  (contemporary  French  sociologist). 

60.  Desuetude  is  the  cause  of  origin  of  eveiy  new  custom.  G. 
Tarde. 

61.  Dilettantcism  is  a  form  of  sensualism.    B.  Machado. 

62.  Dreams  acquire  what  has  been  appropriately  called  a  mytho- 
logical character.    H.  Hoffding  (contemporary  Danish  psychologist). 

63.  During  the  primitive  period  rites  are  the  immediate  and  direct 
expression  of  the  religious  sentiment,  and  translate  the  genius  of  each 
people.    T.  Ribot 

64.  Each  culture  was  developed  in  a  special  environment.  O.  T. 
Mason. 

65.  Education  can  never  be  a  trade.    B.  Machado. 

66.  Education  can  prevent  a  good  nature  from  passing  from  infan- 
tile crime  to  habitual  crime,  but  it  cannot  change  those  who  arc  born 
with  perverse  instincts.    C.  Lombroso. 

67.  Education  gives  to  man  nothing  which  he  might  not  educe  out 
of  himself.  Revdatlon  gives  nothing  to  die  human  spedes  which 
human  reason  left  to  itself  might  not  attain.  G.  R  Lessing  (172^ 
1781). 

68.  Education  is  the  jewel  of  humanity.  F.Jahn. 

69.  Education  is  revelatmn  coming  to  the  individual  man ;  revehi- 
tk>n  is  education  whidi  has  corner  and  is  yet  comings  to  the  human 
race:  Lessing; 

7a  Educatmn  is  not  to  be  anticipated  B.  Machado. 

71.  Education,  like  government,  must  prevent,  not  repress.  E 
Machada 

72.  Effort  is  the  sotil  of  evolution.    B.  Machado. 

75.  Egoism  transforms  itself  into  negligence.   B.  Machado. 

74.  Environment  has  become  the  creature  of  man.  J.  W.  Powell. 

75.  Even  among  savages  some  leisure  from  the  cares  of  life  is 


^  ij  ,^L.o  lv  Google 


Proverbs  m  tke  Making. 


essential  for  the  culture  of  art.   A.  C.  Haddon  (contemporary 

English  anthropologist). 

76.  Even  the  great  man  must,  even  where  he  has  done  god-like 
deeds,  remain  a  human  being.    F.  Jahn. 

77.  Every  crime  is  lunacy.  Kesteven. 

78.  Every  individual  is  a  copy  taken  from  a  page  stereotyped  once 
for  all.  Baudement. 

79.  Every  language  is  a  perpetual  evolution.    A.  Darmesteter. 
8a  Every  man  is  some  months  older  than  he  bethinks  him.  Sir 

T.  Browne 

81.  Every  man  pays  a  forfeit  for  bis  taming;   H.  Drummond 

82.  Every  science  is  at  the  same  time  a  phOosophy.  L.  F.  Ward 
(American  psychologist  and  sociologist,  b.  1841). 

83.  Every  sign  of  morphological  degeneration  is  a  sign  and  indi- 
cation of  functional  degeneration.  G.  Sergi  (contemporaiy  Italian 
anthropologist  and  biologist). 

84.  Every  sodal  fact  is  imitated.   G.  Tarde. 

85.  Every  town  should  have  its  common  playground  for  the  boy. 
F.  Froebel  (1782-1852). 

86.  Except  few  all  the  primitive  emotioins  imply  tendencies  to 
movement.   T.  Ribot. 

87.  Excess  of  imagination  in  the  child,  as  with  primitive  peoples, 
is  clearly  connected  with  less  deamess  of  perceptions,  which  are 
trnnsformed,  at  will,  one  into  another.    T.  Ribot. 

88.  Explanation  is  not  always  justification.  B.  Machadok 

89.  Fear  para]3rzes.    B.  Machada 

90.  Fear  of  great  duties  is  as  bad  aa  contempt  for  little  ones.  B. 
Machado. 

91.  Feeling  is  the  primitive  function  of  mind.  F.  Faulhan  (con* 
temporary  French  psychologist). 

92.  Few  men  are  really  educated  ;  fewer  still  can  educate.  F.  Jahn. 

93.  Few  people  know  how  to  be  old.    La  Rochefoucauld. 

94.  First-born  children  always  suffer  from  the  inexperience  of  their 
parents.    B.  Machado. 

95.  Forcing  makes  a  child  great  before  its  years,  wasted  before 
maturity,  old  before  its  time.    F.  Jahn. 

96.  For  girls  schools  are  as  necessary  as,  nay  even  more  necessary 
than,  for  boys  ;  for  the  woman  must  leave  school  more  complete  than 
the  man,  who  has  the  rich  after-school  of  the  world  of  life,  while 
woman  has  nothing.    F.  Jahn. 

97.  For  the  animal,  for  the  child,  for  the  savage  and  the  uncivil- 
ized Ml  an,  form  and  physical  strength  are  all ;  for  the  civilized  man 
mental  strength  and  moral  strength  tend  to  become  the  object  of 
greatest  value.    Colajanni  (contemporary  Italian  sociologist). 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOglc 


« 


1 66  ytmmai  of  Ameriam  Folh-Lan* 

98.  Fortunately  the  day  of  anger-emphasis  is  past  and  gone  for 
most  cultivated  people,  and  for  them  its  pleasure  is  satisfied  by  games 
in  which  anger  is  simulated.    H.  R.  Marshall. 

99.  From  sympathy  is  born  the  tendency  to  imitation.  Mme. 
Necker. 

100.  Function  is  the  object  of  nature.   L.  F.  Waxd. 

101.  Genius  only  edits  the  inspirations  of  the  crowd.  G.  Stanley 
Hall  (American  psychologist,  Ix  1846). 

102.  Give  the  child  a  bit  of  chalk,  or  the  ]ik«»  and  soon  a  new 
creation  will  stand  before  him  and  you.  F.  FroebeL 

103.  God  does  not  live  in  gaps.  G.  Stanley  Hall. 

104.  Government  and  education  are  reciprocaL   B.  Machado. 

105.  Great  is  the  vanity  of  belonging  to  a  great  dty  I  G.  Tarde. 

106.  Harmony  of  minds  is  the  most  delicate  work  of  civilization 
and  culture;   Bw  Machada 

107.  Heredity  is  memory.  £.  Haeckel  (contemporary  German 

biologist). 

loS.  Heredity  is  a  generic  term  of  which  atavism  is  a  modality. 
Dally  (French  pathologist). 

109.  Historical  events  appear  to  have  been  much  more  potent  in 
leading  races  to  civilization  than  their  faculty.   F.  Boas  (American 

anthropologist,  b.  1858). 

110.  Honor  began  as  the  appreciation  of  the  successful  outcome  of 
a  struggle.    Venturini  (contemporary  Italian  pathologist). 

111.  Human  development  is  eminently  social.    W  J  McGec, 

112.  Human  evolution  is  serial  evolution.    J.  W.  Powell. 

113.  Human  life  is  a  life  of  the  soul,  of  the  heart.    B.  Machado. 

1 14.  Human  mating  began  in  rather  apathetic  monogamy.  W  J 
McGee. 

115.  I  can  cure  the  gout  or  stone  in  some  sooner  than  divinity, 
pride,  or  avarice  in  others.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

116.  Idiots  are  young  children  in  the  bodies  of  older  children. 

Eschricht. 

117.  Idleness  is  optimistic.    B.  Machado. 

I  iS.  Idleness  is  the  father  of  all  crime.    Anon.  (Italian). 
119.  If  art  existed  for  its  beauty  alone,  it  would  be  useless. 
Ivantzof. 

12a  I  find  in  pure  thought  the  type  and  law  of  all  development 
F.  Froebd. 

121.  If  youth  knew  I  If  old  age  could  I  Anon.  (French). 
123.  Ignorance  easily  changes  to  hate.  B.  Machada 


Digitized  by  Google 


Praverh  in  ike  Making, 


167 


123.  Ignorance  is  explosive  mental  instability.    B.  Machada 

124.  Imitation  is  social  memory.    G.  Tarde. 

125.  Imitation  with  animals  is  largely  unconscious.  F.  Plateau 
(contemporary  Belgian  biologist). 

126.  Immediate  life  for  immediate  ends  !  W.  S.  Jackman  (Amer- 
ican pedagogue,  b.  1855). 

127.  In  animals,  and  the  lower  races  of  men,  maternal  love  is  lost 
when  the  helpless  age  of  the  child  is  past.    H.  Hoffding. 

128.  In  an  old  man  seduction  is  corruption.    S.  Venturi. 

129.  In  a  very  deep  sense  all  human  science  is  but  the  increment 
of  the  power  of  the  eye,  and  all  human  art  is  the  increment  of  the 
power  cl  the  hand.  J.  Fiske  (American  historian,  1 842-1901). 

13a  In  children  there  is  little  or  no  disguise.   Lord  Karnes. 

131.  Inequality  of  joys  increases  with  civilization  and  density  of 
population.  Anon. 

132.  In  every  normal  man  all  the  primitive  tendencies  exist,  but 
their  existence  does  not  imply  their  equality.  T.  Ribot 

133.  Infants,  like  brutes,  are  mostly  governed  by  instincts,  with- 
out the  least  view  to  any  end,  good  or  ill   Lord  Kames. 

134.  InfaDibility  ti  instinct,  in  the  child,  as  in  animals,  is  over- 
rated.  B.  Perez. 

135.  In  its  rude  beginnings  the  psychic  life  was  but  an  appendage 
to  the  body  ;  in  fully  developed  humanity  the  body  is  but  a  vehicle 
for  the  soul    J.  Fiske. 

136.  Innovation  and  civilization  are  essentially  masculine  facts. 
G.  Tarde. 

137.  In  primitive  poetry  man  is  in  the  foreground ;  nature  is  only 

an  accessary.    T.  Ribot. 

138.  In  primitive  society  the  drama  is  the  school  of  religion.  J. 
W.  Powell. 

139.  Instinct  is  more  than  habit  petrified  and  transmitted.  G. 
Stanley  Hall. 

140.  Instruction  renders  a  man  neither  more  moral  nor  more 
happy  ;  it  changes  neither  his  instincts  nor  his  hereditary  passions. 
G.  Le  Bon. 

141.  In  the  complete  idiot  every  instinct  is  lacking,  even  that  of 
nutrition.    T.  Ribot. 

142.  In  the  natural  world  everything  has  a  meaning.  L.  F.  Ward. 

143.  In  the  organic  life  of  plants  and  animals,  as  in  the  life  of  lan- 
guage, we  find  again  the  same  laws.    A.  Darmesteter. 

144.  In  the  self -scribbling  of  the  child  we  sec  nothing  of  the  sharp 
observation-gift  of  the  rudest  hunter-people.  £.  Grosse  (contem- 
porary German  ethnologist). 

145.  In  woman  feminini^  is  all  S.  Venturi 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


168 


y<mmal  of  Ammeam  Foik'Lan. 


146.  It  addcth  deformity  to  an  ape  to  be  so  like  a  man.  Bacon. 

147.  It  is  a  great  misfortune  never  to  be  able  to  forget  that  one 
is  learned.    F.  Jahn. 

148.  It  is  as  natural  to  die  as  to  be  bom ;  and  to  a  little  infant, 
perhaps,  the  one  is  as  painful  as  the  other.  Bacon. 

149.  It  is  love  that  produces  love  in  the  child.   Mme.  Necker. 
15a  It  is  impossible  to  establish  for  criminals  a  special  type  of 

brain.   Mingassini  (contemporary  Italian  anatomist). 

151.  Jealousy  is  a  mark  of  primitivtness  of  character  and  thought. 
Sw  Venturi. 

152.  Joy  is  not  a  runner,  but  a  dancer.  J.  P.  Richter. 

153.  Language  follows  its  course,  indifferent  to  the  complaints  of 
the  grammarians,  the  lamentation  (tf  the  purists.   A.  Darmesteter. 

154.  Language  is  choke-full  of  metaphors.  G.  Curtius  (German 
philologist,  1820-1885). 

155.  Language  remains  the  old  serpent  it  was  in  Paradise.  F.  H. 
Jacobi  (German  philosopher,  1743-18 19). 

x$6.  Language  was  the  first  art-object  of  man,  where  the  race  pro- 
duced spontaneously  bom  artist ;  everywhere  else  it  has  been  the 
first  plaything  or  the  first  jewel    G.  Tarde. 

157.  Languages  have  not  differentiated  from  one  primordial  lan- 
guap:e,  but  have  integrated  from  innumerable  primordial  languages. 
J.  W.  Powell. 

158.  Laugh  and  grow  fat.    Anon.  (English). 

159b  Laughter  is  of  very  heterogeneous  origin.    T.  Ribot. 

160.  Learned  and  incapable  are  the  majority  of  the  graduates  of 
our  schools.    B.  Machado. 

161.  Let  us  recognize  women  as  beings  like  ourselves.  Riballier. 

162.  Life's  evening  brings  its  lamp  with  it  J.  Joubert  (1754- 
1824). 

163.  Life's  spring  solicits  children  on  all  sides.    B.  Machado. 

164.  Like  everything  else  which  especially  distinguishes  man,  the 
altruistic  feelings  were  first  called  into  existence  through  the  first 
beginnings  of  infancy  in  the  animal  world.    J.  Fiske. 

165.  Like  primitive  peoples  and  savages,  children  lose  an  immense 
amount  of  time  in  contests  and  debates.   B.  Machado. 

166.  Lord  God,  how  many  good  and  clever  wits  of  cldldren  be  now- 
adays perished  by  ignorant  schoolmasters  t   Sir  T.  Elyot 

i6y.  Love  is  a  school  of  toleration.   B.  Machado. 

168.  Love  is  the  simplest  and  the  oldest  of  the  social  fedinga  S. 
Venturi 

169.  Love  of  parents  to  children  is,  as  a  rule,  stronger  than  love 
of  chfldren  to  parents.   H.  Hoffding. ' 


L-iyui^uO  by  Google 


PrW9rb$  m  the  Making.  169 

1 70.  Man  as  an  animal  is  everywhere  losing  ground.    H.  Drum- 

mond. 

171.  Man  becomes  educabie  only  by  language.   F.  Jahn. 

172.  Man  grows  in  mind  faster  than  in  morals.   G.  Stanley  Hall. 

173.  Man  in  his  sleeping  state  is  a  much  less  perfect  animal  than 
In  his  waking  hour&   £.  Darwin. 

174.  Man  is  an  intelligence  served  by  organs.  P.  Topinard  (con- 
temporary French  anthropologist). 

175.  Man  is  simply  the  topmost  branch  of  the  animal  tree^  and 
bound  to  everything  that  lives  by  ties  of  the  most  intimate  and  vital 
kinship.   G.  Stanley  HalL 

1761  Man  is  struggle;  woman  is  kfve  Thuli^  (contemporaiy 
French  biologist). 

177.  Blan  is  the  whole  world  and  the  breath  of  God ;  woman  the 
rib  and  the  crooked  piece  of  man.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

178.  Man  living,  flesh  and  bone,  is  the  last  object  the  savage  came 
to  deify.    G.  Tarde. 

179.  Man's  end  is  creation,  not  mortification.  Machada 

1 80.  Man  should  never  be  a  show-piece  for  woman ;  woman  never 
a  plaything  for  man.    F.  Jahn. 

181.  Man,  that  true  and  great  amphibium,  whose  nature  is  dis- 
posed to  live,  not  only  like  other  creatures  in  divers  elements,  but  in 
divided  and  distinguished  [i,  e,  visible  and  invisible]  worlds.  Sir  T. 
Browne. 

182.  Marriage  alone  is  fecund,  not  the  duel.    G.  Tarde. 

183.  Material  and  spiritual  are  two  steeds  harnessed  to  the  same 
whiffletree,  which  must  be  kept  in  increasingly  perfect  equilibrium. 
G.  Stanley  Hall. 

184.  Maternal  instinct  and  love  gradually  introduce  the  child  to 
his  little  outside  world.    F.  Froebel. 

185.  Memory  is  the  keystone  of  the  intellectual  edifice,  Ch* 
Richet  (contemporary  French  physiologist). 

186.  Mentality  in  the  animal  series  generally  is,  as  certain  organs 
and  functions  are,  independent  of  the  position  which  a  given  species 
or  genus  of  animals  occupies.    G.  Sergi 

1 87.  Method  is  the  highest  procedure  of  individual  intelltgence. 
De  Greef  (contemporary  Dutch  sociologist). 

188.  Morality  is  a  function  of  pleasure  and  pain.  Battaglia. 

1 89.  Morality  is  not  a  new  science,  art,  or  trade ;  it  Is  the  supreme 
generalization  of  all  the  sciences*  arts,  and  trades,  their  humantzation, 
tiieir  universallzation.  B.  Machada 

19a  Mother-love  is  the  best  interpreter  of  speech-beginnings^  F. 
Jahn. 

VOL.  xvn.— Ha  66k  12 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


170 


Jaumal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


191.  Movement,  not  sensation,  is  the  prime  factor  in  evolution. 
PSiyot  (contemporary  French  psychologist). 

193.  Miilt^cation  of  ideas  is  much  on  the  same  level  as  alterna- 
tion of  beliefs.  G.  Tarde, 

1 93.  Nakedness  is  uncomely,  as  well  in  mind  as  in  body.  Bacon. 

194.  Nature  contains  more  of  beauty  than  of  art.  Ivantzoi 

195.  Nature  incites  above  all  children  to  develop  themselves  physi* 
cally.   Guyau  (contemporary  French  psychologist). 

196.  Nature  has  made  women  more  like  children,  in  order  that  they 
may  better  understand  and  care  for  children.  Havdock  Ellis  (con- 
temporary English  pychologist  and  anthropologist). 

197.  Nature  is  not  fixed,  but  fluid ;  spirit  alters,  moulds,  makes  it 
Emerson. 

1 98.  Natures  requires  children  to  be  children  before  they  are  men. 
J.  J.  Rousseau  (1713-1778). 

199.  Necessity,  example^  love,  have  been,  ar^  and  will  remain  the 
greatest  teachers  of  the  human  race:    F.  Jahn. 

200.  No  change  of  apparatus  can  deprive  the  human  race  of  gen* 
tuses.    O.  T.  Mason. 

201.  No  language  expresses  things,  only  names.  Herder  (1744- 
1803). 

202.  No  single  element  of  weakness  is  fatal.    W.  James. 

203.  No  society  can  be  directed  by  government  alone ;  in  order  to 
make  live  one  must  live  with.    B.  Machado. 

204.  Nothing  moralizes  children  like  the  sight  of  their  parents ; 
nothing  moralizes  parents  like  the  sight  of  their  children.  B.  Ma- 
chado. 

205.  No  white  child  was  ever  born  with  a  greater  intellectual  devel- 
opment than  that  of  a  negro  child.  Fiamingo  (contemporary  Italian). 

Alexander  F.  Chamberlain, 

Clark  Uniybssitt,  Woecbstbr,  Mass. 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


Algoft^uian  Names  of  Some  Mountains  and  HUls,  171 

^LGONQUIAN  NAM£S  OF  SOME  MOUNTAINS 

AND  HILLS.^ 

Mountains  and  hills,  dominating  a  landscape,  have  always  been 
the  theme  of  legendary  lore  from  the  earliest  times,  and  about  them 
in  every  clime  have  clustered  the  myths  and  traditions  of  all  primi- 
tive peoples.  The  story  of  the  ark  resting  on  Mount  Ararat,  as  nar- 
rated in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Genesis,  is  a  survival  of  a  legend,  for  a 
deluge  myth,  in  one  fonn  or  another,  appears  among  the  folk-tales 
of  many  savage  tribes,  to  whom  the  tacred  script  is  necessarily  un- 
known, and*  as  such,  repeated  to  generations  down  firom  a  vista  of 
countless  yeaiB.  The  verification  of  the  tradition  of  "Katzimo^"as 
appertaining  to  the  Enchanted  Mesa"  of  central  New  Mexico, 
(F.  W.  Hodge,  "American  Anthropologist/'  vol.  z.  p.  299), indicates 
that  some  legends  were  founded  on  fact,  and  are  not  always  a  "  fairy 
tale."  That  nearly  all  of  these  mountains  in  America,  wherever  an 
Amerind  lived,  roamed,  or  hunted,  were  made  the  scene  of  romantic 
tales*  is  an  undoubted  hypothesis ;  but  many  of  these  myths  can 
never  be  recovered  from  the  abyss  of  time,  for  the  voice  that  uttered 
them  and  the  ears  that  last  heard  them  repeated  are  stilled  forever, 
and  an  alien  people  have  invaded  the  domain  of  these  lofty  objects 
of  a  now  busy  land.  Those  to  the  eastward,  in  the  countiy  of  Wa- 
banaki,  and  westward,  to  the  forests  of  the  Cree  and  other  cognate 
tribes  are  still  the  subjects  of  superstition  and  awe.  The  metrical 
lyric  ("Kuloskap  the  Master,"  pp.  314-319),  translated  by  the  folk- 
lorists,  Leland  and  Prince,  relating  to  "  Katahdin,"  the  mighty  peak 
of  Maine,  as  to  How  the  Indians  lost  their  power,"  is  a  fine  ex- 
ample of  such  myths,  and  there  are  others  concerning  the  same 
mountain. 

The  Algonquian  names,  which  are  now  our  subject,  have  no  origin 
in  folk-lore  or  myth,  but  are  simply  descriptive  of  some  characteristic 
as  appealing  to  an  Amerind's  sight  and  understanding.  This  is  also 
true  of  all  others  throughout  the  habitat  of  this  family,  so  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  ascertain,  notwithstanding  some  derivations  to  the 
contrary. 

In  some  instances,  while  now  denominating  the  mountain,  the  name 
in  its  literal  sense  indicated  the  immediate  surroundings,  and  not  the 
elevation  itself.  In  some  cases  —  and  the)  are  quite  numerous  — 
the  name  was  bestowed  by  the  Amerind  and  his  interpreter,  at  the 
time  of  some  conveyance  of  land  to  the  settlers,  in  order  to  indicate 
a  boundary-place,  and  for  that  very  good  reason  retained  in  speech 
and  record  ever  since. 

*  Read  before  the  A.  A.  A.  S.,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


ymmuUof  AmmtoM  Folk-Lom* 


With  these  preliminary  observations  we  will  now  proceed  to  the 
consideration  of  these  former  significant  appellatives.  In  order,  how- 
ever, to  avoid  repetition  of  certain  elements  that  enter  into  the  com- 
position of  these  terms,  let  us  add,  what  all  students  of  the  language 
already  know,  that  the  generic  -adn,  -atifi,  -attin,  -ottin,  -uttan,  etc., 
as  it  is  varied  dialectically  and  colloquially,  connotes  a  "  hill,"  or 
a  "  mountain."  This  generic  also  retains  its  verbal  independence  in 
all  dialects  of  the  language,  having  a  primary  meaning,  "to  scaich," 
or  "  to  look  around."  Therefore  a  hUI  or  mountain  was  a  "  i^ace  of 
observation  "  wfaeo  this  generic  was  employed.  Another  element  of 
common  use,  and  employed  both  as  a  noun  and  a  verb,  is  wadcku, 
— in  compositiom  ^adckut  'OicAu,  ^aekut  etc,  "a  hill  or  mountain." 
This  element  alao  eierciset  its  independence,  as  for  example,  in  the 
Massachnaetts  of  Eliot,  with  the  prefix  of  the  third  person  singular, 
tadcAu,  "he  goes  up," — hence  -adcku,  *<a  hill,"  was  a  "going  up." 
It  is  wdi  to  estabiish  the  meaning  of  these  primary  roots,  when  pos> 
aible*  as  they  give  a  better  idea  of  the  intent  of  the  Amerind  in 
bestowing  snch  names. 

Jfmuubmck  (1699),  MmadKcek  (1783),  Momuhioek  (modem),  an 
isolated  mountain  peak,  3186  feet  in  height,  is  situated  in  Cheshire 
County,  southwestern  New  Hampshire.  The  name  has  acquired 
some  celebrity,  and  is  better  known,  perhaps,  as  the  designation  for 
one  of  the  United  States  turreted  iron-clads  that  had  a  share  in  the 
late  Spanish  affair,  and  is  at  the  present  time  on  the  Asiatic  station. 
The  name  is  also  duplicated  on  two  other  peaks  farther  north,  in 
Essex  County,  Vt.  On  a  map  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  dated 
1 779,  one  of  these  peaks  is  noted  " Great  Monadnk"  and  the  other 

Little  Manadnkr 

It  is  quite  probable  that  both  were  renamed,  from  the  better  known 
New  Hampshire  mount,  by  Sauthier,  the  surveyor,  who  made  the 
map  for  Major-General  William  Tryon,  of  Revolutionary'^  notoriety. 

The  country  about  the  original  Monadnock  was  a  famous  winter 
hunting-ground  for  various  Amerindian  tribes.  A  chronicle  of 
~g  says :  "  The  Schachkook  Indians  were  gone  a-hunting  to  Manad- 
nuck  and  Winepisseoket.  Owaneco,  Sachem  of  the  Mohegans, 
asked  Nemequabin  of  the  Wabaqusetts  where  he  would  hunt  this 
winter ;  who  answered,  at  Afanadnuck,  but  Owaneco  replied  that 
Manadnuck  was  a  place  of  death,  because  he  had  received  the  wam- 
pum "  ("Col.  Hist  N.  Y.,"  vol.  iv.  pp.  614-615).  This  wampum  belt 
was  given  by  the  Mohawks  as  a  bribe  to  kill  the  English,  and  so,  if  he 
or  his  tribe  went  to  Manadnuck,  they  would  be  killed  by  the  Mohawks 
who  frequented  there,  for  not  carrying  out  the  design  of  the  bribe. 

Schoolcraft  ("  Indian  Tribes,"  vol.  iv.  pp.  353  et  scq.)  gives  this 
etymology :  "  Monaud^  bad,  -nok,  and  nac,  is  a  term  indicative  of  rock 


Alganquian  Natms  of  Some  Mounkdns  and  HiUs.  173 

or  precipice.  Hence  Monadnock,  whose  characteristic  is  thus  denoted 
to  consist  in  the  difficulty  or  badness  of  its  ascent."  Schoolcraft 
attempted  the  translations  of  many  Algonquian  names  in  the  East, 
but,  by  employing  Chippeway  elementary  roots  or  syllables,  with 
which  he  was  familiar,  he  failed  in  nearly  every  instance.  He  also 
renamed  many  places  of  which  the  names  were  lost  or  forgotten, 
with  designations  from  the  same  dialect,  among  them  the  White 
Mountains,  viz.  :  -  Wombic,  =  "the  white  rock."  His  erroneous  trans- 
lations are  still  quoted,  and  are  very  persistent. 

The  Abnaki  term  for  the  **  White  Mountains  "  was  tVawo^adenik 
from  redupUcalion  (pL)  of  wodi,  "  white/'  -adtm,  the  termi- 

natkni  for  **  mountam,*'  the  locative  •4^.  This  was  also  die  Dame  for 
Mount  Marcy.  (Prince,  Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  vol  xtiL  p.  126b) 

MottadHoek,  in  several  compilations  of  geographical  names,  un- 
necessaiy  now  to  specify,  has  been  translated  as  "  the  spirits  plac^" 
also,  *'  the  sUver  mount."  We  have  been  unable  to  learn  the  spon- 
sor for  the  **  spirit "  interpretation  (C.  H.  Wheder?) — which  is  one 
that  seemin^^y  hints  at  legends  and  myths  galore^  but  is  nothing 
more  than  a  conjecture  derived  from  a  supposition  that  the  prefix 
wum  occurs  as  a  component  of  Mamtt9,  *'the  great  spirit,"  wbidi 
indeed  it  does,  but  'not  in  the  sense  conveyed  by  the  translation. 
Its  correct  etymology  appears  to  be  as  follows :  man,  or  is  a 
significant  prefix  to  many  word  combinations  in  the  Massachu- 
setts of  John  Eliot,  meaning  "wonderful,"  "wonder,"  "vision," 
"revelation,"  "marvellous,"  etc.  It  is  from  the  primary  verbal 
root  -an,  "surpassing,"  "going  beyond,"  "  is  more  than  the  common," 
with  the  indefinite  impersonal  prefix  m  added,  which  with  its  generic 
•adn,  "  mountain,"  and  the  locative  -ock,  "  place^"  gives  as  a  synthesis 
of  Man-adn-ock,  "  land  or  country  of  the  surpassing  mountain,"  i.  e. 
one  goinr^  beyond  all  others  in  that  vicinity  for  size.  As  will  be  ob- 
served, it  included  the  mountain  and  the  immediate  countiy  round 
about  it. 

From  field  and  fold  aloof  he  stands 
A  bnely  peak  in  peopled  lands. 

UHwMhUe,  J.  E.  Nesmith,  1888.) 

The  same  name  is  found  in  Queen's  County,  N.  Y.,  as  Mannetto 
Hill  (modern),  Matuitto  Hill  (deed  of  1695).  This  name  (Furman, 
"  Antiquities  of  L.  I.,"  p.  62,  and  Ruttenber,  "  Indian  Tribes,"  eta, 
p.  364)  has  been  translated  also  as  "the  hill  of  the  great  spirit,"  and 
a  mythical  story  quoted,  in  order  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the 
name.  There  is  no  early  authority  for  the  myth,  and  it  is  probably 
a  modem  application,  and  not  worthy  of  our  serious  consideration. 
But  for  all  that,  it  will  probably  be  quoted  until  history  is  no  more. 
We  have  already  referred  to  Katahdin,  "  the  great  mountain  "  of 


Digitized  by  Google 


174 


youmalof  Ammam  FM'Lof^ 


Maine,  and  its  legends.  All  the  best  authorities  translate  it  as  above, 
from  ICt,  or  Keht,  "  great,"  -ahdin,  "mountain,"  Anthony's  Nose,  on 
the  Hudson  River,  beside  its  Mohawk  designation  of  Kanendakherie, 
"hie^h  mountain,"  was  known  to  the  Algonquins  as  Kittatenny^ 
•'great  mountain,"  a  name  extended  to  include  the  whole  Blue  Ridge 
from  New  York  to  Pennsylvania. 

A  name  that  appears  in  several  parts  of  the  country,  which  tran=^- 
literated  is  Weequ-adn-ock,  "  place  at  the  end  of  a  hill  "  {weeqtia, 
Mass.,  "  at  the  end  "),  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  has  as  Weighquaten- 
honk  ;  Suffolk  County,  N.  Y.,  has  it  varied  as  Wtgwagonock ;  and  it 
occurs  in  Connecticut  as  Wukhquautenauk,  or  Wechquadtiach.  A  place 
in  Columbia  County,  N.  Y.,  was  known  as  Wawijchianok-8aen-adn- 
auke,  (Abnaki  Siwademk),  "land  about  a  hill.'* 

WitpuHt^  designated  a  mountain  in  Dutchess  County,  N.  Y.,  on 
the  eastern  boundary  of  land  sold  by  the  Amerinds  to  Sadcett&  Ca» 
or  otherwise  the  "  Nine  little  partners,"  in  1 704.  This  name  has  been 
translated  "tooth  mountain,"  from  wttpuu  "a  tooth/'  but  as  the 
DeL  wipitt  Mass.  w$iputf  Abn*.  Si^^  is  the  animate  third  person 
singular,  "  his  tooth,"  it  could  not  be  used  as  a  place  name^  for  mee- 
pit  is  the  indefinite  form,  *'  a  tooth,"  a  fact  that  alters  the  etymology 
decidedly.  Wep8t,  in  the  Massachusetts,  denotes  "a  ruinous  heap," 
which  with  its  locative  in  4ng^  Wtp8t4i^f  "place  of  the  ruinous 
heap,"  probably  described  the  elevation. 

Massamtttm  designates  one  of  the  mountain  spurs  forming  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  near  Woodstock,  Va.  Several  years  since  this 
name  was  referred  to  us  for  a  translation  and,  unknown  to  me,  it 
had  been  previously  laid  before  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
and  possibly  referred  to  Dr.  A.  S.  Gatschet.  At  all  events,  our  ety-  • 
mologies  were  identical  in  having  derived  it  from  the  adjectival 
massa,  "  great,"  -uttcn,  "  a  mountain,"  with  possibly  a  lost  locative, 
"at  the  great  mountain,"  of  that  range. 

Its  cognate  in  the  Nope  dialect,  applied  to  a  hill  on  the  Gay  Head 
peninsula,  on  Martha's  Vineyard,  is  curiously  disguised  in  local 
speech  as  "  S/tof  an  Arrow''  "  Shot  'nn  Ire,''  and  "  Shot  ftighcr''  Mar- 
tha's Vineyard  abounds  in  Alp;onquian  names,  on  the  study  of  which 
Dr.  Charles  E.  Banks,  of  the  U.  S.  Marine  Hospital  Service,  who  is 
writing  a  history  of  the  island,  and  the  writer  have  been  at  work,  as 
time  has  permitted,  for  some  years.  When  these  forms  were  laid  be- 
fore me  by  Dr.  Banks  they  were  recognized  as  a  colloquial  survival  of 
an  original  Masshattan,  "great  hill,"  beginning;  with  the  abbrevi- 
ated Shnttan,  or  Shattany,  down  various  stages  of  degradation,  to 
the  sounds  now  heard.  The  same  name,  in  varied  forms,  appears  in 
other  localities  where  there  is  a  hill,  among  them  Muchattoes  Hill,  in 
Columbia  County,  N.  Y.  This  name  has  been  translated    red  hill," 


Digitized  by  Google 


Algonguian  Names  of  Some  Mauniatits  and  Hills,    1 75 

but  we  are  confident  that  it  is  identical  with  the  others.  Manhattan 
is  another  name  containing  the  generic  for  hill.  As  first  noted  on 
its  earliest  map,  it  is  Manahatin^  "  the  hill  island,"  or,  "the  island  of 
hills,"  from  manah^  "island,"  -atin,  "hill."  (Tooker,  Algonquian 
Series,  vol.  i.)  This  was  undoubtedly  the  ori^nnal  meaning  of  the 
term,  as  it  describes  the  island,  and  is  absolutely  in  accordance  with 
the  original  synthesis ;  as  such  it  cannot  be  ignored.  No  other 
etymology  or  derivation  is  acceptable  in  any  way.  Still  we  notice 
that  the  erroneous  "  drunk  "  derivation  of  Heckewelder  is  going  the 
rounds  as  usual. 

We  come  now  to  the  well-known  name,  Massachusetts,  in  which  is 
embodied  the  second  element,  -adchu,  as  employed  in  composition. 
It  has  been  variously  translated  by  several  early  authorities,  like 
Cotton  and  Williams,  but  its  correct  etymology  has  been  given  by 
the  late  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  ("  Proceedings  American  Antiquarian 
Society/*  October,  1867),  viz. :  ** Massa-adchu-€s-€t,  'at  or  about  the 
great  hilL' "  William  Wood  (*<  New  England's  Prospect/'  1629-1633) 
wrote:  "MouDt  Walleston  a  very  fertile  soyle,  there  being  great 
store  of  plaine  ground  without  trees.  This  place  is  called  Massachu. 
sets  fields  where  the  greatest  Sagamore  in  the  country  lived  before 
the  Plague,  who  caused  it  to  be  cleared  for  his  own  use;"  This- 
quotation  carries  Wood's  information  back  to  Captain  John  Smith 
(1616),  who  was  the  first  to  note  the  place  as  Massaekusetts  Moun- 
tains»"  which  were  the  Blue  Hills,  710  feet  in  height,  presenting  in 
full  view  Boston  and  its  environs.  Cape  Cod,  and  the  Wachusett 
Mountain  in  the  interior.  Eliot  gives  us  MUhadehu  kak  vfadcMu,  for 
"  mountain  and  hilL"   (St  Luke  ill  5.) 

Wackusstt  is  an  isolated  peak,  2108  feet  in  height,  situated*  in 
Princeton,  Mass.,  about  sixteen  miles  from  Worcester.  The  country 
about  this  peak  was  a  favorite  dwelling-place,  as  well  as  a  rendezvous 
for  the  hostile  Amerinds,  during  King  Philip's  war  of  1676,  and  is 
frequently  referred  to  in  the  annals  of  that  period.  WaekussU^ 
wadchu-essit  "at  the  mountain." 

IVachogtie^wadchu-auke,  "  hill  land,"  frequently  occurs  as  a  name 
for  small  hills  in  a  comparatively  level  country,  like  Long  Island,  N.  Y. 

Watchtung  =  "  on  the  mountain,"  is  a  range  of  hills  in  New  Jersey. 
In  Columbia  County,  N.  Y.,  a  hill  was  known  to  the  Dutch  as  "  Kar- 
stcnge  Bergh."  Karsienge  was  an  Amerind,  occasionally  emploved 
by  the  Dutch  ("  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  464-467),  who  gave  him 
the  name.  The  hill,  however,  was  known  to  the  Amerind  as  Wapcem 
Watsjoc,  the  east  mountain,"  luapecm,  "  east,"  "  white,"  "  dawn,"  etc. 
Mauch  Chunk\  Pa.,  is  from  the  Del.  machk,  "bear,"  and  watchunk^ 
"at  or  on  the  mountain,"  —  according  to  Heckewelder,  who  writes 
Machkschunfct  or  the  Delaware  name  of  the  "bear's  mountain." 
(Trumbull.) 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


176 


yourmalo/  Ammiion  Foli^Lan* 


The  name  KearsargCy  so  distinguished  in  the  minds  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  was  taken  from  a  mountain  in  New  Hampshire,  of  which 
there  are  two.  One  is  in  Carroll  County,  about  five  miles  north  of 
North  Conway,  rising  to  a  height  of  3250  feet;  the  other,  **  Kiak- 
sarge,"  is  in  Merrimack  County,  twenty-one  miles  northwest  of  Con- 
cord, with  a  height  of  2950  feet.  It  has  been  frequently  asserted  in 
newspapers  and  in  other  publications  that  the  name  was  derived  from 
a  famous  hunter  called  Hezekiah  Sargent,  hence  abbreviated  to  ''Kiak 
Sargent^'  then  to  a  final  Kiaksargey  This  is  probably  nothing 
more  than  a  popular  etymology.  Derivations  of  names  are  often 
arrived  at  in  this  way,  with  some  imaginary  happening  or  otherwise 
to  give  it  weight,  but  without  a  single  grain  of  truth.  The  late 
J.  HammoDd  Truiiibti]l»  however,  in  his  "Indian  Geographical  Names," 
gives  a  more  acceptable  etymology  and  derivation*  viz. :  "Kmnarge, 
the  modem  name  of  two  well-known  monntains  in  New  Hampshire^ 
disguises  kswass-adcku,  'pine  mountain/  On  Holland's  map,  pub- 
lished in  1784,  the  southern  Kearsarge  (in  Merrimack  County)  is 
marked  *KyarSa^  motmtain;  by  the  Indian  Ccwisseutasckook* 
(W.  P.  Goodwin,  in  «Hbtorical  Magazine,'  vol  ix.  p^  28.)  In  this 
form — which  the  terminal  ok  {forokJke,  arnkt,  land)  shows  it  to  belong 
to  the  regbn,  not  exclusively  to  the  mountain  itself — the  analysis 
becomes  more  easy.  The  meaning  of  the  adjectival,  is  perhaps  not 
so  certain.  Kswa  (Abn.  JCS^,  *a  pine  tree^'  with  its  diminutive 
Kswasse,  is  a  derivative,  —  from  a  root  which  means '  sharp,' '  pointed.' 
It  is  possible  that  in  this  synthesis  the  root  preserves  its  primaiy 
signification,  and  that  'Kearsarge'  is  the  pointed  or  peaked  moun- 
tain." 

Tacofdc  Mountains  {Tachkanick^  1685)  are  on  the  eastern  border 
of  Columbia  County,  N.  Y.»and  the  west  border  of  Litchfield  County, 
Conn.    The  late  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  remarked  ("  Indian  Names 

in  Conn  ,"  p.  70)  :  "That  of  a  dozen  or  more  probable  interpreta- 
tions I  cannot  affirm  that  any  is  certainly  right.  The  least  objection- 
able is  'forest,*  or  'wilderness,'  the  Delaware /^zr^/iw/^r;/,  which  Zeis- 
berger  translates  by  'woody,'  full  of  woods,  from  tokonc,  'the  woods.' 
A  sketch  of  Shekomeko,  drawn  by  a  Moravian  missionary  in  1745, 
shows  in  the  distance  eastward  a  mountain  summit,  marked  Ktak- 
anatshau,  '  the  big  mountain  '  ("  Morav.  Memorials  in  N.  Y.  and 
Conn.,"  p.  62) ;  a  name  which  resolves  itself  into  Kct-iakouc-adchu,  'a 
great  woody-mountain,'  i.  e.  great  Taconic  mountain."  Trumbull  was 
undoubtedly  correct  as  far  as  he  went,  but  the  name  in  its  simple  form 
was  not  bestowed  upon  the  mountain,  but  on  a  tract  of  land.  This 
fact  is  readily  proven  by  all  the  early  papers  relating  to  the  "  Living- 
ston Manor  Patents,"  as  the  grants  given  in  1684  were  called.  The 
petition  to  Governor  Dongan,  in  1685,  by  Robert  Livingston,  says : 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


A  Igonquum  Names  of  Some  MaunUdns  mtd  Hills.  177 


"  A  peece  of  Land  ♦  *  *  called  by  the  Indians  Tachkanick,  about 
3cx>  acres,  which  in  time  might  proove  a  convenient  settlement'.** 
The  patent  as  granted  calls  it  a  "  parcell  of  land  called  Tachkanick." 
On  the  map  of  Livingston  Manor,  by  John  Beatty,  surveyor,  the  tract 
lies  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  to  which  the  name  is  transferred. 
("  Doct.  Hist.  N.  Y.,"  pp.  617,  671.)  In  the  Delaware,  tachan  signifies 
"  wood,"  or  "  woods."  On  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  Tackan  was  the  name 
of  an  uninhabited  tract  in  1704  In  the  Mass,  and  L.  I.  -konuk, 
'kanicky  or  -konit,  denotes  "a  field,"  or  "a  plantation."  On  Long 
Island  Pehik-konik  survives  as  Teconic,  "the  little  plantation."  As 
Tachkanick,  on  Beatty's  survey,  is  a  tract  of  land  surrounded  by 
woods,  it  can  be  correctly  interpreted  "the  forest  plantation,"  or 
"field  in  the  woods/'  "  a  woody  field/*  from  thence  transferred  to  the 
mountains  without  regard  for  the  application. 

WooHSoekft  now  designates  a  famous  manufacturing  city  in  Rhode 
Island  at  the  falls  of  the  Blackstone  River.  In  the  early  days,  how- 
ever,  it  named  a  hill  still  so  called,  lying  about  two  miles  southwest  of 
the  city.  This  hill,  rising  370  feet,  is  the  highest  elevation  in  the 
state;  The  late  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  some  years  ago^  derived  the 
name  from  the  Narragansett  tt^WMtf »,  "to  go  downwards,"  wanm- 
suangamt,  "a  diff,"  **a  down-going  j^e;'*  thus  arriving  at  a  sjrn- 
thesis  of  waumsaukett  '<at  the  descent,"  or  *' below  the  falls  "  and 
assigning  the  name  to  the  falls  on  the  river,  at  the  city.  This  is  evi- 
dently a  wrong  etymology,  as  well  as  an  erroneous  application.  The 
early  records  of  Rhode  Island,  from  1682  to  1736,  show  conclusively 
that  the  name  was  invariably  applied  to  the  hill  and  the  land  there- 
abouts. It  did  not  designate  the  falls  until  the  latter  year,  and  then 
only  because  the  falls  were  then  included  in  the  lands  known  as 
Wamsauket,  as  the  name  was  spdled  with  few  slight  variations.  An- 
other derivation  was  offered  previously,  in  1846,  by  S.  C.  Newman, 
who  published  a  book  about  the  city.  His  etymology  was  Woone, 
"thunder/'  -suckete,  "mist  ;"  hence  Woonesuckctc,  "a  place  of  thun- 
der mist."  This  interpretation  was  quite  near,  but  his  etymology 
is  all  wrong,  as  there  are  no  words  with  such  a  meaning  in  any  Al- 
gonquian  vocabulary.  Professor  Henry  Gannett  ("  The  Origin  of 
Certain  Place  Names,"  U.  S.  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
No.  197)  gives  the  name  also  to  a  town  in  South  Dakota,  and  the 
meaning,  "a  place  of  mist."  This,  however,  is  from  our  own  ety- 
molog}%  as  suggested  to  Mr.  Clarence  S,  Brigham,  librarian  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  in  March,  1900,  who  gave  it  to  Mr. 
Gannett.  Mr.  George  T.  Payne  of  Providence,  the  publisher  of  the 
Narragansett  Club  edition  of  Roger  Williams's  Key,  about  the  same 
time,  suggested  to  Mr.  Brigham  that  it  had  lost  an  initial  syllable. 
Our  determination  was  that  tuanis-  was  an  abbreviation  of  the  Mass. 


.  J       Ly  Google 


youmalof  American  FoU^Lore. 


ouwan,  "  fog,  mist,  vapor,"  from  Abn.  (Rasle),  asams,  "  brouillard." 
The  cognate  terra  is  quite  uniform  in  all  dialects,  viz. :  Cree  (La- 
combe) ;  Nipissing  (Cuoq) ;  Otchipwe  (Baraga),  awan ;  Delaware 
(Zdsberger),  awonn,  etc  This  -Mtk^i  gives  us  Omvmtis-amk^  *'  a 
place  of  mist/'  or,  as  Roger  Williams  would  have  written  it, '*the 
country  ol  mist"  There  is  a  pond  on  the  hill,  and  the  mists  arising 
from  this  pond  morning  and  night  probably  gave  rise  to  the  name; 

The  mitt  In  witfatr'd  wictfiu  and  twirls 
l8  blown  before  the  bceeie  which  curis 
Up  from  the  shiniqg  under  worlds. 

(Nesmitfa.) 

Neutakonkanut  is  the  name  of  a  hill  in  Johnston,  R.  I.,  some  296 
feet  in  height.  The  name  first  appears  on  the  deed  of  the  Sachems 

Canonicus  and  Miantonomi,  to  Roger  Williams,  dated  March  24,  1638, 
for  the  Providence  Plantations,  and  for  that  historicalfactit  is  <tf  great 
interest.  The  deed  reads :  "  Ye  great  hill  of  Notaquonekanet  on  ye 
norwest."  This  name  was  evidently  bestowed  at  the  time  of  sale, 
and  a  clew  to  its  meaning  is  found  in  a  letter  from  Roger  Williams  to 
John  Whipple,  which  reads  :  "  The  Sachems  and  I  were  hurried  (by 
ye  envie  of  some  against  myselfe)  to  those  short  bounds  by  reason  of 
ye  Indians  then  at  ?Jashapog,  Notakunkanet  and  Pawtucket,  beyond 
whom  the  Sachems  would  not  then  goc,"  etc.  The  words  "  short 
bounds  "  furnished  the  clue  to  its  meaning,  as  well  as  a  free  trans- 
lation of  tlie  term.  Nota^  *'  short,"  finds  its  cognate  in  the  Cree 
(Howse)  notd,  "short,"  (Lacombe)  notti^  "insufficient,"  Micmac 
(Rand)  noot  "scant,"  Otchipwe  (Baraga)  nofid/,  "deficient,"  Dela- 
ware (Zeisbergcr)  nund^^  *'  to  fail,"  Massachusetts  (Cotton)  nofd, 
"scant,"  Narragansett  (Williams)  twfd,  "short,"  —  the  adjectival 
being  constant  in  all  dialects.  The  second  component,  -kunkan,  is 
the  main  stem  of  the  Massachusetts  kuJikonkatiy  "a  boundary,  bound," 
literally,  to  come  upon,  which  with  the  locative  or -r/,  gives  us 
the  synthesis  of  Notd-konkan-et,  "at  the  short  or  scant  boundary." 
The  reasons  why  so  named  are  historical  and  are  found  in  Wil- 
liams's letter,  and  the  scantling  mentioned  in  the  "  Plea  of  the  Pe- 
tuxet  Purchasers,  and  a  history  of  the  first  deed  "  (R.  I.  Hist  Soa 
Pub.  vol  i  p.  193),  viz. :  *'Thiis  to  say  that  a  line  is  to  be  drawn  from 
Petttcket  fields  to  NewtaquiHkanit  Hill,  &  so  to  Mashapauge,  all 
the  land  will  be  contained  in  an  absolute  angle  of  this  following 
scantling  :  the  line  from  petucket  to  the  said  hill  we  have  run  and  it 
doth  not  take  into  the  Town  (so  run)  not  the  twentieth  part  of  said 
rivers."  Mr.  Henry  C.  Dorr,  in  his  "Providence  Proprietors  and 
Freeholders"  (Pub.  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.  vol.  il  p.  150),  says:  "William 
Harris,  with  greater  forecast  than  his  neighbors,  saw  at  once  that  the 
lands  within  the  bounds  of  the  Indian  purchase  were  insufficient  for 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


A  Igonquian  Names  of  Some  Mouniams  and  HUh,   1 79 


an  English  plantation.  Canonicus  was  willing  to  give  a  larger  tract, 
but  the  inferior  Sachems  in  the  neighborhood  of  Providence  made 
such  a  clamor  that  the  gift  was  curtailed  as  in  the  memorandum."' 

There  are  other  Rhode  Island  hills  which  take  their  names  from 
being  boundary  places.  Some  of  these  contain  the  same  substanti- 
val ;  for  instance,  Suckatunkantdck,  a  mile  or  two  west  of  Ncutakon- 
kannt,  and  ranging  nearly  parallel  with  it,  signifies  "a  black-bound," 
from  suckau,  "black  or  dark-colored."  The  hill,  we  understand,  is 
sometimes  called  "  the  black  hill "  in  the  early  records.  Another 
hill,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Charlestown,  bears  the  name  Che- 
munkamtck,  applied  to  a  pond  in  close  proximity.  This  term  desig- 
nates ''a  spring  "  {=ashufn),  " boumkiy  ^tace," 

Thus  the  interpretation  of  Amerindian  names  corrohorates  the 
early  records,  and  adds  their  quota  to  the  historical  facts  adduced 
therefrom. 

mUiam  WaUaee  Tooker. 
Sag  Hakbob,  L.  I,  * 

1  Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  prefix  of  this 
name  nota  is  the  Nanaogansett  term  for  *'  fire."   This  was  also  onropinion  when 

the  study  of  the  name  was  first  begun;  but  owinq:  to  the  preponderance  of  proof 
in  favor  of  our  present  interpretation  we  were  compelled  to  discard  it.  However, 
if  any  proof  can  be  brought  forward  sufficient  to  change  our  opinion,  we  would  be 
willing  to  accept  the  same.  We  do  not  consider  it  liicdy  that  it  will  be  done. 

W.  W.  T. 


^      TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SARCEE  INDIANS. 
«  • 

L 

The  Sarcee  Indians  of  Alberta,  N.  W.  T.,  Canada,  claim  to  have 
belonged  at  one  time  tt»  the  Beaver  Indkni^  but  that  they  were  sep- 
arated from  them  through  the  following  incident,  which  was  recently 
related  to  the  writer : — 

A  long  time  ago  (no  one  of  us  now  knows  when)  the  Beaver  tribe 
to  which  our  great-grandfathera  belonged  lived  in  the  cold  country, 
and  one  day  vdien  the  tribe  was  crossing  a  big  froaen  lake  a  boy 
noticed  an  dk's  horns  projecting  through  the  ice,  and  he  asked  his 
mother  to  cut  the  home  off  for  him.  This  she  started  to  do  with  a 
stone  axe,  and  when  she  struck  the  first  blow  there  was  a  splashing 
noise  in  the  water  beneath  the  ice  which  was  found  to  have  been 
made  by  a  live  elk. 

All  ol  the  tribe  had  gathered  around  this  spot  to  watch  the  elk 
endeavor  to  free  himself,  which  he  at  last  did  by  breaking  the  ice. 

Many  of  the  tribe  were  drowned,  though  a  great  many  were  saved 
by  the  ice  floating  toward  the  south  with  them  on  it,  and  a  great  num- 
ber  were  left  upon  the  other  portion  of  the  ice  which  remained 

Those  on  the  ice  which  floated  to  the  south  were  the  first  of  the 
Sarcees. 

II. 

Once  on  a  time  two  young  men  from  above  visited  the  people  of 
the  earth.  Two  sisters,  daughters  of  a  chief,  fell  in  love  with  the 
young  men  and  wanted  to  marry  them,  but  the  people  desired  that 
the  sisters  marry  two  bright  stars  above,  which  they  refused  to  do ; 
so  the  two  young  men  were  murdered  by  the  people,  which  vexed 
the  Creator,  and  to  punish  the  people  of  the  earth  he  caused  the 
water  to  rise  and  to  drown  all  of  them,  save  one  old  man,  who  saved 
himself  by  building  a  raft,  on  which  he  gathered  all  the  animals  and 
birds. 

After  many  days,  when  the  water  had  risen  very  high,  the  old  man 
became  lonesome  and  wanted  to  see  land  again,  so  he  sent  various 
diving  animals  down  in  the  water  to  bring  up  some  earth  from  the 
bottom,  but  as  each  rose  to  the  surface  the  old  man  saw  that  they 
were  drowned.  He  examined  the  paws  of  each  to  see  if  they  had  any 
earth,  but  he  found  none  until  he  came  to  the  last  animal  that  had 
been  sent  down.  This  was  the  muskrat,  in  whose  paws  was  some 
earth,  which  the  old  man  took  and  rubbed  between  his  hands,  then 
blew  upon  it  to  increase  its  size  ;  and  after  it  had  increased  to  such 
an  extent  that  when  the  ringed-neck  plover  was  sent  around  it  and 
returned  old  and  tired,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  sent  again,  the  old  man 


Traditimu  of  Uie  Smnii  Indians.  i8i 

way  satisfied  with  the  size  of  the  world  ;  so  he  then  began  to  make 
rivers,  to  plant  trees,  and  to  distribute  the  animals  he  had  saved. 

III. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  woman  who  used  to  go  into  the 
bush  to  gather  firewood,  and  her  husband  always  noticed  that  on  her 
return  from  gathering  the  wood  her  shoulders  were  covered  with 
dirt. 

He  asked  her  the  cause  of  it,  and  as  she  did  not  give  him  a  satis- 
factory explanation  he  determined  to  follow  her  the  next  time  she 
went  for  wood.  He  did  so,  and  saw  her  on  her  hands  and  knees  and 
a  bear  on  top  of  her  with  its  forepaws  on  her  shoulders,  and  having 
cofwecdon  with  her. 

The  husband  killed  the  bear  and  gave  it  to  his  wife  to  skin,  which 
she  did,  and  after  having  dressed  the  skin  she  kept  it 

A  short  time  afterward  the  woman  gave  birth  to  two  bear  boys 
who^  when  large  enough,  used  to  play  with  other  children  of  the  tribe. 
Frequently  they  killed  and  devoured  their  playmatesi  for  which  the 
bear  boys  were  killed. 

The  mother  of  the  bear  boys  had  six  brothers  who  were  away  at 
war  when  the  bear  boys  were  bom  and  killed ;  she  also  had  a  younger 
sister  who  was  married  to  the  same  man  that  she  was. 

When  the  bear  boys  were  killed  the  mother  took  the  bear-skin 
and  covered  herself  with  it  and  was  at  once  turned  into  a  bear,  but 
before  doing  so  she  told  the  sister  to  get  the  most  savage  dog  in 
camp  and  keep  it  with  her  all  the  time  for  protection.  The  bear 
lulled  every  one  in  camp  but  her  sister,  and  it  went  to  the  younger 
sbter,  but  the  dog  barked  and  kept  the  bear  away. 

The  six  brothers  soon  returned  home  from  war,  and  were  greatly 
surprised  to  find  but  one  tipi  and  no  one  about;  but  on  going  to  the 
spring  for  water  they  found  the  dog  guarding  the  younger  sister,  who 
told  her  brothers  all  that  happened. 

One  of  the  brothers  told  the  younger  sister  to  ascertain  the  tencler- 
est  spot  of  the  bear  sister,  and  later  on  the  younger  sister  informed 
her  brothers  that  the  soles  of  the  bear  sister's  paws  were  the  tender- 
est  'spots  ;  so  the  brothers  sharpened  sticks  and  put  them,  points  up, 
in  the  ground  outside  the  bear  sister's  tipi,  and  then  hid  themselves 
and  watched  for  the  bear  sister  to  come  out. 

During  that  night  the  bear  sister  called  out  to  her  younger  sister 
to  get  up  and  make  a  fire,  but  the  younger  sister  threw  her  voice 
inside  the  tipi  near  a  lop;  and  told  her  bear  sister  to  get  up  and  make 
the  fire  herself,  which  so  angered  the  bear  sister  that  she  sprang 
over  to  where  she  thought  her  sister  was  and  found  only  a  log*;  the 
bear  sister  then  ran  out  of  the  tipi,  and  just  outside  the  door  the  bear 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


1 82  ycumal  of  Ammcan  FolhJLon* 

sister  stepped  upon  the  pointed  sticks,  which  held  her  so  tight  that 
the  six  brothers  and  the  younger  sister  made  a  fire  around  the  bear 
sister  to  burn  her,  but  she  managed  to  get  loose  and  pursued  her 
brothers,  the  younger  sister,  and  the  dog.  When  the  bear  sister  was 
gaining  on  them,  one  of  the  brothers  told  the  others  to  shut  their 
eyes  and  they  would  be  taken  up  above:  They  did  so  and  were  taken 
up  above,  and  now  the  six  brothers  and  the  younger  sister  form  the 
star  of  the  dipper,  and  the  dog  the  little  star  near  the  dipper. 

When  the  bear  sister  saw  them  rising  she  stopped  and  cried,  and 
was  turned  to  a  large  rock. 

Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago. 


L-iyiii^cu  Uy  Google 


Some  Mohegan-Pequot  Legends*  183 


SOME  MOHEGAN-PEQUOT  LEGENDS. 

The  accompanying  are  some  of  the  stories  that  are  told  at  the  fire- 
sides of  the  Mohegan-Pequot  Indians  still  remaining  in  the  State  of 
Connecticut.  As  usual  with  such  people,  the  talcs  are  frequently  to 
be  heard  in  the  winter  months,  when  there  is  little  to  be  done  out 
of  doors,  and  the  time  is  consumed  in  making  baskets,  brooms,  axe- 
helves,  and  bows  for  sale  among  the  whites.  The  approach  of  winter 
with  its  comparative  idleness  brings  to  these  people  an  awakening  of 
their  Indian  blood,  which  results  in  dancing,  to  the  music  of  "fiddle 
and  tom-tom,"  and  in  story-telling,  to  enliven  the  long  winter  even- 
ings. Of  course  the  tales  show  certain  elements  borrowed  from  the 
whites,  but  as  the  tribe  is  of  about  fifty  per  cent  Indian  blood,  we 
might  say  that  their  traditions  contain  the  same  amowit  of  native 
matter.  In  speaking  of  the  first  story  it  is  needless  to  do  more  than 
mention  the  exceedingly  general  nature  of  the  incident ;  slightly  va- 
liant versions  of  it  have  been  found  throughout  the  continent. 

A  more  detailed  account  of  the  Mohegan-Pequotsmay  be  found  in 
the  "American  Anthropologist "  (vol  v.  pp.  193-212)  by  J.  Dyneley 
Prince,  Ph.  D.,  and  F.G.  Speck,  and  the  writer  published  a  more  t3rp- 
ically  indigenous  Chahnameed  legend  in  the  Journal  of  American 
Folk-Lore  (voL  xvl  No.  hdl  pp.  104-107,  to  which  was  added  a  phi* 
lological  analysis  of  the  word  '*  Chahnameed  "  by  Professor  Prince. 
William  Jones  has  suggested  that  **  Chahnameed  may  be  analogous 
to  the  Sauk  and  Fox  "kl  amo  waV  "one  who  goes  about  eating 
(people)." 

CHAHNAMEED,  THE  GLUTTON. 
He  Wins  the  Eating  Match. 

Chahnameed  and  another  man  had  a  dispute.  Each  said  that  he 
could  cat  more  than  the  other,  so  it  was  soon  decided  to  hold  a  con- 
test. But  before  the  time  came,  Chahnameed  went  home  and  got  a 
large  bag.  He  fastened  it  under  his  coat  with  the  opening  near  his 
throat  so  that  he  could  pour  food  into  it  He  wanted  to  deceive  them» 
so  he  did  it  well 

Now  they  held  the  contest  A  barrel  of  soup  was  brought,  and 
the  two  began  to  eat  It  was  only  that  other  man  who  at^  because 
Chahnameed  was  reaUy  stuffing  the  soup  into  the  bag.  But  the 
people  did  not  know  that  He  was  fooling  them.  Now  the  other 
man  could  eat  no  more.  He  had  to  give  up.  But  Chahnameed 
laughed  and  said 

"  Come  on  I  Don't  stop  I  I  am  not  full  yet" 

All  the  people  laughed,  but  they  did  not  know  why.  Soon  even 
Chahnameed  stopped.   The  bag  was  nearly  full 

"  Now  I  wUl  show  you.   Give  me  that  knife,"  said  Chahnameed. 


1S4  youmal  0/  American  Folk-Lore. 

**  Will  you  do  what  I  do? "  he  asked  the  other  man. 

Then  he  made  ready  to  stick  the  knife  they  gave  him  into  his 
stomach.  But  he  wotdd  only  stick  it  into  the  bag.  The  people 
did  not  know  that  The  other  man  was  beaten,  but  now  he  said  that 
he  would  do  what  Chahnaroeed  did.  Then  Chahnameed  stabbed 
the  bag  where  his  stomach  was.  And  the  soup  ran  out  Everybody 
thought  that  he  really  stabbed  himself,  but  Chahnameed  laughed  at 
them  all   Then  the  other  man  stabbed  his  stomach.  But  he  died. 

CUAHNAMEBD  SQUEEZES  THE  STONE. 

Once  there  was  a  man  who  thought  he  knew  more  tricks  than 
Chahnameed.    He  told  him  so.    Now  Chahnameed  said:— 
**  Can  you  squeeze  water  out  of  a  stone  ? " 

And  taking  a  piece  of  curd  with  him  he  began  to  climb  a  tree. 
Every  one  thouf:jht  that  he  had  a  stone  in  his  hand,  but  he  did  n't. 
The  purds  looked  just  like  a  white  stone.  When  he  got  to  the  top  of 
the  tree  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and  squeezed.  Water  dripped  from 
the  curds  and  fell  down  on  the  ground.  All  the  time  the  people 
thought  that  he  was  squeezing  water  out  of  a  Stone.  Then  he  came 
down.    The  other  man  was  there. 

"Well !  Do  that  now,"  said  Chahnameed. 

And  the  other  man  picked  up  a  stone  that  was  lying  near  by 
and  started  up  the  tree.  When  he  got  to  the  top  he  held  out  his 
hand  and  squeezed  the  stone.  But  no  water  came.  Then  he  squeezed 
harder,  and  soon  he  scjueezed  so  hard  that  the  sharp  edf^es  of  the 
stone  cut  his  hand  until  it  bled.  He  had  to  come  down.  That  made 
the  people  more  afraid  of  Chahnameed  than  ever. 

WHT  LOVERS  SBOULD  MSVER  BECOME  JEAMJOVS, 

A  young  Mobegan  man  and  girl  were  very  much  in  love  with  each 
other.   The  older  people  would  say, — 

''Ah,  k*numshnil   Look  at  that  I  They  are  very  happy." 

One  day  the  young  man  shot  a  deer.  He  brought  it  to  his  loved 
one  and  laid  it  in  her  house.  Now  he  suddenly  became  jealous. 
Well,  the  reason  is  not  known.  Then  he  seized  the  horns  of  Uie  deer 
and  rushed  up  to  her.   He  pressed  them  upon  her  forehead. 

Now  they  grew  there,  and  no  one  could  get  thera  off  her  head. 
They  were  going  to  grow  right  through  the  top  ol  the  wigwam. 
So  her  family  became  veiy  anzioua.  Then  they  sent  for  the  shaman. 
He  brought  a  magic  oil  and  rubbed  it  on  the  joints  of  the  horns. 
^       Soon  these  joints  begsm  to  crack,  and  then  they  dropped  off. 

The  young  man  went  away  firom  that  town,  but  never  came  back. 
The  girl's  head  was  all  right 

Framk  G.  ^eek* 

Columbia  University,  N.  Y. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Myikology  of  tkg  Mission  Indians, 


185 


^YTHOLOGY  OF  THE  MISSION  INDIANS. 

Tbe  following  creation  myth  is  that  of  the  San  Luiseftoa,  and  was 

translated  from  tbe  Spanish  as  related  by  an  old  man  of  La  Jolla 

Indian  reservation  by  Maiy  C  B.  Watkins. 

« 

In  the  beginning  Ti&<o-mish  (night)  and  Ta-n6-wi8h  (earth)  sat 
crouching,  brooding;  silent  Then  Td-co-mish  said,  *<  I  am  older  than 
you."  Tapn6-wish  said,  *'  No^  I  am  stronger  than  you."  So  they  dis> 
puted.  Then  Td^mish  caused  Ta-n6-wish  to  go  to  sleep.  When 
she  woke  she  knew  that  something  had  happened,  and  that  she  was 
to  be  the  Mother.  She  said,  "  What  have  you  done  ? "  "  Nothing. 
You  have  slept"  "  No,"  she  said.  I  told  you  that  I  am  stronger 
(morally)  than  you." 

Soon  within  her  grew  all  things  and  she  sat  erect  and  round. 
Wy-6t  was  her  first  bom,  the  father  (in  a  care-taking  seilse)  of  all 
things.  The  grasses,  trees,  birds,  all  things  were  bom  of  Ta-n6-wish. 

Then  Evil,  T<S-wish,  wished  to  be  born.  He  tried  to  escape  by 
the  ears,  eyes,  and  nose,  but  at  last  passed  from  the  mouth  with  a 
t-s-i-z  (hissing  Doise).  He  is  nothing  but  spirit  He  has  no  form 
whatsoever. 

Ta-quish  is  a  ball  of  light,  and  is  a  witch.    He  was  the  third  son. 

The  frog  was  beautifully  made,  white  and  red,  with  great  eyes. 
Wy-<5t  said,  "  Oh,  my  daughter,  you  are  so  beautiful."  But  her  lower 
limbs  were  thin  and  ugly.  When  she  saw  men  walk  she  was  jealous, 
and  hated  Wy-6t,  cursing  him  with  terrible  words. 

Then  Wy-6t  said,  "  In  ten  months  I  shall  die.  When  the  great 
star  rises  and  the  grass  is  high,  I  shall  go."  (Here  the  narrator 
named  all  the  large  stars,  counting  ten  months  in  that  way.)  Wy-6t 
said  to  his  people,  "  You  have  never  killed  anything ;  now  you  may 
kill  the  deer.  Make  an  awl,  gather  shoots  of  bushes  and  grasses  and 
make  a  basket  to  contain  my  ashes."  Then  he  taught  them  how  to 
make  baskets,  redas,  ollas,  and  all  their  arts.  He  died  in  the  spring 
(May). 

They  burned  hk  body,  but  his  spirit  became  the  moon.  His  ashes 
were  placed  in  a  long  basket,  and  for  this  reason  they  pass  the  basket 
in  front  of  the  chief  dancer  and  mourn.  They  sing  "  Wy-6t,  Wy-<St," 
nine  times*  then  "Ne-ydnga  (My  head)  Ne^chiya,  tomive." 

The  dances  were  to  please  the  moon  and  prevent  his  waning. 

Another  old  man  of  the  San  Luiseftos  gave  his  version  of  the  stoiy 
in  a  different  way. 

THE  DEATH  OF  WY<^T* 

Wy^St  went  every  day  to  a  dear,  cold  spring,  so  large  (spreading 
voL.zvn.-*Ha66i.  13 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


1 86  youmcU  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

his  arms).  The  frog  saw  him  day  after  day  and  hated  him  more, 
though  Wy-<St  always  saluted  him  kindly.  One  day  the  frog»  Wa* 
hi-wut,  said»  <*  I  will  spit  in  the  water  and  curse  him  because  he  made 
my  legs  so  miserably."  So  he  spit  three  times  in  the  water.  Then 
Wy-6t  became  sick,  and  in  ten  months,  counted  by  the  rising  of  the 
brightest  stars,  he  died.  He  gave  them  wise  laws  and  taught  them 
all  their  arts.  Before  his  death  he  said,  "  From  my  ashes  shall  spring 
the  most  precious  gift  to  all  my  children." 

Then  the  oak-tree  grew  from  his  ashes.  Very  fast  it  grew,  very 
lovely,  with  acorns  hanging  like  apples  so  thick  and  fine.  All  the 
birds  and  animals  and  men  watched  it  day  and  night  that  not  a  seed 
should  be  lost 

Then  after  a  while  the  acorns  were  ripe.  The  men  said  to  the  crow, 
*'  Go  to  the  large  star  (possibly  Vega)  and  find  Wy-<5t." 

The  crow  flew  high  and  higher,  but  returned.  The  eagle  was  sent, 
but  without  result   All  the  birds  were  sent   No  one  could  find 

Wy-6t. 

Then  the  hummingbird  went  hke  the  arrow  from  the  strong  man's 
bow.  After  days  of  waiting  he  returned  with  this  message  from 
Wy-<5t :  "  Eat  of  the  seeds  of  my  tree,  all  birds  and  animals.  Men 
must  make  flour  out  of  them,  and  make  little  cakes."  So  all  men 
were  glad  and  made  the  fiesta  of  the  bellota  (acorn,  still  used  by  the 
Mission  Indians  for  food). 

This  myth  of  the  San  Luiseftos  is  doubly  important  at  present 
when,  for  the  first  time  since  pioneer  days,  attention  is  directed  to 
the  folk-lore  of  the  Mission  Indians. 

In  the  first  place  it  corrects  an  error  in  my  translation  of  the  my- 
thology of  the  Diegueiios,  as  published  in  the  Journal  of  American 
Folk- Lore. 

In  old  Cinon  Duro's  version  of  the  myth  there  was  a  confusion  in 
his  account  of  the  frog's  action  as  producing  the  death  of  ihe  hero- 
god  (Tu-chai-pai).  By  a  mistake  in  pronouns  it  was  made  to  appear 
that  the  frog  by  poisoning  the  water  brought  about  his  own  death  as 
well  as  that  of  Tu-chai-paL  The  sentence  on  page  183  of  the  Journal 
of  American  Folk-Lore.  voL  ziv.  Na  liv.  should  read  as  corrected, 
'*  By  that  time  the  frog  had  planned  a  wrong  deed ;  he  meant  to 
exude  poison  into  the  water  that  Tu-chai-pai  might  swallow  it  and 
die." 

In  the  second  place,  and  especially,  this  San  Luisefio  version  ol 
the  myth  is  valuable  as  proving  its  primitive  character,  and  its 
freedom  from  what  might  be  imagined  to  be  traces  of  Christian  in* 
fluence  in  the  account  of  the  death  of  a  hero'god.  Father  Boscana, 
an  early  Franciscan  misstonaiy,  with  a  breadth  of  mind  unfortu- 


Digitized  by  Google 


Mythology  of  the  Mission  Iftdians.  187 

nately  lacking  in  most  of  his  co-workers,  transcribed  and  recorded  as 
of  interest  and  value  the  primitive  myths  current  among  the  Indians 
when  he  first  went  among  them. 

"Father  Geronimo  Boscana,"  says  Bancroft,  "gives  us  the  follow- 
ing relation  of  the  faith  and  worship  of  the  Agagchemem  nations  in 
the  valley  and  neighborhood  of  San  Capistrano.  We  give  first  the 
version  held  by  the  highlanders  of  the  interior  country  three  or  f  our 
le agues  inland  from  San  Juan  Capistrano." 

And  it  is  this  version  which  is  still  preserved  in  the  Dieguefto  and 
San  Luiseflo  myths  which  I  have  given,  as  told  by  Indians  dwelting 
in  the  highlands  within  twelve  miles  of  each  other,  and  almost  in  a 
direct  line  hack  sixty  miles  or  so  from  San  Juan  Capistrano  on  the 
coast 

As  Boscana's  story  is  important  in  itself  and  for  comparison,  I 
quote  part  of  it  herewith.  It  is  interesting  to  note  its  similarity 
even  as  to  the  name  of  the  hero-god,  with  the  San  Luiseflo  story. 

"  Before  the  material  world  at  all  existed  there  lived  two  beings, 
brother  and  sister,  of  a  nature  that  cannot  be  explained,  the  brother 
living  above  and  his  name  signifying  the  heavens,  and  the  sister  liv- 
ing  below  and  her  name  signifying  Earth.  From  the  union  of  these 
two  there  sprang  a  numerous  offspring.  Earth  and  sand  were  the 
first-fruits  of  this  marriag^e  ;  then  were  bom  rocks  and  stones  ;  then 
trees  both  great  and  small ;  then  grass  and  herbs ;  then  animals ; 
lastly  was  bom  a  great  personage  called  Ouiot,  who  was  a  great 
captain. 

"  By  some  unknown  mother  many  children  of  a  medicine  race  were 
born  to  this  Ouiot.  All  these  things  happened  in  the  north,  but  as 
the  people  multiplied , they  moved  toward  the  south,  the  earth  grow- 
ing larger  also,  and  extending  itself  in  the  same  direction. 

"  In  process  of  time,  Ouiot  growing  old,  his  children  plotted  to  kill 
him,  alleging  that  the  infirmities  of  age  made  him  unfit  to  govern 
them  or  attend  to  their  welfare.  So  they  put  a  strong  poison  in  his 
*  drink,  and  when  he  drank  of  it  a  sore  sickness  came  upon  him.  He 
rose  up  and  left  his  home  in  the  mountains  and  went  down  to  what 
is  now  the  seashore,  though  at  that  time  there  was  no  sea  there. 
His  mother,  whose  name  is  Earth,  mixed  him  an  antidote  in  a  large 
shell  and  set  it  out  in  the  sun  to  brew ;  but  the  fragrance  of  it  at- 
tracted the  Coyote,  who  came  and  overset  the  shell. 

**  So  Ouiot  sickened  to  death,  and  though  he  told  his  chOdren  that 
he  would  shortly  return  and  be  with  them  again,  he  has  never  been 
seen  since.  All  the  people  made  a  great  pile  of  wood  and  burned 
his  body  there,  and  just  as  the  ceremony  began,  the  Coyote  leaped 
upon  the  body  saying  that  he  would  bum  with  it ;  but  he  only  tore  a 
piece  of  flesh  from  the  stomach  and  escaped.  After  that  the  title  of 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


i88 


yoMwnai  of  Ammcan  Folk^Lon* 


the  Coyote  was  changed  from  Eyacque  which  means  Sub-Captain,  to 
Eno,  that  is  to  say,  Thief  and  Cannibal." 

From  the  time  of  Father  Boscana  to  the  present  day,  the  my- 
thology of  the  Indians  of  the  interior  of  southern  California  has  re- 
mained overlooked  and  unrecorded  ;  and  the  fact  that  there  still 
exist  fragments  of  primitive  myths  of  so  superior  a  character  should 
lead  the  exertions  of  scientists  in  this  direction,  since  all  that  is  of 
value  in  this  sort  is  hanging  on  a  thread  as  precarious  ai>  a  spider  s 
web,  and  will  perish  in  less  than  ten  years,  with  the  passing  of  the 
centenarians  who  still  cherish  as  sacred  the  heritage  of  myths  and 
legends  from  the  past 

Comtanci  GMard  Du  Bm. 

WAiBBBintY,  Comt. 


oiy  u^cj  uy  Google 


Eighth  Memoir  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  189 


EIGHTH  MEMOIR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 

SOCIETY. 

TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SKIDI  PAWNEE;  BY 
GEORGE  A.  DORSEY. 

Announcbment  has  already  been  made  of  the  Eighth  Memoir, 

containing  a  collection  of  Pawnee  tales,  begun  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  and  continued  with  the  aid  of  funds 
provided  by  the  Carnegie  Institution.  It  will  now  be  proper  to*  de- 
scribe the  character  of  the  material  presented  in  this  volume,  which 
will  probably  be  ready  for  delivery  to  subscribers  in  October. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  the  Skidi  make  one  of  the  four 
bands  of  the  Pawnee,  having  their  ancestral  home  in  Central  Ne- 
braska, where  they  supposed  man  to  have  been  created,  and  where  the 
remains  of  their  lodges  are  said  to  have  been  visible.  The  units  of 
their  social  system  were  formed  by  the  villages,  of  which  there  were 
nineteen,  united  by  a  presumed  tie  of  common  descent  with  heredi- 
tary chiefs ;  every  villager  being  taken  for  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
first  owner  of  the  sacred  "  bundle  "  which  had  been  divinely  bestowed 
on  his  particular  community.  To  each  bundle  belonged  a  myth,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  its  origin,  and  preserved  as  an  hereditary  treasure 
of  the  keeper  of  the  myth,  who  imagined  the  story  to  be  connected 
with  his  life,  in  such  manner  that  parting  with  the  record  had  a  ten- 
dency to  shorten  the  terra  of  his  earthly  days.  Though  ownership 
of  the  bundles  is  inherited,  knowledge  of  the  ritual  must  be  acquired 
through  a  long  education  extended  through  many  years,  and  involving 
ascent  from  grade  to  grade. 

Dr.  Dorsey  has  made  a  tentative  division  of  the  tales  into  several 
classes,  entitled  "Cosmogonic,"  "Boy  Heroes,"  "Medicine,"  "Ani- 
mal Tales,"  etc  Among  these,  especial  interest  attaches  to  the  cos- 
mogony. The  religion  of  the  Pawnee  has  a  marked  stellar  element 
It  is  the  stars  who  are  givers  of  the  holy  bundles  which  represent 
the  unity  of  the  several  villages,  and  it  is  according  to  the  order  of 
the  host  of  heaven  that  these  villages  form  their  encampment  when 
convened  for  a  great  cereniony.  When  the  time  arrives  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  rite^  the  priests  gather  in  the  lodge  proper,  and  the 
ritual  Is  sung  with  appropriate  offerings,  which  consist  usually  of 
smoke  or  food,  but  In  the  case  of  the  Evening  Star  Included  the  sac- 
rifice of  a  buffalo^  and  in  that  of  the  Morning  Star  the  ofiFering  of 
a  human  maiden.  These  rites  are  supposed  to  hav«  been  given  by 
deities  acting  as  revealers,  the  highest  position  bang  assigned  to  the 
£vening  and  Morning  Stars.  Above  th  ese,  as  the  chief  of  their  pan- 
theon, stands  Tirawa,  a  supreme  deity  of  whom  the  others  are  no  more 


Digitized  by  Google 


I90  youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

than  agents.  Nesct  in  order  of  importance  comes  the  Sttn,  the  father 
of  mankind,  who  ftimtshes  light,  the  fire  for  which  must  daily  be 
renewed  in  a  western  Paradise  belonging  to  the  Evening  Star.  The 
stellar  company  also  possesses  its  traitor  and  adversary  in  the  person 
of  a  Wolf-Star,  who  interferes  with  the  plans  of  the  immortals,  whom 
he  r^;ards  with  jealousy. 

While  the  stars  appear  as  chief  divinities,  yet  distinct  are  animal 
gods  of  the  earth,  in  four  lodges ;  these  also  have  their  councils, 
form  decisions  involving  human  fortunes,  initiate  into  their  mysteries 
favored  individuals,  and  are  peculiarly  patrons  of  the  medicine-man 
and  often  of  the  warrior. 

These  tales  do  not,  as  they  now  stand,  form  a  series  with  chrono- 
logical sequence,  connected  with  tribal  migrations,  and  eachibiting  a 
history  of  the  people,  such  as  Dr.  Washington  Matthews  has  been 
able  to  exhibit  in  the  case  of  the  Navaho;  but  they  present  elements 
which  a  system-maker  could  easily  convert  into  such  a  record.  The 
first  narrative,  called  the  "  Dispersion  of  the  Gods  and  the  First  Peo- 
ple," deals  with  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of  mankind.  We  cite  the 
introduction :  — 

"In  the  beginning  was  Tirawahut,  and  chief  in  Tirawahut  was 
Tirawa,  the  All  Powerful,  and  his  spouse  was  Atira.  Around  them 
sat  the  gods  in  council.  Then  Tirawa  told  them  where  they  should 
stand.    And  at  this  time  the  heavens  did  not  touch  the  earth. 

"  Tirawa  spoke  to  the  gods  and  said :  '  Each  of  you  gods  I  am  to 
station  in  the  heavens  ;  and  each  of  you  shall  receive  certain  powers 
from  me,  for  I  am  about  to  create  people  who  shall  be  like  myself. 
They  shall  be  under  your  care.  I  will  give  them  your  land  to  live 
upon,  and  with  your  assistance  they  shall  be  cared  for.  You  (point- 
ing to  Sakuru,  the  Sun)  shall  stand  in  the  east.  You  shall  give  light, 
and  warmth,  to  all  beings  and  to  earth.'  Turning  to  Pah  (Moon), 
Tirawa  said :  '  You  shall  stand  in  the  west  to  give  light  when  dark- 
ness comes  upon  the  earth.'  —  'Tcuperekata,  Bright-Star  (Evening- 
Star),  you  shall  stand  in  the  west.  You  shall  be  known  as  Mother  of 
all  things ;  for  through  you  all  beings  shall  be  created.'  Turning 
to  Operikata,  Great  Star  (Morning-Star),  Tirawa  said:  *You  shall 
stand  in  the  east.  You  shall  be  a  warrior.  Each  time  you  drive  the 
people  toward  the  west,  see  that  none  lag  behind/ ~  'You '  (pointing 
to  Karariwari,  Star-that-does-not-Move,  North-Star)  *shall  stand  in  the 
north.  You  shall  not  move ;  for  you  shall  be  the  chief  of  all  the  gods 
that  shall  be  placed  in  the  heavens,  and  you  shall  watch  over  them.' 
— '  You '  (pointing  to  another  star)  *  shall  stand  in  the  south.  You 
shall  be  seen  only  once  in  a  while,  at  a  certam  time  of  the  year.  You 
shall  be  known  as  the  Spirit-Star/  —  'You,  Black-Star,  shall  stand 
in  the  northeast  You  shall  be  known  as  the  Black-Star;  for  from 
you  shall  come  darkness,  night.' " 


Digitized  by  Google 


Eighth  Memoir  of  thi  American  Foih-Lore  Society .  191 

Tirawa  gives  powers  also  to  other  stars,  including  those  of  the 
northeast,  northwest,  etc.,  and  finally  assigns  to  the  Evening-Star 
functions  especially  important  "  Tirawa  then  turned  to  the  west 
and  said  to  13right-Star :  *  I  will  send  to  you  Clouds,  Wind,  Light- 
ning, and  Thunder.  When  you  have  received  these  gods,  place  them 
between  you  and  the  Garden.  When  tiiey  stand  by  the  Garden, 
they  shall  turn  into  human  beings.  They  shall  have  the  downy  feap 
ther  in  their  hair.  Each  shall  wear  the  buffalo  robe  for  his  covering. 
Each  shall  have  about  his  waist  a  lariat  of  buffalo  hair.  Each  also 
shall  wear  moccasins.  Each  of  them  shall  have  the  rattle  in  bis  right 
hand.  These  four  gods  shall  be  the  ones  who  will  create  all  things.' 

<*  Now  Tirawa  sent  these  gods  to  the  Bright-Star.  She  placed  them 
between  herself  and  her  garden.  Tirawa  looked,  and  he  was  pleased. 
Now  Tirawa  told  the  Bright-Star  that  he  was  ready  to  make  the 
earth ;  that  she  should  tell  the  gods  to  sing,  for  he  was  going  to  drop 
a  little  pebble.  So  these  gods  began  to  rattle  their  gourds  and  sing. 
As  this  was  done  the  Clouds  came  up.  The  Winds  blew  the  Clouds. 
The  Lightnings  and  Thunders  entered  the  Clouds.  The  Clouds 
were  placed  over  the  space,  and  as  the  Clouds  were  now  thick,  Tirawa 
dropped  a  pebble  into  them.  The  pebble  was  rolled  around  in  the 
Clouds.  When  the  storm  had  passed  over,  there  was  in  the  space 
all  water.  The  four  world  quarter  gods  who  still  sat  around  Tirawa 
were  now  given  war-clubs,  and  were  told  that  as  soon  as  they  touched 
waters  they  must  strike  them  with  their  clubs." 

The  earth,  which  has  grown  from  this  seed,  the  pebble  (believed 
to  be  a  quartz-crystal,  as  a  bright  and  suitable  origin),  is  now  divided 
from  the  waters  ;  by  the  influence  of  the  divine  song  the  land  is 
clothed  with  plants,  and  these  are  animated  by  the  Winds,  Rains, 
Lightninc^s,  and  Thunders  in  the  same  way  as  the  streams  of  water 
are  made  sweet,  and  the  seeds  to  sprout.  The  Evening  and  Morning 
Stars  come  together  and  have  a  girl,  the  Sun  and  Moon  a  boy. 

"  Now  the  time  had  come  for  the  female  child  to  be  put  upon  the 
earth.  So  Tirawa  spoke  to  Bright-Star  and  said  :  '  You  must  now 
place  the  girl  upon  the  clouds,  in  order  that  she  may  be  taken  and 
placed  upon  the  earth.'  So  Bright-Star  spoke  to  the  gods,  telling 
them  to  sing  about  making  the  storm.  As  the  Clouds  arose,  she 
took  her  little  girl,  and  jilaced  her  upon  the  Clouds.  As  the  old  men 
ratffed  their  gourds  and  sang  about  the  storm  travelling  downwards 
to  the  earth,  the  Clouds  moved  toward  the  earth.  The  storm  passed 
o.er  the  earth,  and  all  at  once  a  funnel-shaped  Cloud  touched  the 
jarth.  Hence  the  Pawnee  got  the  name '  Tcuraki/  or  Rain-Standing» 
the  name  for  the  girl" 

The  Moon,  similarly,  is  bidden  to  place  her  boy  on  the  earth,  and 
as  a  male^  he  receives  the  name  of  "  Closed^lld."  The  couple 


192  youmal  of  American  Folk'Lore* 

meet,  but  do  not  understand.  '*Tirawa  spoke  to  Bright-Star,  and 
said :  *TeU  the  four  gods  to  sing  about  putting  life  into  the  children.' 
So  the  Evening-Star  commanded  the  four  gods  to  sing,  and  send  the 
Winds,  Clouds,  Lightnings,  and  Thunders,  to  put  life  into  these 
children,  and  to  give  them  understanding.  As  the  four  gods  rattled 
their  gourds,  the  Winds  arose,  the  Clouds  came  up,  the  Lightnings 
entered  the  Cloud&  The  Thunders  also  entered  the  Clouds.  The 
Clouds  moved  down  upon  the  earth,  and  it  rained  upon  the  two 
children.  The  Lightnings  struck  about  them.  The  Thunders  roared. 
It  seemed  to  awaken  them.   They  understood. 

"  After  this,  they  lay  together.  After  many  months  a  child  was 
born  to  them.  When  the  child  was  born  they  seemed  to  understand 
all ;  that  they  must  labor  to  feed  the  child  and  to  clothe  him.  Before 
this  time  they  had  not  cared  anything  about  clothing  or  food,  nor 
for  shelter." 

Again  the  spirits  of  the  storm  whirl  about  the  lodge,  and  instruct 
the  woman  in  the  making  of  the  fireplace,  and  the  use  of  fire-sticks, 
taught  by  Litrhtning^,  Clothing  is  given  to  the  man,  and  he  is 
taught  how  to  name  the  animals.  During  his  heavenly  career,  his 
grandfather,  the  Sun,  holds  up  before  the  youth  the  divine  bow,  and 
the  youth  makes  in  imitation  his  own  weapons.  The  buffalo  are 
brought,  and  among  them  is  found  a  female  yellow  calf,  which  is 
holy  to  Tirawa  ;  the  heart  and  tongue  are  offered,  the  skin  removed, 
and  made  to  contain  the  sacred  objects  of  the  bundle,  including  an 
ear  of  corn,  skins  of  owls,  sweet  grass,  flint-stones,  and  paints ;  in 
vision  the  Evening-Star  communicates  the  proper  ritual. 

The  people  prosper  and  multiply,  but  find  that  they  are  not  alone 
on  the  earth,  seeing  that  other  stars,  at  the  bidding  of  Tirawa,  have 
made  separate  creations.  These  peoples  have  bundles,  but  do  not 
know  their  use ;  it  is  resolved,  therefore,  to  convene  a  great  gather- 
ing, and  perform  a  ceremony  in  imitation  of  Tirawa,  when  he  made 
earth  and  its  inhabitants.  The  various  bands  co^e  together,  and 
encamp  after  the  celestial  order  of  the  stars,  their ^TMpective  cre- 
ators and  patrons.  Under  the  direction  of  Closed^MSlk  the  first 
priest,  inspired  by  the  Evening-Star,  rites  are  held.  When  iH^  priest 
dies,  his  skull  is  placed  on  the  sacred  bundle,  so  that  his  spirit  may 
forever  be  present  with  the  Skidl  In  course  of  time  this  slw  is 
accidentally  broken,  and  by  divine  revdation  superseded  by  tfa^ol 
a  successor. 

This  origin  myth  is  accompanied  by  a  number  of  other  narrative^ 
which  supply  further  information  in  regard  to  primeval  history.  Thd 
second  story,  *'Lightnuig  visits  the  Earth,"  belongs  to  a  period  ' 
subsequent  to  the  separation  of  heaven  and  earth,  but  antedating 
the  introduction  of  mankind.  We  learn  that  it  was  at  first  designed 


Eighth  Memoir  of  the  Am^man  Folk-Lore  Society.  193 

that  the  terrestrial  race  should  be  immortal.  The  first  dwellers  of 
the  land  were  no  other  than  the  divine  stars  themselves,  whom  Light- 
ning brought  in  his  tomado-sack.  They  liked  the  scene  so  well 
that  they  were  disposed  to  remain,  and  earth  would  have  a  celea- 
tial  people,  had  it  not  heen  for  the  jealousy  of  one  particular  star* 
the  hefooUng  wolf,  who  undertoolc  to  steal  the  sack,  and  was  killed ; 
so  death  entered  the  world.  Lightning,  to  obviate  the  doom,  is  dis- 
posed to  make  a  sacrifice  (as  it  seems,  an  expiatory  offering)  of  a 
wolf,  but  the  attempt  fails,  and  a  land  of  the  dead  eadsts  in  the  south, 
whither  the  wolf  has  fled.  In  the  ritual  this  relation  is  indicated,  and 
the  bundles  are  turned  toward  the  south. 

Again,  another  scene  of  the  fragmentary  record  describes  a  strug- 
gle between  the  animal  gods  of  earth  and  the  stellar  deities,  in  which 
the  former  play  the  part  of  adversaries,  sending  a  dangerous  girl, 
who,  however,  is  rendered  innocuous. 

The  stories,  as  will  be  seen,  form  a  number  of  prose  epics,  not  as 
yet  brought  into  a  continuous  series.  Numerous  questions  occur. 
It  seems  evident  that  Christian  ideas  have  entered  into  the  my- 
thology, been  mingled  with  a  more  ancient  stratum  of  thought,  and 
elaborated  into  highly  poetic  creations.  The  material  not  having 
been  reduced  to  a  canon,  each  reciter  would  have  his  own  views  re- 
specting sequence  and  detail.  When  the  myths  of  the  remaining 
Pawnee  bands  are  made  public,  light  will  doubtless  be  thrown  on 
many  points  still  enigmatical. 

The  next  chss  of  tales  Dr.  Dorsey  has  grouped  under  the  title  of 
"Boy-Heroes."  The  theme  is,  that  a  poor  orphan,  neglected,  and, 
therefore  often  ugly  and  apparently  witless,  is  pitied  by  divine  be- 
ings, and  visited  in  trance  or  taken  to  their  lodge ;  he  receives 
magic  power,  by  means  of  which  he  is  enabled  to  distinguish  himself 
in  war  and  the  hunt ;  he  marries  a  chief's  daughter,  and  in  the  end 
becomes  himself  a  chief  and  leader  of  the  people.  As  an  example, 
we  may  cite  one  of  the  shorter  histories,  in  which  Lightning  (who 
has  already  appeared  as  a  mediator  between  men  and  deities)  is  the 
beneficent  and  inspiring  power. 

"A  long  time  ago  there  was  a  family  which  prospered  and  had  many 
children.  All  at  once  these  people  seemed  to  have  evil  fortune,  for 
the  father  and  mother  died,  and  the  boy  had  only  one  sister  left. 

"The  boy  was  poor.  He  left  his  sister  with  one  of  his  aunts  and 
wandered  over  the  country.  He  made  up  his  mind  that  if  there  was 
any  power  to  be  obtained  from  animals,  be  would  try  to  get  it  from 
them  by  making  himself  poor  in  heart  He  climbed  high  hills,  and 
cried  until  he  was  veiy  weak.  He  gave  up,  then  tried  along  rivers 
and  ponds,  but  there  were  no  signs  of  any  animals.  He  went  to  places 
where  he  understood  that  mysterious  human  beings  dwelt, — such  as 


.  ij  i^ucl  by  Google 


194  youmal  of  Annruan  Folk-Lore* 

scalpcd-men  and  wonderful  dwarfs.  These  mysterious  and  wonder- 
ful bein<;s  did  not  seem  to  care  for  him.  He  was  angry;  he  called 
the  gods  names ;  the  animals  he  called  hard  names. 

•*  One  day  he  climbed  a  high  hill  and  stayed  upon  the  top  for  many 
days.  As  the  boy  was  lying  down  he  beard  the  storm  coming  up. 
He  stood  upi  then  he  saw  dark  clouds  coming  over  him,  and  he  gave 
bad  names  to  the  storm,  rain,  lightning,  and  wind ;  for  he  bad  been 
wandering  over  the  land,  and  the  gods  in  the  heavens  had  refused  to 
listen  to  his  ciy.  The  animal  gods  had  also  refused  to  hear  his  ciy- 
ing,  so  he  was  angry.  The  storm  passed  over  him ;  although  it  thun- 
dered over  his  head,  the  lightning  striking  around  him,  still  he  stood 
there^  pleading  with  the  gods  in  the  clouds  to  kill  him. 

*' A  few  days  afterwards  another  storm  came  up^  and  by  this  time 
the  boy*s  heart  was  softened,  and  he  cried  hard.  He  spoke  and  said : 
'  Whatever  you  are.  Lightning,  take  pity  upon  me.  I  am  poor.*  All 
at  once  the  hof  was  struck  by  lightning.  The  people  in  the  bottom 
had  been  watching  the  boy.  After  the  storm  the  people  went  up  the 
hill  to  see  the  boy  ;  but  when  they  arrived  there  was  no  boy.  They 
sought  and  sought  for  his  body,  and  at  last  they  foimd  it." 

They  find  that  the  boy  still  lives,  but  has  on  his  face  streaks  of  many 
colors,  like  those  of  lightning ;  accordingly  they  leave  him.  The  b<^ 
comes  to  himself,  and  is  visited  by  Lightning.  "Well,  you  now  see 
me;  I  am  that  being  who  makes  lightning  in  the  clouds.  I  am  that 
being  whom  you  wish  to  see.  My  face  is  all  lightning,  as  also  are  my 
hands.  I  touched  you  with  my  lightning,  and  I  put  marks  upon  your 
face  and  hands,  as  on  mine  You  can  now  travel  with  me  in  the 
clouds.  When  it  thunders  you  must  listen,  for  it  is  my  voice ;  you 
can  hear  me  speak." 

The  boy  becomes  a  famous  priest  and  medicine-man,  hears  the 
directions  given  in  the  thunderstorm,  and  communicates  them  to  the 
people, 

"  Of  this  old  Thunder-Man  it  is  related  that  he  used  to  climb 
up  on  the  earth  lodge,  and  sit  on  top,  his  robe  turned  with  the  hair 
side  out.  When  it  thundered  he  would  speak  k)ud,  and  tell  the  people 
what  the  Thunder  said.  They  used  to  listen,  for  there  were  times 
when  tliis  old  man  told  them  that  the  god  wanted  the  people  to 
sweep  out  their  lodges  and  clean  the  grounds  outside  ;  that  disease 
was  certainly  coming.  The  people  always  did  what  the  old  man  said. 
At  other  times,  in  spring  or  summer,  the  old  man  used  to  tell  all 
the  people  to  take  their  children  to  the  creek  and  bathe  them,  for  the 
gods  were  to  visit  them  in  the  clouds.*' 

While  in  this  particular  history  the  divine  friend  is  a  celestial  be 
ing,  it  is  more  common  to  find  the  savior  among  animals  or  plants, 
who  endow  him  each  with  their  supernatural  ability ;  the  bear,  buf- 


Digiii^Lu  Ly  Google 


Eighth  Memoir  of  the  American  Folh-Lore  Society,  195 


falo,  elk,  owl,  and  snowbird  figure  among  benefactors,  and  also  the 
thistle,  or  Mother-Earth  herself,  who  animates  the  pony  of  mud 
which  the  youth  makes.  Generally  the  motive  is  merely  the  pity 
which  these  beings  feel  for  the  unprotected ;  in  one  case  gratitude 
plays  a  part,  as  the  mother-mouse  is  thankful  for  the  deliverance  of 
her  young.  Frequently  the  representation  of  friendship  has  a  part 
in  the  drama ;  the  hero  selects  a  companion,  whom  he  chooses  not 
from  the  superior  class,  but  from  the  poor  lads  of  the  village  ;  to  this 
comrade  the  chief  actor  leaves  his  accoutrements  and  his  bride,  him- 
self vanishing,  and  going  to  live  among  the  divine  personages  by 
whom  he  has  been  adopted. 

In  these  narratives  the  reader  is  continually  struck  by  interesting 
parallels  or  contrasts.  In  the  first  place  it  is  noteworthy  that  in 
spite  of  the  simplicity  of  life  and  what  we  should  consider  the 
absence  of  accumulated  wealth,  distinctions  of  riches  and  poverty 
were  quite  as  marked  in  an  Indian  village  as  they  have  ever  been  in 
civilized  society.  Just  as  in  antiquity  or  mediaeval  time^  it  is  the 
orphan  who  needs  a  protector,  and  whose  succor  Is  a  chlvalric  ob- 
ligation, recommended  by  the  example  of  gods  themselves.  The 
power  and  frequent  tyranny  of  the  chief  of  the  village,  also  the 
manner  in  which  his  whim  can  override  individual  rights,  is  forcibly 
presented  in  the  tales.  Humane  sentiments  are  as  strongly  recom- 
mended  as  religious  emotion  ;  the  strength  of  family  affection,  the 
sacredness  of  the  tie  between  brother  and  sister,  receive  frequent 
exhibition. 

The  last  of  the  ninety  tales  is  a  love  story,  which  abounds  in  inti* 
mate  details  of  Pawnee  life.  A  chief  and  his  "brave"  have  each  a 
boy,  another  chief  and  his  brave  each  a  girl ;  these  become  acquainted, 

and  the  children  of  the  chiefs  form  a  mutual  attachment,  as  also  does 
the  other  pair.  Arrived  at  maturity,  the  youths  decide  to  join  a 
war-party,  and  the  girls  make  secret  preparations  to  accompany  the 
expedition,  in  order  that  they  may  test  with  their  own  eyes  the 
prowess  of  the  young  warriors.  Without  the  consent  of  the  leaders, 
both  the  youths  and  and  maidens  succeed  in  joining  the  party.  The 
enemy  unexpectedly  attack,  and  Black,  son  of  the  brave,  is  terrified 
and  flies,  while  White  behaves  bravely;  but  when  abandoned.  Black 
comes  to  himself,  does  desperate  deeds,  and  kills  many  of  the  foe, 
but  is  overpowered  and  made  prisoner.  Little-Eyes,  the  friend  of 
the  youth,  refuses  to  abandon  him  ;  she  follows  the  trail,  crying  to 
Tirawa  and  the  stars  to  aid  her ;  she  traces  the  warriors  to  their  vil- 
lage, where  she  finds  a  woman  of  her  own  race  who,  when  a  girl, 
had  been  captured,  and  had  given  birth  to  many  male  children; 
these  take  pity  on  Little>£yes,  and  promise  to  help  her  effect  the 
escape  of  her  lover.   This  rescue  Is  accomplished!,  while  it  is  sup* 


.  J  i^ud  by  Google 


196 


y<mrnai  of  Anurican  Folh-Lor^ 


posed  that  mischievous  yoong  men  have  amused  themselves  with 
the  captive,  who  was  to  have  been  publicly  burned.  Black  returns, 
carr3rtng  scalps  and  covered  with  glory,  to  6nd  that  his  comrade  in 
arms  (so  to  speak)  had  died  of  shame  and  grief  consequent  on  the 
loss  of  his  companion.  Black  has  further  opportunity  of  distin- 
guishing himself,  and  at  last  ventures  to  address  Little-Eyes,  whom 
he  has  hitherto  avoided.  **The  young  man  saw  her,  and,  for  Uie  first 
time  since  they  had  returned,  thought  how  brave  she  was  to  follow 
the  enemy  for  his  sake,  and  how  she  had  lifted  up  her  hands  to  the 
meteors  in  the  heavens.  The  youth  could  not  bear  it.  He  walked  to 
the  dancers  and  touched  the  girl.  She  looked  around  and  saw  that 
it  was  Black.  She  went  to  him.  As  she  approached  he  opened  his 
arms  and  embraced  her,  and  put  his  robe  over  her.  They  stood 
together  a  long  time,  neither  speaking,  when  the  girl  said  :  '  At  last 
you  have  touched  me,  and  I  came  to  you.  Tell  mc,  what  is  it  ? 
Since  we  came  back,  you  seem  to  have  forgotten  me.  You  never 
go  anywhere.  You  seem  not  to  care  for  me  any  more.  So  I  dressed 
and  danced,  thinking  that  I  might  have  an  opportunity  to  see  you. 
Now  you  have  come.'  The  youth  said :  •  What  you  say  is  true. 
But  I  thought,  with  shame,  of  my  friend  who  died.  Now  I  have 
added  to  my  killing  another  notch.  To-night  I  cease  to  think  of 
my  friend.  You  shall  take  his  place,  and  to-morrow,  when  the  Sun 
rises  in  the  east,  I  shall  be  at  your  lodge  to  ask  your  father  for  you. 
I  am  going  home,  and  I  shall  tell  my  father,  so  that  he  can  call 
my  uncles,  and  they  will  help  about  the  present  that  must  be  sent 
to  your  relatives,  if  these  are  willing  to  have  me  for  their  son-in-law. 
This  is  the  only  way  in  which  I  will  marry  you.'  The  girl  wished 
to  go  with  him,  but  he  would  not  let  her.  The  young  man  said  : 
'I  shall  not  take  you  home,  for  I  do  not  wish  you  to  dance  any 
more.  I  will  think  of  you  until  the  dawn  appears  in  the  east,  then 
I  shall  enter  your  lodge.'  By  this  time  they  were  near  the  entrance 
of  her  lodge,  and  the  young  man  embraced  her  and  sent  her  in." 

It  need  only  be  added  that  this  series  of  tales,  like  eveiy  collec- 
tion of  the  sort,  supplies  abundant  parallels  to  themes  of  European 
folk-lore^  which  are  generally  represented  in  a  more  primitive  stage, 
where  their  origmal  significance  can  be  better  apprehended. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Th$  Indian  NmklCmL 


197 


THE  INDIAN  NAVEL  CORD. 

• 

The  disposal  of  the  navel  cord  among  Indian  tribes  is  always  a 
matter  of  considerable  attention.  Among  the  Cherokees  the  cord, 
if  of  a  girl  infant,  is  buried  under  the  corn  mortar  in  order  "that  the 
girl  may  grow  up  to  be  a  good  bread-maker.  In  the  case  of  a  boy 
baby,  it  is  hung  up  in  a  tree  in  the  woods  in  order  that  he  may  be  a 
hunter.  Among  the  Kiowas  the  navel  cord  of  a  girl  baby  is  sewn  up 
in  a  small  beaded  pouch  of  diamond  shape,  called  pepot,  "navel," 
which  is  worn  at  the  child's  belt  as  she  grows  to  womanhood  When 
at  any  time  the  mother  consents  to  sell  the  belt  ¥nth  the  appended 
pottcfa,  the  pouch  is  cut  open  and  the  cord  carefully  extracted  before 
the  trade  is  consummated  Should  the  chUd  die,  the  pouch  with 
cord  inclosed  is  festened  to  a  stick  set  up  over  the  grave,  as  the  writer 
has  himself  observed  Cheyenne  girls  wear  a  shnilar  pouch,  which 
is  called  1^  the  same  name  as  among  the  Kiowas,  mdicating  the 
former  existence  of  the  same  custom,  unless  it  be  merely  a  boirowed 
ornamentation.  At  the  present  day,  however,  among  the  Cheyennes, 
the  cord  is  wrapped  up  and  caref  uUy  laid  away  in  a  box  or  bag  with 
dothes  and  trinkets,  and  it  is  the  Cheyenne  bdief  that  the  chfld  will 
be  constantly  prying  about  and  pulling  things  to  pieces  until  it  finds 
the  package  with  the  cord,  after  which  it  is  satisfied  and  ceases  to  be 
meddlesome.  It  is  a  common  remark  with  Cheyenne  women  when 
they  see  an  infant  throwing  the  contents  of  a  bag  in  every  direction, 
*'  She  is  hunting  for  the  navel  cord."  Should  the  child  grasp  the 
package  first  with  the  right  hand»  it  will  be  right-handed,  if  other- 
wise* left-handed 

James  Mooney, 


Digitized  by  Google 


198 


Journal  of  American  Folh^Lore. 


RECORD  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkiam.  Mokigtm-Pequot,  In  the  "  American  Anthropolo- 
gist "  (vol.  vi  n.  8.  pp.  i8n45)  for  January-March,  1904,  Professor 
J.  Dyneiey  Prince  and  Mr.  Frank  J.  Speck  publish  a  "  Glossary  of 
the  Mohegan-Pequot  Language."  In  all  446  words  are  listed,  with 
comparative  phonetic  and  etymological  notes.  The-  words  were 
obtained  from  Mrs.  Fielding,  an  aged  Indian  woman  of  Mohegan, 
Conn.  Some  of  the  interpretations  are,  naturally,  very  doubtful 
Many  English  loan-words  occur.  The  original  orthography  of  Mrs. 
Fielding  is  preserved. Island,  In  the  "Brooklyn  Daily 
Eagle  Almanac  "  (pp.  409^10)  for  1904,  Mr.  W.  W.  Tooker  pub- 
lishes "  Indian  Place  Names  on  Long  Island,"  revised  and  corrected 
from  the  Almanac  of  189a  Some  225  names  and  their  significations 
are  given. 

Athapascan.  Apache.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist" 
(vol.  vi.  n.  s.  pp.  190-191)  for  January-March,  1904,  Dr.  A,  HrdliCka 
describes  briefly  the  "  Method  of  Preparing  Tesvino  among  the  White 
River  Apache."  Tesvino  was  introduced  among  these  Indians,  in 
the  memory  of  men  now  living,  from  the  Chiricahuas,  who  are  said 
to  have  learned  to  make  it  in  Mexico.  With  these  Apaches  it  is 
called  tuiipt',  01  "  yellow  water."  The  "  medicine  "  added  to  make 
the  original  stuff  properly  intoxicating  is  said  to  be  the  roots  of  Da- 
tura mctaloides. — Navaho.  In  the  same  periodical  (p.  194),  Dr. 
Washington  Matthews  has  a  note  on  "The  Navaho  Yellow  Dye." 
The  dye-stuff,  the  nature  of  which  seems  not  to  be  known  to  students 
of  the  Navaho,  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Matthews  some  twenty  years 
ago  to  be  obtained  from  the  root  of  the  Rumex  hytncnoscpaluvt. 

Chinook  AN.  To  the  "American  Anthropologist "  (vol.  vi.  n.  s. 
pp.  1 18-147)  ^or  January-March,  1904,  Dn  Franz  Boas  contrihutes  a 
valuable  discussion  of  "The  Vocabulary  of  the  Chinook  Language." 
Of  particular  interest  are  the  terms  of  rdationshi])  (pp.  134-135), 
names  of  animals  (pp.  136-137).  The  stem  word  -fotsxan  tx- 
presses  the  "  mutual  relation  between  one  of  a  married  couple  and 
the  other's  brother  or  sbter,  the  two  being  of  opposite  sexes»"— we 
learn  further.that  "marriage  involves  the  duty  or  privilege  of  the 
man  to  marry  one  of  these,  in  case  of  his  brother's  or  wife's  death." 
Of  the  few  descriptive  names  of  animals,  Dr.  Boas  observes :  "These 
were  probably  used  as  alternates  in  case  one  name  of  an  animal  be- 
came tabooed  through  the  death  of  a  person  bearmg  its  name,  or  a 
name  similar  to  it."  Ants,  ^.  ^.  are  called  "those  having  notches 
around  themselves,"  the  spider,  "dipnet  maker,"  the  dragon-fly, 
"  snake's  head,"  eta 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lon, 


199 


Keresan.  In  the  *' American  Anthropologist"  (vol.  v.  n.  s.  pp. 
730-732)  for  October-Decemher,  1903,  Dr.  A.  HrdliSka  gives  a  brief 
account  of  "A  Laguna  Ceremonial  Language."  Some  30  wotds 
(with  the  equivalents  in  the  ordinary  speech  of  these  Indians)  of  the 
kamas^Ot  "an archaic  language  which  the  younger  generation  can 
neither  speak  nor  fully  understand,  are  given.  In  some  cases  the 
words  in  the  two  forms  ctf  speech  are  absolutely  distinct*  m  others 
they  are  evidently  derived  from  the  same  root 

LuTUAMiAN.  KlamatJk.  In  the  "  Report  of  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  for  1902"  (Washington,  1904),  pp.  725-739  (with  13 
plates),  Mr.  F.  V.  Coville  has  an  interesting  account  of  "  Wokas,  a 
Primitive  Food  of  the  Klamath  Indians."  IVokas  is  the  seed  of  the 
great  water-lily  {Nym^ma pofysepald),  of  which  five  grades  or  kinds, 
irrespective  of  cooking,  are  recognized  by  the  Klamath  Indians.  H ar* 
vesting,  transport,  preparation,  cooking,  etc.,  are  described.  The 
author  suggests  that  "  wokas  could  be  brought  into  use  as  a  break- 
fast food"  At  p.  738  is  given  a  list  of  "  Klamath  names  con- 
nected with  the  wokas  industry."  Three  of  the  plates  illustrating 
this  paper,  with  a  brief  note,  are  reproduced  in  the  "  National  Geo- 
graphic Magazine"  (vol.  xv.  pp.  182-184)  for  April,  1904. 

M ATLATLZJNCAN.  In  thc  "  Bolctfn  del  Museo  Nacioiial  de  Mexico  " 
(2*  Ep.  vol.  i.  1903,  pp.  201-204),  Dr.  N.  Leon  publishes  (with  com- 
ments) a  letter  from  Francisco  Plancarte,  announcing  the  discovery, 
near  Toluca,  in  the  village  of  San  Francisco,  of  a  new  dialect  of  the 
Matiatlzincan  stock.  A  vocabulary  of  some  230  words  is  given, 
—  the  greatest  divergence  from  other  dialects  seems  to  be  in  the 
numerals. 

Otomian.  In  the  "  Boletin  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico  "(2* 
Ep.  vol.  i.  1904,  pp.  297-299),  Dr.  Nicolas  Lc6n  discusses  briefly 
"  Existencia  del  dual  en  la  lengua  othomu"  The  finding  of  certain 
MSS.  of  the  sixteenth  century,  including  an  Otomi  Arte  and  an  Arte 
abreviado  by  Fr.  Pedro  de  Carceres,  enables  Dr.  Le6n  to  prove  the 
existence  in  old  Otomi  of  a  dual  in  nouns,  prononns,  verbs.  This  is 
an  important  fact,  since  writers  from  the  eighteenth  century  down  do 
not  ascribe  to  the  Otomi  the  possession  of  a  duat  The  author  con- 
siders this  evidence  '*of  the  notable  change  suffered  by  Otomi  in  the 
eighteenth  century."  Pimentel  appears  to  be  only  one  to  suspect 
its  existence*  without  documentary  proof,  however. 

Salisban.  FlaUuad,  In '*Volkskunde'*  (vol.  xv.  1903,  pp.  29-33), 
J.  De  Cock  has  a  brief  artide  on  "  De  '  Reinaert '  bij  de  Indianen," 
in  which  he  discusses  some  of  the  Coyote  tales  published  by  Miss 
McDermott  in  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  (vol  xiv.  pp. 
240-251),  and  Miss  Owen  (Ibid.  vol.  xv.  pp.  63-65),  the  general  traits 
of  which  suggest  a  European  origin  from  the  "Reinke  Vos"  cycle. 


20O 


youmal  o/  American  Folk-Lore, 


SiouAN.  Crow.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist "  (vol  vL  n.  a. 
pp.  1 91-192),  for  January-March,  1904,  Mr,  S.  C.  Simms  deacribes 
briefly  "Water  Transportation  by  the  Early  Crows."  The  use  of 
buffalo-hide  "bags"  and  rafts  for  transporting  ammunition,  fire- 
arms, etc.,  is  noted.  Horses  were  used  for  towing,  with  some  meth- 
ods. With  one  method  men  took  the  line  in  their  teeth  and  swam 
until  shallow  water  was  reached.  —  In  the  same  periodical  (pp.  733- 
734)  for  October-December,  1903,  the  same  writer  treats  briefly  of 
"  Oath  by  the  Arrow."  It  appears  that  "in  administering  oaths  to 
plaintiffs  and  defendants  appearing  before  the  three  Indian  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Indian  C^ences  of  the  Crow  tribe,  a  tin  arrow  is 
used."  The  origin  of  the  custom  is  traced  bade  to  methods  of  set- 
tling disputed  ownership  of  scalps,  captured  horses,  guns,  etc  The 
arrow  is  "  held  in  sacred  esteem  by  all  the  older  Crows." 

SoNORAN  Tribes.  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka's  article  (with  7  plates,  and 
measurement  tables)  in  the  "  American  Anthropologist "  (vol.  vi. 
n.  s.  pp.  51-89)  for  January- April,  1904,  "Notes  on  the  Indians  of 
Sonora,  Mexico,"  besides  a  general  historical  and  ethnographical 
introduction,  contains  many  folk-lore  data  concerning  the  Mayos, 
Yaquis,  Opatas,  etc.  These  Indians  "are,  with  a  few  minor  excep- 
tions, in  about  the  same  culture-grade  as  the  lower  classes  of  whites 
and  mixed  Mexicans."  Of  the  Opatas  we  are  told  that  "for  the 
greater  part  they  not  only  dislike  to  be  called  Indians,  but  (at  least 
along  the  Rio  San  Miguel),  even  endeavor  not  to  use  their  own  lan- 
guage or  anything  else  that  distinguishes  them  from  their  neighbors;" 
they  do,  however,  preserve  a  few  of  their  old  ceremonies  or  dances. 
At  the  opposite  extreme  are  the  very  primitive  Seri  of  the  Tiburon 
region.  The  Yaqui  have  resisted  the  whites  since  their  earliest  ad- 
vent in  this  part  of  Mexico.  —  Mayos.  I'ages  59-61  treat  briefly  of  the 
Mayos,  perhaps  the  largest  Indian  tribe  of  Sonora  (their  speech  is 
Cahita).  Their  native  arts  (serape-making,  etc.)  are  degenerating. 
Sacrifice  of  sheep  and  cattle  in  honor  of  the  dead,  and  some  of  the 
practices  of  the  mautrot^  or  *'  doctors,"  represent  the  old  heathen 
faith  surviving  beneath  the  commonly  accepted  Catholicism.  —  Ya^ 
qms  (pp.  61^1).  ICodte  of  living,  dwellings,  dress,  industries 
(among  the  Indians  of  Sonora  the  Yaquis  furnish  the  best  laborers 
and  artisans),  arts  (manufacture  of  cotton  and  woollen  fabrics  has 
greatly  declined ;  Yaqui  silver  work  inferim-  to  Navaho),  weapons, 
basketry,  decoration,  food  ^he  burro  is  eaten),  social  conditions,  ob- 
servances (few  survive ;  formerly  reported  were  exchange  of  wives, 
initiation  of  youth,  etc.),  character  (the  Yaquis  **  greatly  appreciate 
wit  and  humor  '*),  etc,  are  briefly  considered.  Interesting  are  the 
bamboo  record-tubes  described  on  page  65.  The  author  concludes 
that  "the  Yaqui  is  in  no  way  radically  different  from  the  typical 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


201 


Indian,  save  that  he  is  of  superior  physique  and  virility." — Opatas  (pp. 
71-84).  Dwellings,  dress,  industries,  social  customs,  traditions,  for- 
mer culture,  native  observances,  physiological  and  medical  data,  lost 
customs  (tattooing,  and  burial  with  belongings).  Few  traces  of 
native  costume  remain.  The  Opatas  used  to  make,  besides  tesvino 
(from  corn),  three  other  fennented  liquors  (from  mezcal,  cactus,  na* 
thre  grape).  The  chief  of  the  native  observancea  still  practised  is 
the  Tof^utre^  a  celebration  ol  a  victory  of  Opata  women  over  Apaches. 
The  day  after  the  Taguaro  is  celebrated  La  Cuslga^  in  commemor»> 
tion  of  the  friendly  feeling  between  the  Spaniards  and  the  Opatas. 
The  lore  of  conception  and  birth,  sickness,  etc,  is  given  on  ppi 
80-84.  Insanity  and  idiocy  are  said  to  be  very  rare.  The  Opatas 
are  said  to  "  believe  it  unwholesome  to  bathe^  except  on  San  Juan 
Bautista's  day  (the  great  holiday  of  aU  Sonera  Indians),  when  all 
water  is  holy  and  therefore  harmless."  Formerly  the  Opatas  had 
initiation  ceremonies  for  youths,  and  a  nocturnal  dance  (of  girls)  for 
invoking  rain.  The  Opatas  are  disappearing  *'  by  voluntary  amalgam 
mation  among  the  whites,  whose  numbers  in  the  Opata  country  since 
the  termination  of  Apache  hostilities  have  greatly  increased." 

Tarascan  In  the  Boletin  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico  "  (2* 
Epoca,  vol.  i.  pp.  185-201,  217-233,  237-253,  257-273,  281-297), 
Dr.  Nicolds  Le6n  continues  his  study  of  *' Los  Tarascos,"  —  histori- 
cal records ;  the  pictures  of  the  MSS.  are  reproduced,  with  the  ex- 
planatory texts. 

Uto-Aztecan.  Comanche.  Dr.  N.  Le6n's  article,  "Los  Co- 
manches  y  el  dialecto  Cahuillo  de  la  Bajo  California,"  in  the  "  Anales 
del  Musco  Nacional  de  Mexico  "  (vol.  vii,  1902,  pp.  263-378),  contains 
an  account  of  the  sun-worship  of  the  Comanche.  The  great  festival, 
to  bring  on  the  rain,  is  celebrated  in  the  middle  of  August  Rudi- 
ments of  human  sacrifice  appear  in  the  ceremony.  To  the  foot  of 
the  tree  around  which  the  eight-days'  dance  takes  place  a  boy  is  tied, 
and  on  the  upper  part  of  the  trunk  the  figure  of  the  sun  is  put  See 
also  the  critical  rdsumd  of  this  article  by  K,  T.  Preuss  ("  Int  Zentral- 
blatt  f.  Anthrop."  vol  viii.  1903,  pp.  3CX)  ff.,  and  "Arch.  f.  Religionsvv." 
1904,  vii.  pp.  251-252).  —  Under  the  title  "  Un  objeto  pagano  con 
s/mbolo  cristiano,"  Dr.  Nicolds  Le6n  describes  in  the  "  Boletfn  del 
Museo  Nacional  de  Me.xico  "  (2*  Ep.  vol.  i.  1904,  pp.  253.  254,  with 
plate)  a  pendant  or  amulet  of  black  stone  discovered  in  an  excavation 
in  Texcoco  under  a  house  said  to  be  inhabited  by  one  of  the  descend- 
snts  of  Netzahuapilli.  This  object,  which  has  upon  it  the  figure  of  a 
cioss,  is  thought  by  Dr.  Ledn  to  be  *<  clearly  pre-Columbian." 

Zapotecan.   In  the  "Handelingen  van  de  Nederlandsche  An- 

thropologische  Vereeniging"  (vol.  I  1904,  pp.  15-25),  Dr.  Hendrik 

P.  Muller  has  an  Ulustiated  article  on  ''The  MitlapRuins  and  the 
vou  xviL— Na  14 


202 


ymmal  of  American  FoU^Lore. 


Mexican  Natives,"  in  which  he  gives  a  general  account  of  "  Mitla, 
•the  city  of  the  dead,'  "  and  its  ruins.  Of  the  fourth  structure  we 
are  told  that  it  "  has  been  used  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  Fifth  for 
foundation  and  side-buildings  of  a  Christian  church,  which  is  now 
being  renovated  "  (p.  19).  The  author  attributes  the  Mitla  build- 
ings to  the  Mayas,  whose  civilization  "  was  older  and  greater  than 
that  of  the  Nahua."  The  Nahua,  he  thinks,  have  borrowed  much 
from  the  Mayas  (some  of  it  through  the  Zapotecs).  The  Zapotecs 
came  into  possession  of  Mitla  after  the  expulsion  or  departvire  of  the 
Mayas. 

CXNTRAI*  AMERICA. 

Cribchan.  Tirrabas.  In  the  "  Zdtschrift  fiir  Ethnologie  "  (voL 
XXXV.  pp.  702-708),  H.  Pittier  de  Fdbrega  has  a  brief  article  on  Die 
Tirub;  Tirribes  oder  T^rrabas,  dn  im  Aossto-ben  begriffenen 
Stamm  in  Costa  Rica."  A  brief  historical  sketch  of  this  people, 
whom  the  author  visited  in  1898  in  their  mountain  home  on  the  up- 
per Tararia,  is  folbwed  by  the  abstracts  of  a  few  tales  and  legends. 
The  author  estimates  their  number  as  only  57  in  1898,  as  against 
2500  as  reported  in  170a  There  is  a  large  excess  of  males,  and 
some  mixture  with  negroes  and  whites  has  occurred.  The  tales  ab- 
stracted relate  to  the  missionary  period  and  refer  to  the  migrations 
of  these  Indians. 

Mayan.  In  the  "Zettschrift  fiir  Ethnologie  "  (vol.  xxxv.  pp.  771- 
790),  £.  Forstemann  has  an  article  Zur  Madrider  Mayahand- 
schrift,"  in  which  he  discusses  in  detail  the  relation  of  the  52  groups 
of  6  hieroglyphs  each  which  are  found  beside  the  32  columns  of  8 
day-signs  cnrh  on  pp.  65-72  of  the  Tro-Cortesianus.  They  be- 
long, he  thinks,  to  the  eighth  and  last  line. 

WEST  INDIES. 

Caribs.  Dr.  W.  R.  Harris's  article  on  "The  Caribs  of  Guiana 
and  the  West  Indies,"  in  the  "  Annual  Archaeological  Report,  1903  " 
(Toronto,  1904),  pp.  139-145,  is  of  a  historical-ethnographical  charac- 
ter. The  author  compares  the  Caribs,  in  the  matter  of  certain  habits 
and  customs  (bone-cleaning,  female  descent,  ritual  cannibalism,  etc.), 
with  the  Huron-Iroquois.  The  island  Caribs  had  three  dialects, — 
that  of  the  men,  that  of  the  women,  and  the  secret  speech  of  the 
councils. 

SOtrra  AMERICA. 

i'ARAGUAVAx  Chaco.  A  valuablc  contribution  to  the  literature 
in  English  upon  the  important  subject  with  which  it  deals  is  "Among 
the  Indians  of  the  Paraguayan  Chaco  "  (London,  1904,  pp.  xiv.  +  176, 
map  and  numerous  good  illustrations),  by  W.  Barbrooke  Grubb  and 
his  associates  in  the  Chaco  Mission  (Anglican)  of  the  South  Ameri- 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore,  203 

can  Missionary  Society.  Besides  historical  data  and  general  infor- 
mation, the  book  contains  chapters  on  :  Indian  Superstitions  (pp. 
33-47),  Anecdotes  illustrating  Native  Superstitions  (pp.  48-53), 
Personal  Details  (pp.  54-64),  Habits  and  Customs  (pp.  65-76),  Indus- 
tries, War  and  Weapons  (pp.  77-92),  Language,  Science,  and  Art 
(pp.  93-103),  Indian  Friends  (pp.  125-133),  Medical  Report  (pp. 
1 5  1-161),  Neighboring  Mission  Fields  (pp.  162-166).  The  religion 
ot  the  Chaco  Indians  is  rather  curtly  described  as  "really  consisting  in 
a  continual  struggle  against  the  devils."  The  primitive  creator  was  a 
great  beetle.  Fire  was  stolen  by  man  from  a  bird,  who^  in  revenge, 
caused  thunder  and  lightning.  The  great  desire  of  the  evil  spirits, 
who  are  disembodied,  is  to  become  reincarnated  (the  same  is  held  of 
the  souls  of  men),  hence  many  strange  beliefs  and  practices,  witch- 
doctors, funeral  rites,  etc  There  exists  a  deluge-legend.  The 
Umbetas  or  labrets  (whence  the  Spanish  Lengua)  and  the  ortfones^ 
ot  ear  ornaments  of  wood,  are  inserted  with  a  sort  of  religious  cere- 
mony. When  a  boy  is  six  or  seven  years  old,  "he  has  played  long 
enough."  In  connection  with  marriage  (simulated  capture  is  some- 
times practised),  we  learn  that  while  the  husband  invariably  attaches 
himself  to  his  wife's  family, "  it  is  not  an  unknown  thing  for  his 
parents,  especially  his  mother,  to  bring  such  influence  to  bear  upon 
him  that  he  will  leave  his  newly-wedded  wife,  and  return  to  his  own 
home,  eventually  arranging  with  his  wife  to  spend  one  half  of  his 
time  at  her  village  and  for  her  to  join  him  for  the  other  half  at  his 
own."  These  Indians  are  very  fond  of  their  children,  who  *'  are  dear 
little  creatures  (and  dirty  little  rascals  tool),  full  of  life  and  fun,  and 
very  affectionate."  They  have  many  choice  dishes  and  there  is 
variety  of  taste.  Tobacco  is  not  chewed.  Feasts  and  dances  are 
numerous,  —  at  harvest  time,  when  there  is  superabundance  of  food, 
a  good  catch  of  fish,  etc.  Deference  to  elders  prevails  and  there  is 
no  rudeness.  Swimming  is  common,  and  many  water-games  and 
imitations  of  animals  are  indulged  in.  Spinning  and  weaving  are 
the  occupation  of  women  ;  also  pottery.  Certain  stone  hatchets  are 
said  to  have  "  fallen  from  heaven."  Poisoned  arrows  are  known  but 
not  generally  used.  Diving  under  water  with  a  net  is  a  mode  of 
fishing  practised  by  the  Towothli  of  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Riacho 
Monte  Lindo.  In  the  language  of  the  Lenguas  "  there  are  a  great 
many  dialectical  differences,  resulting  from  change  of  letters."  As 
an  example  of  a  long  word  in  this  language,  El-tek-thlik-thlama-'wait- 
kya-namankak-cngminik,  the  term  for  "churn,"  may  be  cited.  It 
signifies,  literally,  "the  beater  of  the  liquid  of  the  udder  of  the  cow." 
Accentuation  and  context  are  of  importance.  Some  amusing  blun- 
ders are  recorded  on  p.  94.  So  far  "  about  1200  root  words  of 
the  every-day  language  of  the  people  have  been  collected,  from  which 


204  yammai  of  Amentam  FoU^Lon. 

are  formed  some  interesting  words  and  combinations."  On  p.  97 
we  read  :  "  The  only  song  with  words  is  a  child's  song,  which  begins, 
*The  big  snake  will  eat  the  child.'  "  Among  the  drawings  are  a  few 
representations  of  spirits.  Notched  "diary  sticks  "  are  in  use.  The 
chief  is  supposed  to  rather  than  receive  presents.    On  p.  114 

is  noted  one  of  the  teacher's  troubles:  "The  jealousy  existing  be- 
tween boys  of  various  tribes  was  a  great  difficulty  at  first.  For  in- 
stance, slight  vocal  differences  in  the  words  were  occasions  of  dis- 
pute, and  it  was  not  easy  for  the  teacher  to  decide  which  should  be 
adopted"  Cases  ol  stiicide  under  extreme  grieC  are  not  unknown 
among  the  Lenguas  (p.  127).  The  girls  are  said  to  be  less  intelli- 
gent than  the  boys.  Considerable  industrial  improvement  has  taken 
place.  The  Sabbath  "IsnowweU,  but  not  strictly  kept."  Altogether 
this  book  gives  rather  a  promismg  view  of  missbn  work  among  the 
Lenguas.  See  also  the  article  of  S.  H.  C  Hawtrey  on  "  The  Lengua 
Indians  of  the  Paraguayan  Chaco»"  noticed  in  the  Journal  of  Ameri- 
can Folk-Lore»  vol  xv.  pp.  187-18^  which  traverses  somewhat  the 
same  ground. 

GENERAL. 

"Comparative  Philolooy."  Of  Dr.  A.  Bl  Leesberg^s  ''Com- 
parative Philology.  A  Comparison  between  Semitic  and  American 
Languages"  (Leyden,  1903,  pp.  viii.  83),  Professor  J.  Dyneley 
Prince,  who  reviews  the  book  in  the  "  American  Anthropologist " 
(vol.  vi.  n.  s.  1904,  pp.  153-155)'  says  it  "deserves  notice  only  as  a 
philological curiosum"  and  in  his  comparative  dictionary  the  author 
''really  exceeds  all  canons  of  true  linguistic  science."  His  ethno- 
logy is  sui  generis. 

Lip-Mutilation.  G.  L.  Cleve's  article  on  "  Die  Lippenlaute  der 
Bantu  und  die  Negerlippen,  mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der 
Lippenverstiimmelungen,"  in  the  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologic  "  (vol, 
XXXV.  1903,  pp.  681-701)  contains,  on  pp.  695-697,  a  section  on 
**  Lip-mutilations  and  Lip-sounds  in  America."  The  lip-mutilations 
and  lip-ornaments  of  the  Tlinkit  of  Alaska,  the  Botocudo  of  Brazil, 
the  Karaya,  etc.,  are  noticed.  The  less  perfect  articulation  of  men 
among  the  Brazilian  Karaya  is  attributed  to  the  peleU.  The  author 
assumes  that  the  absence  of  lip-sounds  in  Iroquois  is  due  to  lip-muti- 
lation.   Lip-mutilation  has  also  affected  Aztec. 

A.  F,  C,  ondL  C  C. 


Rgeard  of  N$gro  FoUsrLare.  205 


RECORD  OF  NEGRO  FOLK-LORE. 

Africa  and  America.  In  the  "Ethical  Record"  (vol.  v.  pp. 
106- 1C9)  for  March,  1904,  Dr.  Franz  Boas  has  a  brief  but  valuable 
article  on  "What  the  Negro  has  done  in  Africa."  After  noting  the 
negro's  skill  in  iron  workmanship,  the  "  legal  trend  "  of  his  mind, 
the  striking  power  of  organization  displayed  in  negro  communities, 
the  author  discusses  the  Lunda  empire  and  the  kingdoms  of  Ghana 
and  Songhai,  and  the  influences  of  European  and  Mohammedan  cul- 
ture. The  conclusion  reached  is  that  *'  in  the  Sudan  the  true  negro, 
the  ancestor  of  our  slave  population,  has  achieved  the  very  advances 
which  the  critics  of  the  negro  would  make  us  believe  he  cannot 
attain/'  and  that  "the  race  will  produce  here,  as  it  has  done  in 
Africa,  its  great  men;  and  it  will  contribute  its  part  to  the  welfare 
of  the  community."  Another  statement  of  importance,  coming  from 
so  competent  an  authority  as  Boas,  is  this :  "We  may  safely  say, 
that  at  a  time  when  our  own  ancestors  still  utilized  stone  implements, 
or,  at  best,  when  bronze  implements  were  first  introduced,  the  negro 
had  developed  the  art  of  smelting  iron ;  and  it  seems  Hkdy  that  their 
race  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  to  the  early  development 
of  the  iron  industry." 

Makoqns.  Major  J.  J.  Crook's  "  A  History  of  the  Colony  of 
Sierra  Leone,  Western  Africa"  (Dublin,  1903,  pp.  xiv.  375),  which 
contains  valuable  historical  data,  may  be  mentioned  here  by  reason  of 
the  references  to  the  Maroons  and  to  the  American  slave  trade.  In 
1 791  negroes  who  had  served  King  George  against  the  Americans, 
received  their  freedom  thereby,  and  had  settled  in  Nova  Scotia, 
made  arrangements  with  the  British  government  and  the  Sierra 
Leone  Company  to  settle  in  West  Africa.  They  crossed  the  sea  to 
the  number  of  1196,  and  thus  the  real  colony  began.  In  1793  an 
insurrection  broke  out,  but  was  bloodless  and  soon  suppressed  ;  in 
1800  a  second  attempt  at  insurrection  took  place,  but  this  was  like- 
wise put  down.  In  September,  1800,  some  550  Maroons  (originally 
runaway  Jamaican  slaves)  from  Nova  Scotia  arrived.  They  were  to 
be  taken  care  of  by  the  company,  according  to  terras  made  by  the 
government.  In  181 1  the  population  of  Freetown,  "resident  within 
the  walls,"  included  982  Nova  Scotians  and  807  Maroons.  The  book 
brings  the  history  of  the  colony  down  to  the  end  of  1900. 

Music.  The  article,  "  Notes  on  Negro  Music,"  by  Charles  Pea- 
body,  in  the  "Southern  Workman"  (vol.  xxxiii.  pp.  305-309)  for 
May,  1904,  is  reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore 
(vol  xvi  pp.  148-152). 

A*  F*  a 


Digitized  by  Google 


206 


youfftal  of  Amtrican  Folk-Lare. 


RECORD  OF  PHILIPPINE  FOLK-LORE. 

Education.  In  the  "International  Quarterly"  (vol.  ix,  pp.  1-14) 
for  March-June,  1904,  Professor  Bernard  Moses  has  an  article  on 
"  The  Education  of  the  Stranger,"  in  which  he  deals  generally  with 
the  question  of  Filipino  education,  comparing  the  policy  of  the  United 
States  with  that  adopted  by  the  Dutch  in  Java.  The  author  thinks 
the  use  of  English  means  much,  taking  the  view  that  "  the  only 
language  of  cultivation  available  to  the  Filipinos  is  an  European  lan- 
guage," —  their  civilization  is  "  an  European  product  spread  over  a 
barbaric  past."  The  end  in  view  is  "  the  perpetuity  of  civilization 
by  the  abolition  of  barbarism." 

General.  In  the  "  National  Geographic  Magazine  "  (vol.  xv.  pp. 
91-112)  for  March,  1904,  Mr.  Henry  Gannett  has  a  well-illustrated 
article  on  "The  Philippine  Islands  and  their  People."  The  illustra- 
tions include  figures  of  typical  natives  (Negritos,  Igorrotes^  Tagi' 
logs,  Moros),  a  tree-honse  of  the  Gaddanes  near  Ilagan,  nipa-houaes, 
etc.  Some  notes  on  the  various  tribes  occupy  pp.  103-104.  —  In 
the  "  American  Antiquarian "  (voL  xxvi  pp.  46-48)  for  January- 
February,  1904,  is  a  brief  article  on  "  The  Native  Tribes  of  the  Phil- 
ippines," containing  notes  on  Igorrotes  and  Negritos,  from  the  report 
of  Rev.  James  Rogers  of  Manila,  published  in  the  "  Missionaiy  Re- 
view" for  1901. 

GuAiL  The  third  part  of  Lieut.  W.  £.  Safford*8  valuable  sketch 
of  *'The  Chamorro  Language  of  Guam"  appeal^  in  the  ''American 
Anthropologist"  (vol  vl  n.  s.  pp.  9S~ii7)  for  January-March,  1904. 
Of  interest  to  folk-lorists  are  the  etymologies  of  the  numerals  (pp. 
95-105)  and  the  Chamorro  calendar  (p.  103).  A  list  of  "moons"  is 
given,  with  their  interpretations. 

Missions.  At  pages  SIS-S^S  of  the  "  Baptist  Missionary  Maga> 
zine  "  (vol  83,  1903)  are  notes  on  the  progress  of  the  Baptist  missions 
at  Jaro  and  elsewhere  in  the  Philippines.  The  report  of  Mr.  Briggs 
finds  the  natives  capable  of  "  deceiving  each  other  better  than  they 
can  an  American  after  his  eyes  are  open."  The  people  are  to  be 
thought  of  as  "children  rather  than  as  grown  men."  At  p.  683  of 
the  same  periodical  is  a  brief  description  (with  picture)  of  the  new 
chapel  at  Bacolod. 

National  Church.  In  the  "Baptist  Missionary  Magazine"  (vol. 
83.  pp.  642,  643)  for  September,  1903,  Rev.  P.  H.  J.  Lerrigo  writes 
briefly  of  "  The  Filipino  National  Church,"  recently  founded  by  Agli- 
pay.  A  representative  fiesta  of  the  new  church,  at  Jaro,  is  described. 
The  "  new  church  "  is  "  non-Roman,"  but  not  Protestant,  and  has 
processions,  etc.,  of  the  old  order. 


Digiiizeo  by  Googlc 


Rgeard  of  Philippim  FoS^Lore, 


Negritos.  Mr.  W.  A.  Reed's  illustrated  article  on  "  The  Negritos 
of  the  Philippines,"  in  the  "  Southern  Workman "  (vol.  xxiii.  pp. 
273-279),  contains  brief  notes  on  clothing  and  ornament,  fire, 
weapons,  food,  use  of  tobacco,  industries,  deer-hunting,  sickness, 
marriage,  music,  and  dancing.  Scarification  and  teeth-filing,  which 
are  in  vogue,  are  "  performed  by  only  one  or  two  persons  in  each 
group."  They  make  fire  by  rubbing  in  less  than  a  minute.  They 
smoke  with  the  lighted  end  of  the  cigar  in  the  mouth,  but  are 
not  such  inveterate  smokers  as  the  Filipinos.  A  part  of  the  heart 
of  the  deer  slain  in  the  hunt  is  offered  to  the  spit  its,  whom  they 
seek  to  appease  rather  than  worship.  The  spirit-doctor  is  physi- 
cian. Such  marriage-ceremonies  as  exist  are  very  simple.  Inter- 
esting is  the  "dud-dance."  According  to  the  author,  "the  dances 
furnish  the  only  amusement  which  the  Negritos  have."  He  says, 
further:  "They  can  relate  a  tale  graphically,  and  they  have  bright 
and  somewhat  intdligent  faces." 

Number-Lore.  L.  Bouchal's  valuable  paper  on  "  Indonesischer 
Zahlenglaube/'  In  "Globus"  (vol  hcxxiv.  1903,  pp.  229-234),  which 
is  well  supplied  with  bibliographical  references,  contains  some  items 
rdating  to  the  peoples  of  the  Phil^pines.  From  that  archipelago 
belief  in  "sevenfold  death  is  reported." 

Tree-Dwellers.  In  the  "American  Antiquarian"  (vol  xxv.  p^ 
574)  for  November-December,  1903,  there  is  a  brief  note  on  "  The 
Philippine  Tree-Dwellers  "  of  northern  Luzdn. 

A.  E  C 


Digitized  by  Google 


208 


ycmfnal  of  Ammam  Folk-Lore. 


IN  MEMORIAM:  FRANK  RUSSELL. 

In  Frank  Russell,  born  August  26, 1868,  at  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  who 
died  at  Kingman,  Arizona,  November  7,  1903,  in  early  manhood,  an- 
thropology, and  lolk4oFe  porticttlarly,  lost  a  devoted  student  and  an 
enthusiastic  investigator,  whose  zeal  recalled  that  of  the  lamented 
Gushing.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Iowa  (A.  B.,  1892), 
and  before  receiving  his  degree  had  participated  in  the  Nutting  Ex- 
pedition (summer  of  1891)  to  the  region  beyond  the  Grand  Rapids 
of  the  Saskatchewan.  In  1893-1894  he  undertook  an  expeditiim  to 
the  country  between  the  Great  Slave  Lake  and  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
The  experiences  of  those  years  broke  down  his  health  and  he  never 
fully  recovered.  The  results  of  his  explorations  and  investigations 
of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  regions  visited  (especially  the  Crees  and 
Eskimo)  are  given  in  his  book»  "  Explorations  in  Uie  Far  North  " 
(pp^  390),  published  by  the  University  of  Iowa  in  1898,  which  con* 
tains  much  of  a  folk-lore  nature,  including  the  English  versions  of  a 
number  of  Cree  myths  of  the  cycle  of  Wiskatchak  (corresponding  to 
the  Ojibwa  Manabozho).  From  his  Alma  Mater  he  received  in  1895 
the  degree  of  S.  M.,  and  in  1896  went  to  Harvard  University,  where 
he  became  Instructor  in  Anthropology,  which  position  he  held  till 
shortly  before  his  death,  when  continued  ill-health  made  his  residence 
in  Arizona  absolutely  necessary.  From  Harvard  he  received  the  de- 
grees of  A.  B.  in  1896,  A.  M.  in  1897,  and  Ph.  D.  in  1898.  During 
the  years  1 901-1902  he  was  connected  with  the  Bureau  of  American 
Kthnolof^y,  —  his  monograph  on  the  Indian  tribes  of  southern  Ari- 
zona is  now  being  prepared  for  publication.  Dr.  Russell  was  an 
active  member  of  the  chief  anthropological  societies.  At  his  death 
he  was  a  Councillor  of  the  American  Anthropological  Association, 
and  had  been  a  Vice-President  (Section  H.)  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  President  for  1901  of 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  His  retiring  address  as  President 
of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  "Know,  then,  Thyself"  (Journ. 
Amer.  Folk-Lore,  vol.  xv.  1902,  pp.  1-13)  is  an  admirable  statement 
of  the  claims  of  anthropology  (including  folk-lore)  to  a  place  in  the 
curriculum  of  modem  higher  education,  and  an  able  exposition  of  its 
value  in  mind-tndnfaig  and  the  right  development  of  the  individual. 
It  is  a  good  example,  also,  of  his  style  and  mode  of  thought.  He  was 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  was  one  of  those  whom 
the  gods  loved.  The  writer  of  these  lines  had  but  few  chances  to 
enjoy  his  companionships  but  those  counted  for  much. 

His  chief  publications  of  a  folk-lore  nature  are 


Digitized  by  Google 


In  Mtmoriam — Fnmk  RussiiL 


209 


1.  An  Apache  Medicine  Dance.  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  xi.  1898,  pp. 
367-372- 

2.  Mythsof  tbe  JkaiOUApBcbea.  Journal  of  American  Folk-LoratVoL  id.  1898^ 

pp.  253-271. 

3.  Explorations  in  the  Far  North.  Univ.  of  Iowa,  1898,  pp.  290. 

4.  Athabascan  Myths,  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.  xiiL  1900,  pp. 
11-18. 

5.  Know,  then,  Thyself  (Presidential  Address).   Ibid.,  vol.  zv.  1902,  pp.  1-13. 

6.  Pima  Annals.    American  Anthropologist,  vol  v  n.  s.  1903,  pp.  76-80. 

7.  A  Pima  CoDstittttioa.  Journal  of  American  Jb  olk-Lore,  voL  xvi.  1903,  pp. 
222-228. 

AkxmtdmtR  Ckamhrintt, 


2IO  Journal  of  American  Folh-Lort. 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Albivo  Robdt.  —  In  "The  Atlantic  Slope  Naturalist"  (vol.  L  {».  13)  for 

Majf^-June,  1903,  appears  the  following  item  :  — 

"  In  the  '  New  York  Sun  '  of  May  14,  Dr.  D.  S.  Kellogg,  of  Plattsbuig^ 
N.  Y.,  after  recording  an  albino  robin,  writes  as  follows  :  — 

"  *  Now  comes  an  interesting  bit  of  folk-lore.  This  afternoon,  1  was  tell- 
ing a  gentleman  of  this  city  about  this  bird,  and  he  said  :  "  If  you  ever  see 
a  white  robin  it  is  a  sign  you  will  live  to  be  a  hundred  years  old."  He 
had  learned  this  from  an  old  Frendi-Cana^an  here,  who  died  some  years 
ago,  at  the  old  age  ol  103  years.  This  old  man  had  always  claimed  that  he 
should  live  a  hundred  years,  because  he  had  seen  a  white  robin  when  he 
was  a  young  man.'" 

Arrow-Making.  —  The  "Southern  Workman  "  (vol.  xxiii.  p.  318)  for 
May,  1904,  has  the  following  item  from  "The  Indian's  Friend  "  :  "A  Chij>- 
pewa  Indian,  according  to  the  'Indian  Leader,'  thus  describes  the  primitive 
Chippewa  method  of  making  flint  arrow  points:  'The  flint  is  boiled  in 
grease,  and,  while  yet  hot,  a  drop  of  cold  water  is  allowed  to  fall  from  the 
end  of  a  straw  on  to  the  spot  where  a  chip  is  desired  to  be  taken  off.'  By 
this  means  the  Chippewa  arrow-maker  could  diip  away  the  flint  with  neat- 
ness and  dispatch,  and  soon  convert  a  roqgh  looking  stone  into  a  neat  and 
effective  weapon." 

"False  Faces"  (vol.  L  p.  197).  —  The  following  item,  headed  "Horrible 
Rites  of  the  False  Faces,"  appeared  in  the  Worcester  "  Spy  "  of  October 

S4,  1902  :  — 

"  In  Robert  W.  Chambers's  new  novel,  *  The  Maid-at-Arms,'  there  is  a 
remarkable  chapter  describing  certain  Indian  ceremonies  known  as  the  Rites 
of  the  False  Faces,  which  in  brutality  of  incident  seems  almost  to  exagger- 
ate the  truth.  But  the  novelut  has  in  no  wise  overdrawn  the  thrilling  scene 
he  depicts.  The  rites  were  formerly  performed  just  as  Mr.  Chambers  has 
described  them,  and  in  fact  have  actually  taken  place  within  the  last  few 
months,  although  in  a  modified  form.  On  the  Cattaraugus  Reservation  in 
Western  New  York,  last  February,  the  Senecas  and  the  Iroquois  celebrated 
the  Rites  of  the  False  Faces.  Their  ceremonies  were  abridged  to  omit  the 
actual  burning  of  the  white  dog,  which,  on  account  of  its  barbarity,  was 
stopped  through  the  influence  of  white  men,  and  has  not  been  done  in  20 
years.  The  dog  was  burned,  and  his  spirit  sent  as  a  messenger  to  the  Great 
Spirit  In  the  ritual,  last  February,  a:  lo-foot  pole,  painted  in  stripes  of  red, 
blue,  and  green,  and  decorated  at  the  top  with  a  small  bag  or  basket  bear^ 
ing  a  bunch  of  parti-colored  ribbons,  was  the  modem  substitute  for  the  white 
dog.  In  Mr.  Chambers's  account,  descriptive  of  the  Indian  customs  of  more 
than  a  century  ago,  the  white  dog  is  used  in  all  its  ghostly  significance." 

Legal  Folk-Lore  of  Chujasn  (vol.  xvi  p.  380).  —  The  second  part  of 


Digitized  by  Google 


NoUs  and  Queries, 


211 


A.  De  Cock's  article  on  "  Rechtshandelingen  bij  de  Kinderen  "  (Volkskunde, 
vol.  xvi.  1904,  54"59)  treats  of  "rules  of  exchange."  Many  of  the  formulae 
in  use  are  recorded,  from  various  sections  of  Belgium,  with  comparative 
citations. 

Radium  and  Mysticism.'— In  the  ''Revue  Sdentifique"  (vol.  L  v*s. 
1904,  p.  541)  is  a  brief  rdsumd  ol  an  article  by  Prof.  Enrico  Morselli,  which 
appeared  in  the  January-February  niunber    the  "  Revista  ligure  di  scienze, 

lettere,  ed  arti."  The  author  discusses  the  renascence  of  mysticism  and 
spiritualism  in  connection  with  the  discovery  and  public  knowledge  of  ra- 
dium and  its  properties.  £very  newly  found  element  has  now  its  "folk- 
lore," 

RHus-PoisoNiNa— The  belief  exists  hi  certain  parts  of  the  United 
States  that  fuU-blood  American  In<fians  are  immune  from  Xhus  poisoning, 
and  that  eating  a  leaf  of  the  poison  ivy  is  a  preventative  sgainst  poisoning 
by  that  plant.  See  "  The  American  Botanist,"  March,  1903 ;  ''The  Atlantic 
Slope  Naturalist,"  March-April,  1903. 

Spelling  Exercise.  —  Mrs.  H.  E.  G.  Brandt,  of  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  sends 
the  following  exercise  in  spelling  as  "  in  use  in  the  schools  of  Central  New 
York  less  than  one  hundred  years  ago.  My  mother  and  her  brothers  and 
sisters,  who  must  have  been  in  sdiool  from  181 5-1  S3 o,  all  had  it  at  their 
tongues'  end.  The  children  were  required  to  stand  in  rows,  and  spell  it  by 
syllables  in  unison : — 

Ablal-Jame»-Ricfael-me-A  me-dO. 
FloBiH&ffjMown  dniy-ma  dSIt 

VTg-enteen-Vag-cnteen, 
Ver  ny-plan  tig  o  ny. 
H6ny-r6ny-j6ny. 

•Honorf-fi  d  baD  ti-C&-di  nl  fell  le  bfliqae. 

•  Tbt  Aytkm  IwR  b  UDoartidB. 

See-hee-hoa-dra-hcn  pcnatt-4)liHl,  dIppV,  BfppcrnllS. 

MSni-mora-clapper-wUler. 
Ovsr-^vbtflr-tuma-ripper  rat-clap. 

Taboos  of  Tale-Tklling  (vol.  xiii.  p.  146).  —  Among  the  Sulka  of  Ger- 
man New  Guinea,  as  described  by  Rascher,  in  the  "  Archiv  fiir  Anthropo- 
logic "  (vol.  i.  n.  s.  1903-1904,  p.  228),  tales  and  legends  are  told  only  in 
the  dark  or  at  night.  The  reason  given  is  that  "if  they  were  told  during 
the  daytime,  the  narrators  would  be  struck  dead  by  lightning.'' 

A.  F.  C. 


Digitized  by  Google 


219  yawmal  of  Amenam  FolhlMr$. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTEa 
BOOKS. 

At  the  Big  House,  where  Aunt  Nancy  and  Aunt  'Phrony  held  forth  on 
the  Animal  Folks.  By  Anne  Virginia  Culbertson.  Illustrated  by 
£.  Warde  BlaisdelL  Indianapolis  :  The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  1904. 
Pp.  34S. 

The  author  has  collected  from  the  negroes  of  soutfaeastern  Viiniiiia  and 
the  Cherokee  Indians  of  North  Carolina  fifty  stories,  of  wluch  twentjr-tluee 
are  negro  and  twenty-seven  are  Indian.  Aunt  Throny,  "  Indian  on  the 
father's  side  and  negio  on  the  mother's,"  tells  the  Indian  tales  in  negro 
dialect  *'in  order  more  strongly  to  emphasize  the  resemblance  between 
them, — so  marked  as  to  give  rise  to  the  supposition  that  one  race  bor- 
rowed from  the  other,  though  which,  in  that  case,  was  originator  and  which 
borrower  it  would  be  difficult  to  say." 

The  author  concludes  her  short  introduction  by  remarking  "  that  these 
stories  were  all  collected  from  persons  well  on  in  years,  unable  to  read  and 
without  opportunity  of  access  to  books.  They  are  confessedly  *  edited/  for 
all  who  have  collected  folk-tales  will  know  the  crude  form  in  which  they  are 
obtained,  usually  a  bare,  brief  outline,  though  now  and  then  one  falls  in 
wiA  a  genuine  raconteur.  The  aim  has  been  to  imitate,  as  far  as  possibly 
the  style  of  the  latter,  while  jealously  preserving  the  original  outlines,  so 
as  not  to  impair  their  value  as  folk-lore.  To  those  who  would  study  the 
imagination  of  primitive  peoples  these  stories  should  have  some  value,  if  for 
no  other  reason  than  that  they  add  a  few  more  to  the  stock  of  this  class,  the 
opportunities  for  gathering  which  grow  less  and  less  with  each  year  and  soon 
will  cease  altogether." 

It  is  a  satisfaction  to  note  the  sympathy  of  Miss  Culbertson  for  the  scien- 
tific value  of  her  data,  after  die  slurring  attempt  to  be  funny  with  which  Mr. 
Harris  in  the  Introduction  to  Unde  Remus  and  His  Friends  "  ^  disposes 
of  those  who  think  thqr  know  something"  abnut  folk-lore,  the  "  Fellows  of 
This  and  Professors  of  That,  to  say  nothing  of  Doctors  of  the  Otiier." 

Miss  Culbertson  has  mastered  the  Virginia  negro  dialect  with  rare  skill. 
One  notes  among  many  interesting  negroisms,  "  '  havishness  "  for  behavior, 
"squatulate  "  for  expostulate,  "gnorrin  '  "  for  gnawing,  "oon  "  for  won't, 
**  sont  "  for  sent,  "  sidesen  "  for  besides,  "  alter  '*  for  after,  "  aggervex  "  for 
aggravate,  and  "  li'l "  for  little.  There  are  several  good  folk-songs  like 
"Cindy  Ann,"  p.  72,  whose  value  would  haw  been  enhanced  by  the  scors^ 
for  we  are  more  fortunate  in  our  possession  of  n^;ro  tales  than  of  the  music 
with  songs.  As  should  be  expected  the  rabbit  is  generally  the  hero,  but 
instead  of  the  Brer  of  Uncle  Remus,*  the  Buh  of  Jones,*  or  the  very  con- 
tracted B'  of  £dwards,*  in  the  Indian  stories  of  Miss  Culbertson  it  is  the 

1  Uncle  Remus  and  His  Fritndsy  Boston,  1898. 

2  Nei^ro  Myths  from  the  Georgia  Coast,  Boston,  1888. 

'  Bahama  Stmgs  and  Siorus,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society, 
Boston,  1895. 


Digitized  by  Google 


BibUograpkUiU  Notes. 


313 


masculine  Mistah  Hyar*,  and  in  the  negro  tales  the  feminine  01*  Molly 
Hyar*  or  Mis'  Molly  Cotton-tmil.  In  fact,  only  a  few  times  in  the  work  does 
Brer  oocnr  in  oonnectioii  with  any  animal.  Tbere  are  a  number  of  dements 
common  to  otber  collections,  as  for  instance  in  Mr.  Bear  tends  Store  for 
Mr.  Fox,  p.  194,  where  the  guilty  Mis'  Molly  Cotton-tail,  who  has  been  tied 
op  for  later  punishment  by  Mistah  Fox,  persuades  the  innocent  Mistah  B'ar 
to  take  her  place  with  the  promise  of  a  party  which  she  represents  that  the 
fox  will  give.  In  Harris '  and  Edwards'  the  same  situation  is  developed, 
but  in  connection  with  other  animals. 

The  faithful  work  of  a  conscientious  collector  in  hearty  accord  with  the 
aims  and  methods  of  folk-lore  has  given  us  in  this  book  a  valuable  contri- 
bution to  the  mythology  of  the  American  negro,  while  MissOilbertson  with 
evident  literary  talent  has  framed  the  simple  stories  so  attrsctively  that  the 
general  reader  will  be  delighted  to  follow  the  naive  adventures  of  the  Ani- 
mal Folks  at  tilie  Big  House. 

The  very  clever  illustrations  by  Mr.  E.  Warde  Blaiadell  will  add  much  to 
the  charm  oC  the  book,  especially  for  the  children. 


NOTES  ON  RECENT  ARTICLES  OF  A  COMPARATIVE  NATURE 
IN  FOLK-LORE  AND  OTHER  PERIODICALS. 

AmT  AND  Magic  Reinach,  S. :  L'art  et  la  magic  \  propos  des  peintxircs  et  des 
gravures  de  I'flcje  du  renne.  {V Anihropologie  (Paris),  1903,  xiv.  257-266.)  Com- 
pares the  "  homcLopathic  magic  "  of  man  of  the  French  reindeer  period  with  the 
"magic  "  of  the  Australian  aborigines.  Primitive  art  is  largely  dependent  on 
magic  for  its  or^^  and  development 

Cat.  Browne,  C  E.:  The  Cat  and  the  Child.  (JPedag.  Sum,  (Worcester,  Ma8S.X 
190,  xi.  3-29)  Gives  results  of  questionnaire  inquiry  among  school  children. 
Contains  some  ethno<;raphic  and  folk-lore  material.  Cats'  funerals  are  discussed 
at  pp.  25-2;  \  numerous  funeral  ceremonies  are  described;  and  ^  by  far  the  larger 
number  (tf  tfie  dead  pets  are  buried  witih  roote  or  less  oeremony.**  Autbor  thinks 
«*  tibe  child's  atdtode  toward  the  cat  is  laifely  aaduopomorphic."  The  catis  twice 
as  often  a  girl's  pet  as  a  boy's.    See  Dog. 

"  Conjuring  "  Vermin.  De  Cock,  A. :  Women  en  rupsen  bezweren  en  aflezen. 
{yolkskunde  (Gent),  1903,  xv.  129-137.)  Treats  of  the  customs  and  formulae  in 
ue  in  various  parts  of  Holland  (and  dsewhere  in  Europe)  to  **  conjure  **  or  drive 
away  frocins,  caterplllan,  etc.  The  means  employed  sre  petidoos,  writing,  etc. 

"  Death  op  Cain.**  Hamelius,  P. :  De  dood  van  Kain  in  de  Engelsche  Mys* 
teriespelen  van  Coventry.  {Volkskunde  (Gent),  1903,  xv.  49-59.)  Discusses  the 
sources/>f  the  scene  of  Lamech  and  the  young  man,  and  concludes  that  the  resem- 
Uaaoes  between  this  play  and  Ibe  Balder  legend  do  not  indicate  a  common  origin, 
hot  grewop  in  Ae  coarse  of  tfie  Middle  Ages.  Germsii  influence  is  to  be  sus- 
pededf  as  also  in  the  York  myster)'-play. 

Doo.  Bucke,  W.  F. :  Cyno-Psychoses.  {Pedag.  Sem.  (Worcester),  1903,  x. 
459-513.)  Treats  of  "children's  thoughts,  reactions,  and  feelings  toward  pet 
dogs,"  as  ascertained  by  the  questionnaire  method.   Contains  ethnological  and 

*  Nights  with  Uncle  Remus;  Myths^  etc.^  Boston,  1S83,  PP*  lS7t  194*  suid 
VndiRmus^  eU^  New  York,  1881,  pp  100^  123. 


^  ij  i^uo  Ly  Google 


314 


ycumal  of  Ameriean  FoU^Lore. 


folk-lore  information.  Bibliography  of  113  titlea.  Author  thinks:  "All  iudlca- 
tions  seem  to  show  that  hit  fint  relation  to  man  was  that  of  an  eoononic  assteant 
in  life's  straggle,  and  that  his  qualities  made  him  companionable  to  children  and 
adiilto  alike."    See  Cat. 

Fnons.  Bell,  S. :  An  Introductory  Study  of  the  Psycholog)'  of  Foods.  {Pedag. 
Stm.  (Worcester,  Mass.),  1904,  xi.  51-90.)  Based  on  data  collected  by  question- 
naire method.  On  p.  63  is  a  list  of  182  more  or  less  mmatural  things  which 
diildren  have  been  known  to  eat,**  and  on  pp.  67,  68  a  list  of  things  (diiefly 
Iniits  and  raw  vegetables)  carried  round  in  their  pockets  by  children,  to  chew, 
munch,  and  nibble.  On  p.  71-73  lists  of  "things  which  children  tea.se  to  taste," 
and  of  '*  food  and  drink  mixtures  reported  to  have  been  made  by  children."  A 
list  of  71  things  said  to  have  been  smoked  by  children  is  given  on  pp.  73,  74, 
and  on  p.  74  a  list  of  ''medicines^** 

FuKBRAL  RiTKS.  Coupin,  H. :  Les  fun^railles  singuli^res.  {Rev.  Seient^, 
(Pans),  1903,  4*s.  xx.  621-628).  Treats  briefly  of  funeral  rites  and  customs  of 
primitive  peoples  of  Africa^  Asia,  Mehmesia,  etc. 

G£ND£R.  Flom,  G.  M.:  The  Gender  of  English  Loan>Nouns  in  Norse  Dia- 
lects in  America.  A  Contribution  to  tiie  Study  of  tiie  Devel<^yment  of  Grammati' 
cal  Gender,  {ymnm.  Engl,  and  Germ.  Philol.  (Bloomington,  Ind.),  1903,  v.  lepr. 
pp.  31.)  Points  out  that  "  the  masculine  gender  has  established  itself  in  so  many 
cases  where  we  otherwise  might  have  expected  the  feminine."  Fluctuating  nouns 
tend  also  to  become  masculine. 

Gulliver's  Tkatels.**  Brown,  A.  C.  L. :  Gulliver's  Travels  and  an  Irish 
Folk-Tale.  {Mod,  Lang*  NHes,  vol.  zix.  1903-1904,  pp.  45-4'^)  Aigues  that  the 
tales  of  Gulliver's  voyages  to  Lilliput  and  Brobdingnag  are  of  folk-character, 
and  that  "Swift,  during  his  boyhood  in  Ireland,  may  have  become  familiar  with 
tales  similar  to  the  Aidtrh  Ferghusa  (Death  of  Fergus),  and,  perhaps,  even  more 
like  the  early  voyages  of  Gulliver.  ResemUanoe  between  Swift's  wwk  and  the 
Irish  fdk-tale  are  pointed  out 

HlGHBR  AND  LowER  RACES.  Hall,  G.  S. :  The  Relation  between  Hi|^ier 
and  Lower  Races.  (Proc.  Afass.  Hist.  Soc.  (Bost.),  1903,  2  s.  xvii.  4-13.)  Discusses 
extermination,  contamination,  effects  of  disease,  colonization,  etc.  Conclusion : 
**  An  ounce  of  heredity  is  worth  a  hundred-weight  of  civilization  and  schooling." 

Jargon  op  Criminals.  GiuffHda-Rqggeri,  V. :  Una  qrfegasione  del  gergo 
dei  crimlnali  al  lume  dell*  etnografia  comparata.  {Arch,  i&  Psich.  (Torino^  1904, 
XXV.  Estr.  pp.  10).  Treats  of  thieves'  jargons  from  the  point  of  view  of  compara- 
tive ethnography.  Author  holds  that  the  jargon  of  criminals,  like  the  street  lan- 
guages of  savages  and  professional  groups  in  higher  stages  of  culture,  is  a  "  weapon 
of  defence,**  a  means  of  protection  from  outsiders.  It  has  thus  an  atavistic  side. 

*'  King's  Dauohtbr."  De  Cock,  A. :  Het  spel  van  de  Koningsdochter. 
(^Volkskunde  {G^x\\.{,  1903,  xv.  1-12.)  Comparative  study  of  the  children's  game 
known  in  North  Holland  and  Limburg  as  " 't  Spel  van  de  Koninsi^sdochter  ;  "  in 
West  Flanders, De  schoone  maagd  van  Brugge  j  "  farthest  east,  '*  U.  L.  Vrouwken 
van  Barbara"  {fir  **van  BsbyHmen'Ot  in  Antwerp,  *<Brouwketel  spelen;**  in 
Germany,  and  in  the  Swiss  canton  ol  Bern,  '*  Kdnigs  Tdchterlein,*'  also  "  Die 
vermauerte  Konigstochter,"  "  Das  vcrmauerte  Magdelein  (and  •*  Prinzessin  ")  er- 
losen  :  "  in  Pomerania,  "  Dornroschenspiel ;"  in  Switzerland,  "Das  Thiirmltin  ; 
in  the  French  Ardennes,  "  Cachez  la  Tour."  The  author  sees  in  this  play  "  simply 
a  *  crimen  raptus '  (of  mediaeval  law),** — the  carrying  off  of  a  woman  by  loroe,  — 
rejectbg  such  theories  as  that  of  BOhme,  which  wouU  explain  It  by  means  of  Fran 
Hold  a  and  the  vegetation-myth. 

"  Lion  and  Man."  McKenzie,  K. :  An  Italian  F'able,  its  Sources  and  its  His- 
tory.  {Mod.  Philol.  (Chicago)^  1904,  i.  497-524.   Also  repr.  pp.  28.)  A  model 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


BtbHograpkical  Notes* 


critical  comparative  study  of  the  fable  of  "The  Lion  and  the  Man,"  —  text  from 
an  napubUshed  fifteentii-centtury  MS.  Of  thte  tale  of  tiie  iiii|;iateful  animal, 
Italian,  Latin,  French,  Persian,  Hindu,  Nubian,  S.  African,  American  Indian,  Ne> 
gro,  Spanish,  English,  Syrian,  Turkish,  Creek.  Russian,  Low  (".erman,  German, 
Danish,  Lithuanian,  Finnish,  etc.,  versions,  variants,  and  cognates  are  discussed. 
The  author  concludes  that  the  original  tale  was  "  composed  in  India  some  time* 
before  the  eleven^  centiiiy.**  Moreovo',  the  story  is  told  by  the  Hottentots  in 
Africa  and  by  negroes  in  North  and  South  America  in  forms,  which,  in  sjnle  of 
wide  variations,  seem  to  show  European  influence."  This  essay  is  well  provided 
with  bibliographical  references  and  notes. 

NuDiTV.  Zuidema,  W. :  Naaktheid  als  toovermiddel.  {V'oikskundc  (Cent)^ 
1903,  XV.  89-92.)  Brief  diacoMioa  of  nakedness  as  a  means  in  magic,  the  Godiva- 
Icgend  in  particular.  Customs  from  Worms,  Coburg,  the  Farves,  etc,  are  dted. 

Nu.MBER-LoRB.  Bouchal,  L. :  Indonesischer  Zahlenglaube.  {Globus  (Braun- 
schweig), 1903,  Ixxxiv.  229-234.)  This  excellent  paper  treats  of  sacred  numbers, 
numbers  in  folk-thought  and  superstition,  among  the  Malays,  Malagasy,  Dyaks, 
Celebese,  Sumatrans,  Javans,  etc.  Thirteen  does  not  seem  to  be  wilucky.  Three 
and  seven  have  mnch  folk-lore  about  them. 

Priests.  Zuidema,  W. :  Hulp  soeken  bij  geestelijicen  van  ccn  anderen  gods* 
dienst.  {Volkskund£  {GQni\  1903,  xv.  16-19.)  Treats  briefly  of  the  idea  enter- 
tained by  devotees  of  one  religion  that  priests  of  another  can  help  them  in  time  01 
need.  In  Bosnia,  t.g.  the  Christians  will  get  an  "abracadabra  charm  "  from  the 
Mohammedan  Am^«,  the  Mohammedans  one  from  a  Franciscan  or  a  Greek  priest 
The  author  cites  in  this  connection  the  appeal  of  Marcellus  to  Horatio  in  **  Ham- 
let" (Act  L  sc.  2):  "  Thou  art  a  scholar  ;  speak  to 't,  Horatio." 

Proverbs.  Tetzner,  F. :  Zur  .Sprichworterkunde  bei  Deutschen  und  Litauem. 
((!r^^  (Braunschweig),  1903,  Ixxxiv.  61 -<>3.)  Comparative  study  of  50  Lithuan- 
ian and  German  provorbs  relating  to  social  condition,  etc.  The  Lithuanians  feel 
more  and  express  more  sharply  the  difference  between  the  common  man  and  die 
"powers  that  be."  —  De  Cock,  A. :  Spreekwoorden  en  zcgswijzen  afkomstig  van 
oudc  gebruiken  en  volkszeden.  {Volkskunde  (Oent),  1903,  xv.  22-29,  100 
-no,  137-147,  175-1850  Comparative  study  of  Nos.  443-482  of  Dutch  proverbs 
relating  to  church  and  churchyard,  monks  and  cloisters,  old  moneys,  weights  and 
measures,  etc  See  Wottun. 

Spirit- Lore,  Wunsch,  R.:  Griechischer  und  germanischer  Geisterglaube. 
{Hess.  Blatter  /.  Volkskunde  (Leipzig),  1903,  ii.  177-192.)  Compares  Hellenic 
and  Teutonic  ideas  of  the  hereafter,  spirits,  their  condition,  etc.,  and  points  out 
fesemblances(ocGurring  even  in  details).  These  the  author  attributes  to  independ- 
ent devdopment  rather  than  to  borrowing.  —  Amett,  L.  D. :  The  Soul:  A  Study 
of  Past  anid  Present  Beliefs.  {Amer.  J.  of  Psychol.  (Worcester,  Ma8S.X  1904, 
XV.  i2r-2oo.)  This  first  part  contains  much  imperfectly  digested  folk  lore  mate- 
rial concerning  primitive  ideas  of  the  soul,  words  for  soul,"  influence  of  dreams, 
soul  as  animate  form  (birds,  butterfly,  mouse,  serpent,  lizards,  fish,  etc.),  the 
shadow,  reflections,  portraits,  relations  of  soul  and  body,  soul  as  an  object,  form, 
ghosts,  voices  of  spirits,  number  of  souls,  localization  (heart,  blood,  bones,  breath, 
etc.),  souls  of  animals,  Greek  ideas  of  the  soul,  theological  ideas,  the  soul  in  sys- 
tems of  philosophy. 

ToTEMiSM.  Hill-Tout,  C. :  Totemism.  A  Consideration  of  its  Origin  and  Im- 
port (TVttfftr.  R,  Soe,  Cam.  (Ottawa),  1903-1904,  ii.  ix.  Sect  ii.  61-99.) 
cusses  theories  of  Powell,  Haddon,  Fletcher,  Cushing,  Boas*  Tylor,  Lang  (rejects 
his  *' nick  name  "  theory),  Frarer,  Spencer,  and  Gillen,  etc.  Mr.  Hill-Tout  calls 
totemism,  "not  a  set  of  practices  or  ceremonies,  but  clearly  a  6e/if/,  which  is  the 
efficient  cause  of  these  practices."  The  family  totem  and  the  group  tot<;m  arise 
fton  the  personal  totem. 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


3l6 


Journal  of  Aimrka»  Folk-Lore. 


** Ungkatbfdl  Son.**  De  Cddc,  A.:  Het  **Exempel''  via  den  ondaakbaren 

lOOn.  {Voikskunde  (GentX  1903,  xv*  154-164.)   Discusses  origin,  etc.,  of  theme 

treated  in  van  Beer's  poem,  De  arme  Grootvader  "  (based  on  Grimm's  tale, 
"Der  Grosvater  und  dcr  Enkel"),  in  Dutch  tales  and  French  fabliaux,  etc.  The 
Indian  cognates  (prototypes  ?)  are  pointed  out.  A  Hindu  jataka  legend  is  closely 
.fdated  to  the  Dutch   Grootvader  en  Kleiiuoon.'* 

Wells.  Schrijnen,  J. :  Kerstputten.  ( Volkskmidf  (GentX  1903.  xv.  169-174.) 
Treats  of  "  christened  wells,"  called  in  Dutch  kerstputten  or  kcrstpoelen,  —  wells, 
springs,  etc.,  which  bear  the  name  of  some  saint  and  represent  for  the  most  part 
the  rescue  from  the  service  of  some  heathen  deity,  etc.,  to  Christianity,  of  the  old 
water^laoea  of  the  coontiy.  These  are  veiy  nimiefwis  in  HoUaad. 

Women.  De  Cock,  A. :  Spreekworden  en  legawijien  over  de  vrouweo,  de 
lief  de  en  het  huwelijk.  {VolkskuncU  {C^ttn^  1903,  xv.  122-125,  200-202.)  Com- 
parative  study  of  N08.  22&-a6i  of  Dutch  proverbs  relatiog  to  women,  kive,  mar- 
riage, etc. 

Words  used  to  Dokbstic  Animals.  Tetmer,  F. :  Lock  und  Schenchrufe  bei 
Utauem  and  Deutschen.  {GMut  (Bnmnscfaiicl|^  1903,  boodv.  87-89^)  Discussea 
the  words  used  to  *'caU  "  and  to  scare  **  domestic  animals,  in  the  German  and 
the  Lithuanian  languages.  The  author  diatingoiahes  five  "strata." 

A.  F.  C 


< 


L-iyui^cu  Uy  Google 


.     THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORR 

Vol.  XVIL— OCTOBER-DECEMBER,  1904.— No.  LXVIL 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CHAUP:»  A  MYTH  OF  THE 

DIEGUENOS*  ' 

T 

Thsrb  were  once  two  young  girls  who  were  sisters,  and  at  this  time 
there  was  a  house  made  of  earth  where  the  young  men  used  to  sleep 
at  night,  and  they  talked  about  the  girls  who  were  sisters,  and  wanted 
to  marry  them,  but  they  could  not  talk  to  them  themselves,  so  they 
told  the  gopher  to  go  speak  to  them,  and  this  the  gopher  was  very 
glad  to  do. 

The  girls  used  to  go  very  early  every  mominj;  to  swim  in  a  pool  of 
water,  and  the  gopher  knew  that  the  girls  went  there  to  swim,  and 
one  morning  before  it  was  light  he  went  over  there  to  the  pool  and 
got  into  the  water  and  hid  himself. 

The  sisters  came  down  as  usual  to  the  water,  but  it  did  not  look 
the  same  to  them  as  on  every  other  day.   The  girls  sang 

In-ya-hd 
Mi-ka-y^-ya 
I  n-ya-hd-ha 
Mi-ka-yd,  etc. 

It  was  cloudy  and  troubled  and  they  were  afraid  to  enter  it 

Song  :  He-ydm  He-yd,  etc. 

But  day  was  dawning  and  the  elder  said,  "Jump  in,  my  little  sister. 
There  is  nothing  to  fear." 

"  Oh,  no.  It  is  you  who  must  go  first.  It  is  never  suitable  for 
young  people  to  do  things  in  advance  of  their  elders." 

Song:  He-hr^n-ha-w(5 

He-\'.'im-he-h(5.  etc. 

So  the  elder  sister  entered  the  pool  ;  and  though  the  gopher  was 
c'ose  beside  her  in  the  water  he  did  not  speak  to  her  ;  but  when  the 
younger  sister  plunged  into  the  water  he  came  near  to  her. 

*  Gianpisthe  name  forahootiiig«tar,or  rather  for  the  great  fire-balls  of  electric  or 
meteoric  oric^in  which  are  sometimes  seen  in  the  clear  air  of  the  Southwest,  illumi- 
nating the  ground  with  a  bright  light  and  accompanied  by  a  sound  like  thunder. 
Chaup  is  the  same  as  Taquish  of  the  Cahuillas  in  some  of  his  characteristics. 

^  Copyri|;ht,  1904,  by  CONSTANca  Goddard  DuBois. 


Digitized  by  Google 


2 1 8  ydumal  of  A  meriean  Folh-Lon, 


Screaming  with  terror,  she  ran  from  the  water,  and  called  out  to 
her  sister  that  something  had  been  near  her  in  the  water,  but  she  did 
not  know  what  it  was.  She  was  suffering.  So  the  elder  sister 
built  a  great  fire  and  put  an  olla  full  of  water  on  to  heat,  and  put  some 
of  the  sage  plant  in  the  water,  and  the  younger  bathed  with  it  and 
was  well 

Song:  0<h»-wliaf-telii-n 

Ha]Kliai>wiurlclii-sa,  etc. 

After  this  the  younger  sister  was  going  to  have  twin  babies. 
(Song.)  And  she  went  to  the  water  and  sang  about  it  that  tliis'was 
the  place  where  she  used  to  swim.  (Song.)  When  she  got  out  of 
the  water  she  was  so  weak  that  she  had  to  use  a  sticlc  to  help  her 
steps,  and  when  she  went  into  her  house  she  took  one  of  the  great 
baskets  and  leaned  against  it  singing  sad  songs  and  fearing  she  was 
going  to  die.  (Song.)  Already  she  had  named  her  little  twins. 
One  she  called  Far-aJian,  and  the  other  A-shat-a-hutscfa.  (Song: 
Same  as  last.) 

When  the  babies  were  bom  both  of  the  sisters  fell  into  a  faint,  and 
when  the  elder  came  to  herself  there  was  a  little  baby  boy  upon  the 
ground,  and  she  look  it  upon  her  lap  rejoicing.  (Song.)  Again  they 
both  becameunconscious,  and  again  the  elder  sister,  coming  to  herself, 
was  glad  to  see  a  little  baby  boy  upon  the  ground,  and  she  took  the 
two  together  upon  her  lap.  (Song.) 

(One  of  the  earliest  offices  of  care  for  the  new-born  infants  required 
the  use  of  a  knife),  and  the  sisters  did  not  know  what  to  do.  They 
tried  to  use  a  piece  of  charcoal,  until  the  elder  sister,  who  was  a 
witch-doctor  and  knew  everything,  stood  up  and  held  her  hand  to  the 
north  and  brought  down  a  red  stone ;  and  when  she  got  home  she 
broke  it  (chipped  it  ?)  into  a  sort  of  a  knife. 

Then  she  held  up  her  hands  to  the  south  and  got  a  blue  stone  of 
the  same  sort.  (Song.)  And  the  mother  used  the  knives  for  first 
one  and  then  the  other  of  the  babies. 

And  the  two  sisters  were  so  happy  playing  with  the  little  twins 
that  they  could  not  stop  to  eat  or  sleep.  They  painted  the  babies* 
bodies  with  red  paint,  a  sort  of  clay  that  is  found  beside  the  water. 
"They  need  a  cradle^  now,"  said  the  elder  sister,  "but  they  have 
no  father  to  bring  them  what  they  need.  They  will  never  know  a 
father's  care." 

.But  the  two  sisters  went  up  upon  the  mountain  and  found  little 
long  sticks,  and  they  bent  them  and  made  cradles  out  of  them.  They 
did  not  know  how  to  do  it,  but  they  made  them  any  way  to  hold  the 
babies.  (Song.) 

They  sang  while  they  made  them  that  they  did  n't  know  how,  but 
they  would  do  to  hold  the  babies.  (Song.) 

*  Bahybaiket. 


1^ lym^c J  uy 


Thi  Story  of  the  Chaup* 


319 


They  finished  the  cradles  and  put  the  babies  in  them,  and  they 
wove  coverings  for  their  heads.  (Song.) 

Then  the  elder  sister  held  up  her  hand  to  the  north  and  got  a 
basket,  not  a  good  one,  for  it  was  roughly  made ;  and  this  she  put 
upon  the  elder  baby's  head.  Then  she  held  up  her  hand  to  the  south 
and  got  another  basket.  This  time  it  was  a  fine  one,  and  this  she 
put  upon  the  younger  baby's  head,  (Song.)  And  the  mother 
named  the  babies,  but  to  both  she  gave  the  name  Cuy-a-ho-marr. 

All  the  people  were  playing  ball  one  day,  hitting  the  ball  upon 
the  ground  with  a  stick ;  and  tiie  coyote  was  playing  with  them  all 
day  long ;  but  when  it  drew  towards  sunset  the  coyote  looked  up  and 
said:  "It  is  time  for  me  now  to  go  home  to  my  chfldren  and  their 
mother,  who  are  waiting  for  me  in  the  house.^  I  must  take  some 
wood  home  with  me.*' 

So  he  went  to  a  big  fallen  tree,  chopped  off  an  armful,  and  went  to 
the  house  where  the  mother  of  the  twins  was  sick  in  bed  She  had 
a  stick  near  her  bed,  and  when  she  saw  the  coyote  coming  in  on  his 
lying  errand  she  picked  up  the  stick  and  chased  him  out  of  the 
house,  so  that  he  ran  far  away  to  the  north.  (Song.)  She  sang  that 
since  no  one  knew  the  father  of  the  twins  the  coyote  thought  he 
could  make  sport  of  her. 

After  that  a  little  wild  canary,  who  had  also  been  watching  the 
game  of  ball,  said  :  "  It  is  time  for  me  to  go  home  to  my  family,  who 
are  waiting  for  me  in  the  house."  So,  like  the  coyote,  he  went  to 
the  fallen  tree,  chopped  an  armful  of  wood,  and  went  to  the  woman's 
house.  "Where  are  you,  my  dear  wife.^"  he  called.  The  woman 
hurried  to  the  door,  but  when  she  saw  that  it  was  only  a  wild  canary 
she  grew  very  angry,  and  hit  him  with  the  stick  and  chased  him  out 
into  the  bushes. 

Song :  He-yo-ho-ree,  etc. 

"You  are  only  a  silly  bird,"  she  sang.  "The  people  that  come 
after  us  will  kill  you  and  eat  you  at  a  mouthful." 

One  day  the  mother  said  to  her  sister,  "  Why  don't  you  go  and 
collect  the  seeds  of  the  sage  }  They  are  withering  and  ready  to  fall. 
Why  do  you  keep  so  close  about  the  house  You  have  no  children 
to  tend.  Go  far  away  and  work.  As  for  me,  I  will  gather  those  that 
grow  near  the  house." 

So  she  shut  the  little  babies  in  the  house,  and  for  a  door  she  rolled 
a  big  log  from  the  south  against  the  opening.  And  as  she  started 
to  pick  the  seeds  she  heard  the  log  talking :  "  Oh  yes,  I  will  put  the 
babies  to  sleep.    They  are  my  own  little  children." 

So  she  hurried  back  into  the  house,  nursed  the  babies,  and  put 
them  to  sleep  hersell 

1  Bnwh  hut,  translated  **  booae  faj  educated  Indian  interpreter. 


.  J       Ly  Google 


220 


y<mmalof  American  Folk-Lan. 


The  metate  stone  was  weeping^  as  she  passed  it  There  is  a  sort 
of  water  that  runs  down,  and  they  say  the  stone  is  weeping.  It  was 
upside  down,  and  she  sang  a  song, — 

Iii-yarba,etc.,— 

to  tell  it  she  had  no  time  to  grind  on  it,  for  her  children  kept  her  so 
busy  with  work  for  them. 

The  babies  were  growing  fast,  and  the  mother  sang  to  them  that 
they  had  no  father.  She  did  not  know  who  or  where  he  was. 

Song:  Mai>to-wak, 
Me-awa-hom, 

Ya-wa-ham, 

Mi-ay-o-ham, 

Hai-to-wak 

So4o>ha]n 

Hai-to-wak 

Mi-ay-o-ham,  etc 

Meaning  of  the  song :  They  had  no  fother,  no  one  to  lead  them  by 
the  hand.  They  would  never  know  their  father,  and  would  die  with- 
out knowing  him. 

One  day  the  mother  and  her  sister  went  away  again  to  gather  the 
sage  seeds.  The  seed  that  they  had  already  brought  home  they  had 
spread  out  on  a  great  flat  rock  to  dry.  They  left  the  little  babies 
hanging  in  their  cradles  outside  the  house ;  and  the  quails  came  and 
•  began  eating  the  seeds. 

The  babies  in  their  cradles  were  talking  together. 

"Jump  down,  brother,"  said  the  younger  baby,  "and  drive  the 
quails  away." 

"Do  it  yourself." 

"  It  would  not  be  right  for  me  to  do  that.   The  younger  should 

wait  for  the  older,"  was  the  answer. 

.  With  that  they  both  jumped  down,  and  went  into  the  house,  where 
they  found  a  bow  and  arrow,  and  tried  to  shoot  the  quails.  Rut  they 
hit  nothing,  and  the  quails  flew  off  a  little  way  and  then  returned. 
The  little  babies  sat  on  the  ground  and  did  not  know  what  to  do. 

What  ails  you,  brother  ? "  said  the  younger.    "  You  said  that  you 
knew  all  thinf:^s.    Why  can't  you  kill  the  quails 

With  that  the  older  brother  began  shaking  his  head,  and  great  hail- 
stones came  out  of  his  ears.  The  younger  did  the  same,  until  the 
ground  was  piled  with  hailstones,  and  then  they  made  a  sling  and 
with  the  hailstones  shot  and  killed  all  the  quail  and  left  them  lying 
on  the  ground.  (Song.)  All  were  killed  but  one,  which  they  caught 
in  their  hands  and  held  on  their  laps  until  they  hurt  it,  and  then  they 
let  it  go.  It  was  the  quail  who  sang  the  song  because  of  his  joy  in 
being  free,  but  the  brothers  answered,  "You  are  glad  now,  but  you 


The  Story  of  the  Ckaup. 


221 


won't  be  glad  in  the  future.  The  pepple  who  come  a£ter  us  will  kill 
you  in  just  the  same  way."  (Song.) 

The  boys  then  made  some  ropes  of  twisted  straw  and  played  with 
them  until  sunset ;  but  as  it  grew  late  they  began  to  fear  that  their 
mother  would  find  they  had  left  their  cradles,  so  they  took  all  the 
dead  quails  and  tied  them  to  the  rope  and  hung  them  about  inside 
the  house,  until  the  house  was  full  of  them.  Then  they  got  into 
their  cradles. 

When  the  mother  came  home  and  saw  the  quails  hung  within  the 
house  she  said,  "I  have  a  husband  then,  who  fills  my  house  with 
game,  '  and  full  of  anger  she  cut  the  rope  and  threw  the  quails  away. 

One  of  the  babies  began  to  cry  and  the  sister  went  and  took  him 
down  and  brought  him  to  the  mother  to  nurse,  but  the  baby  refused 
to  nurse  and  cried  the  more.  Then  the  other  cried  and  would  not 
nurse^  and  the  more  the  women  tried  to  still  them,  the  harder  they 
both  cried. 

«  What  can  ail  them  ?  "  said  the  sisters.  "  Is  it  the  red  ants  that 
are  stinging  them  ?"  They  took  off  all  the  balues'  clothes  to  look 
for  the  red  ants,  but  still  the  children  cried. 

"F^haps  they  cry  because  I  threw  the  quails  away,"  said  the 
mother.  "  It  may  have  been  they  who  killed  them.  Go  build  a  fire 
and  kt  us  cook  the  birds." 

So  they  built  a  great  fire  and  cooked  and  ate  the  Inrds,  and  then  the 
babies  were  content 

Soag:  Yirkipdia-w4h,  etc. 

Then  the  mother  and  her  sister  went  away  to  another  home,  and 
took  the  babies  with  them  ;  but  the  sister  got  lost  on  the  way,  and 
the  mother  was  left  alone. 

One  day  she  went  away  from  home  and  left  the  babies  hanging  in 
their  cradles ;  but  thinking  that  they  might  come  down  from  their  cra- 
dles and  do  something  on  the  sly,  she  determined  to  stay  close  at 
hand  and  watch  what  might  happen.  So  she  changed  herself  into  the 
Stump  of  a  tree  growing  not  far  away. 

As  soon  as  she  was  out  of  sight  the  babies  jumped  down  from  their 
cradles,  and  made  themselves  little  bows  and  arrows,  with  which  they 
began  playing  in  the  house ;  then  they  ran  out  of  doors  to  where  the 
mother  stood  in  the  shape  of  a  stump.  The  elder  brother  hurried 
past  her  without  a  glance,  but  the  younger  called  out  to  him,  "Be 
careful,  brother,  what  )  ou  do.    I  see  something  strange." 

Come  on,"  said  the  elder  brother.   "What  are  you  afraid  of  ? " 

*'Come  back,  I  say/'  repeated  the  younger.  "There  is  surely 
something  wordi  looking  at  here." 

"What  is  it  you  mean  ?"  asked  the  elder,  running  back. 


Digitized  by  Google 


222  journal  of  American  Folk^Lon, 


"Look,"  said  his  brother,  pointing  at  the  stump. 
*'  Oh,  that  is  nothing  but  the  stump  of  a  tre^  the  sort  that  small 
boys  use  as  a  mark  to  shoot  at." 
"  If  that  is  so  I  '11  hit  it,"  said  the  younger,  raising  his  bow. 
"So  will  I,"  said  the  elder. 

Just  as  they  pointed  their  arrows  at  the  stump  the  mother  called 
out  to  them,  "  Wicked  boys,  is  that  the  way  you  treat  the  mother 
who  worked  and  cared  for  you  when  you  were  small  and  helpless? 
Just  as  soon  as  you  grow  large  you  wish  to  kill  me.  The  people 
who  come  after  us  will  tell  the  story  of  the  bad  boys  who  killed  their 
mother." 

Song:  Ha-chaup 

In-ya-karba,  etc 

With  that  she  came  to  them  in  her  own  shape  and  patted  them  on 
the  cheeks,  for  she  saw  that  they  were  angry  at  her  chiding ;  hut 
they  turned  then*  heads  away  and  would  not  listen  to  her.  Instead 
of  mother  they  called  her  Sin-yo-hauch  ^ — the  woman  who  had  been 
turned  into  a  stump. 

But  she  caressed  them  until  they  were  content  again,  and  she 
promised  to  make  them  bows  and  arrows  and  teach  them  how  to 
hunt. 

So  she  sent  one  to  the  north  and  the  other  to  the  south  to  get  the 
right  sort  of  wood  to  make  arrows.  In  the  evening  they  came  hack 
each  with  a  great  bundle  of  sticks.  The  mother  was  very  glad  when 
she  saw  it  and  said :  "  The  people  who  come  after  us  will  make 
arrows  as  I  am  going  to  do." 

So  she  went  to  where  there  was  a  big  pile  of  ashes  and  cleaned 
the  wood  for  the  arrowSi  and  put  them  on  top  of  the  house  to  dry  in 
the  sun.  (Song.) 

Next  day  she  made  the  arrows  from  the  wood  for  the  little  boys, 
but  she  made  the  arrows  for  the  younger  son  the  best. 

And  she  told  them  to  go  to  bed  very  early  that  night,  so  they  could 
get  up  betimes  in  the  morning  and  go  to  a  hill  very  far  away  where 
a  willow  tree  grew,  which  they  must  cut  down  and  bring  home  to  her 
that  out  of  it  she  might  make  them  bows.  They  went  as  she  told 
them  and  cut  the  willow-tree  and  brought  it  home,  asking  if  that 
was  the  wood  she  meant. 

"  It  is,"  she  answered,  and  she  split  it  in  lengths  and  made  two 
bows,  one  for  the  elder  and  one  for  the  younger,  but  the  bow  of  the 
younger  was  the  better. 

That  night  the  boys  could  not  sleep  for  wishing  for  the  day  when 
they  might  go  hunting. 

1  This  is  also  the  name  of  the  Earth-Mother,  verj'  sacred  to  the  older  Indians. 
Those  who  have  been  under  Spanish  influence  identify  her  with  the  Virgin  Mary. 


The  Story  of  the  Chaup,  223 


SoQg:  In-ya-ke-te-me* 
Hi-Uya,  etc. 

As  soon  as  it  was  light  they  hurried  forth,  and  saw  not  far  from 
their  home  a  big  lizard  with  a  blue  breast  lying  on  a  rock.  They 
were  so  frightened  that  they  hastened  home.  •*  What  ails  you  ? " 
asked  the  mother,  and  when  they  told  her  of  the  monster  they  had 
seen  she  told  them  that  that  was  a  thing  to  shoot  for  food ;  so  they 
went  and  killed  it  and  brought  it  home. 

They  went  out  again,  and  not  so  far  away  they  saw  a  big  rat  build> 
ing  its  house,  and  they  ran  home  as  fast  as  they  could  ei;o. 

"  What  ails  you  ? "  asked  the  mother  anxiously.  "  Have  you  been 
bitten  by  a  rattlesnake  ?" 

"  Oh,  mother,  we  saw  something  building  a  house,  and  it  had  a  great 
long  tail."  "Why,  that  is  something  that  is  good  to  eat."  So  they 
went  out  and  killed  it  and  brought  it  home. 

Next  time  they  went  they  saw  a  little  rabbit,  and,  running  home  as 
fast  as  their  legs  would  carry  them,  they  told  their  mother  that  they 
had  seen  something  gray  walking  about.  "  Why,  that  was  nothing  but 
a  rabbit,  and  very  good  to  cat."  So  they  went  and  killed  it  and 
brought  it  home. 

Next  day  they  saw  a  big  hare,  and,  half  scared  to  death,  they  told 
their  mother  that  something  with  great  long  ears  was  walking  about 
*'It  is  a  hare,  my  children,  a  thing  that  is  good  to  eat"  So  they 
went  out  and  shot  it  and  brought  it  home. 

Next  day  they  went  again  and  saw  a  big  deer,  and,  more  frightened 
than  ever  before,  they  ran  home  to  their  mother. 

"Oh,  mother,  we  have  seen  a  thing  that  is  walking  about  with  a 
tree  growing  out  of  its  head." 

<*Now  that  is  a  deer,"  said  the  mother,  *'a  thing  that  you  must  not 
kill  by  yourselves,  but  you  must  call  all  the  people  together,  and  all 
go  on  the  hunt  and  each  have  a  share  of  the  meat." 

But  the  little  hoys  would  not  listen  to  their  mother,  for  they  were 
determined  to  kill  the  deer  by  themselves.  So  the  next  day  they 
went  and  chased  and  killed  the  deer,  and  left  it  lying  while  they 
went  to  tell  their  mother  what  they  had  done. 

She  would  not  believe  that  they  had  done  this,  for  it  was  not  the 
right  way  to  do.    Many  must  eat  of  that  meat 

"Come,  hurry,  mother,"  said  the  boys;  "bring  knives  and  cut  it 
open  and  let  us  carry  it  home."  The  mother  did  not  want  to  go, 
but,  urged  by  her  sons,  she  followed  them  to  where  they  had  left  the 
deer. 

"  I  see,  my  sons,  that  you  have  disobeyed  me  and  killed  the  deer, 
but  we  cannot  carry  it  home.  We  must  skin  it  here  and  cut  it  up, 
for  that  is  the  way  to  do.   The  people  who  come  after  us  will  do  as 


L-iyiii^ed  by  Google 


224 


yourtud  of  Ammam  Folk-Lan* 


we  do,  not  carry  a  deer  home,  but  skin  it  in  the  mountains  where  they 
kiU  it/* 

Song :  Kwa-kwe-kwa-hm,  etc. 

"  Bring  grass  to  lay  the  pieces  upon  as  I  cut  it,"  said  the  mother, 
and  the  boys  began  to  gather  the  grass  near  at  hand. 

"  No,  that  grass  is  not  good,"  said  the  mother.  '*  Go  farther  off 
and  bring  a  heap  of  plants  to  spread  upon  the  ground." 

And  while  the  little  boys  were  gone  to  get  the  grass,  the  mother, 
who  was  a  sort  of  a  witch,  stood  by  the  deer  and  made  him  come  to 
life  again.  So  just  as  the  boys  came  back  the  deer  got  up  and  ran 
away. 

The  mother  told  them  what  she  had  done,  but  they  did  not  answer 
her.  They  stood  there  in  silence  with  their  arms  full  of  the  bundles 
of  grass.    For  a  long  time  they  did  not  say  a  word. 

"  What  afls  you  ?  "  asked  the  mother.  The  people  that  come  after 
118  will  do  the  same  way.  If  they  hunt  a  deer  and  do  not  Idll  him 
as  they  should,  they  must  go  after  him  again.  Go,  my  sons,  and 
follow  him.  Go  both  together,  the  younger  following  the  elder  and 
watching  the  tracks.*' 

So  the  brothers  obeyed  her,  and  flinging  down  the  bundles  of  grass 
they  ran  after  the  deer. 

(Song,  sung  by  the  mother.) 

They  went  to  the  south,  and  many  deer  were  there,  but  not  the 
one  they  were  seeking.  They  saw  many  trackst  but  not  the  one  they 
knew. 

Song:  H»iii»yo-whee^  etc. 

Th^  sang  that  now  they  would  see  the  track,  and  then  they  would 
lose  it  again. 

And  they  went  on  and  on  till  they  came  to  the  Eastern  Ocean. 

Song:  IC»>]n6to>k»'M,  etc. 

At  last  they  found  the  track  they  were  after,  and  they  saw  the  deer 
standing  by  the  ocean. 

Song:  He-yo^o 

So^ha,  etc. 

When  the  deer  saw  that  he  was  pursued,  he  turned  and  ran  on  and 
on  until  he  came  to  the  Ocean  of  the  West 

Song:  A-lc«ra4cwe-Ico,  etc. 

And  when  they  came  dose  behind  him  he  jumped  into  the  water, 
and  they  could  not  reach  him  to  shoot  him  because  he  was  in  the 
water.  And  as  the  sun  was  setting  and  they  could  not  kill  the  deer, 
they  went  home  and  lay  down  by  the  fire,  one  on  either  side,  and 
when  the  mother  spoke  to  them  they  would  not  answer  her,  for  they 
were  angiy  that  she  had  made  the  deer  to  live; 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Slaty  of  ike  Ckaup.  325 


"What  ails  you?"  asked  the  mother.  "Have  you  been  fighting 
or  did  some  accident  happen  to  you  ?  Look  at  the  meal  1  am  cook- 
ing for  you  and  for  no  one  else.  Eat  it  and  sleep,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing 1  will  show  you  how  to  hunt  the  deer.  He  is  on  a  high  mountain, 
and  you  must  set  fire  to  the  mountain  and  he  will  run  out  and  you 
can  kill  him.'* 

So  all  night  long  the  mother  remained  awake,  sitting  upon  the 
housetop  on  a  deerskin  which  she  spread  there ;  and  she  s^n^  ail 
night  ioiig,  although  there  was  a  ncavy  iug  and  it  began  to  rain. 

Song:  Mapkai-yarina-kai,  etc 

III  the  morntng,  when  the  sun  rose,  she  went  first  of  all  to  the 
mountain  and  set  it  on  fire  herself.  When  the  two  sons  came  she 
told  the  elder  to  go  up  on  the  mountain  while  the  younger  re- 
mained below;  and  while  the  elder  searched  upon  the  hilltop  the 
younger  shot  the  deer.  The  brothers  kUled  it  and  sat  beside  it  and 
talked  of  all  they  had  done  and  suffered  on  their  mother's  account. 
They  were  so  angry  with  her  that  they  determined  to  skin  the  deer 
and  cook  and  eat  the  meat  without  giving  her  a  share. 

And  this  they  did,  and  waited  till  sunset  before  they  went  down 
the  mountain  to  their  home.  And  among  the  rocks  on  the  home- 
ward journey  they  killed  many  rabbits,  which  they  took  home  to  their 
mother,  but  not  a  word  did  they  tell  her  about  their  having  killed  and 
eaten  the  deer.   This  ends  the  story  of  the  deer. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  EAGLES. 

The  boys  were  getting  older  now,  and  their  hair  was  growing  very 
long.  It  was  down  to  their  knees,  but  their  mother  told  them  she 
could  not  cut  their  hair  because  she  was  not  a  man.  She  told  them, 
however,  to  get  up  very  early  the  next  morning  and  go  to  the  place 
where  there  was  an  eagle's  nest,  and  to  bring  the  eagles  home  to  her. 

So  they  got  up  very  early  in  the  morning  and  went  to  the  place 
where  there  was  a  nest  of  crows.  "  Perhaps  this  is  what  she  means," 
they  said  ;  so  they  took  the  crows  home  with  them  and  asked  her  if 
that  was  what  she  meant. 

**No,  that  is  wrong,"  said  the  mother,  and  she  threw  the  crows 
away. 

So  then  they  went  again  till  they  came  to  the  place  where  there 
was  a  horned  owl's  nest.  "This  must  be  the  one,"  they  said,  and 
they  took  it  home  to  their  mother ;  but  she  said  that  was  not  the 
right  one,  and  she  threw  it  away. 

And  they  started  out  again  and  found  the  common  owl  in  its  nest 
and  took  it  home  to  their  mother;  but  she  said  that  was  not  the  one, 
and  threw  it  away.  ' 


Digitized  by  Google 


226  yournal  of  A  merican  Folh^Lore. 

Then  they  went  again,  and  came  to  a  nest  o/  young  buzzards,  some 
of  which  were  sitting  on  the  tree.  "We  must  be  right  now,"  they 
said,  and  took  the  buzzard  home ;  but  the  mother  said  that  was  not 
an  eagle,  and  she  threw  the  buzzard  away. 

"  Wait  now  till  morning,"  said  their  mother.  So  they  slept  all  night, 
and  very  early  in  the  morning  went  on  their  way  until  they  came  to 
a  stream  of  water,  and  on  the  other  side  was  a  high  mountain. 

They  crossed  the  stream  and  climbed  the  mountain,  and  not  far 
beyond  sat  down  to  rest. 

Their  mother  had  told  them  to  wait  in  this  spot  to  see  what  would 
happen. 

Soon  a  white  eagle  came  flying  towards  its  nest  with  a  deer  in  its 
claws.  They  watched  it  until  they  saw  it  fly  into  its  nest.  Then 
there  came  a  black  eagle  with  a  big  hare  in  its  talons,  and  it  flew 
in  the  same  direction.  So  they  followed  its  course  until  they  came 
to  the  foot  of  a  great  rock,  very  steep  and  high,  and  on  top  of  it  was 
the  eagle's  nest,  with  two  young  ones  in  it.  One  was  white  and 
one  was  black  and  they  flew  about  on  top  of  the  rock.  But  the  boys 
could  not  catch  them,  for  the  rock  was  too  steep  to  climb.  (Song.) 

"I  wonder  why  mother  sent  us  here  on  such  an  errand,"  said 
the  boys.  (Song.)  They  tried  and  tried  to  climb  the  rock,  but  it 
was  too  steep,  and  they  fell  back  time  after  time^  and  all  the  while 
the  eagles  were  growing  older. 

The  boys  began  to  ay  and  lament ;  and  they  stood  and  held  their 
hands  to  the  east,  and  got  some  white  clay  and  with  it  they  painted 
their  cheeks.  Then  they  held  their  hands  to  the  west,  and  got  some 
black  clay.  These  were  signs  of  sorrow  and  mourning.  Tears  ran 
down  their  cheeks.  (Song.) 

At  last  they  determined  that  come  what  might  they  would  dimb 
the  steep  rock.  "  You  go  first,"  said  the  older.  "  No,  it  is  you  who 
must  try  it  first"  So  they  disputed  for  a  time,  till  at  last  the  younger 
started  to  climb  the  rock.  On  he  went  until  with  just  one  step  for- 
ward he  lost  his  balance  and  fell  to  the  ground,  where  he  was  broken 
in  pieces. 

Song:  A  ma-te-kis-ma,  etc. 

He  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  rock  with  all  his  bones  broken,  but  the 
older  brother,  who  was  a  witch,  sat  down  beside  him  and  put  all  the 
bones  together  one  by  one.  Then  he  spoke  to  him  and  told  him  to 
wake  up.  "  Why,  I  have  just  been  asleep,"  said  the  younger  brother. 
"  No,  you  were  dead,  but  I  made  you  alive  again,"  said  the  older. 
"  Now  I  will  try  to  climb  the  rock  myself.  Turn  your  back  and  by 
no  means  look  at  me  until  I  give  you  leave." 

So  the  older  brother  stood  and  held  up  his  hands  to  the  sky  and 
brought  down  a  big  red  snake.  The  younger  brother  looked  around 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


Tk€  Story  of  the  Ckaup 


227 


and  saw  that  the  steep  rock  was  full  of  red  snakes,  whose  heads  stuck 
out  of  every  crevice^  and  the  elder  climbed  among  the  snakes  until 

he  reached  the  top. 

On  top  the  rock  was  covered  with  snakes  of  all  sorts,  red  snakes 
and  gopher  snakes  and  rattlesnakes,  and  the  boy  sat  on  the  edge  of 
the  rock  looking  at  the  eagles'  nest,  but  afraid  to  go  near  it  for  fear 
of  the  snakes. 

"  Make  haste  and  throw  down  the  eagles*"  said  the  younger  from 
the  foot  of  the  rock. 

Song:  Ha-mat-a-ku-ti-yai,  etc. 

The  older  sang  a  song  to  the  snakes  telling  them  he  would  not  hurt 
them,  but  only  wanted  to  catch  the  eagles.  (Song.) 
So  he  caught  the  eagles  and  tied  their  feet  together. 

Song:  Ha-kiii-«-iiio*]dn. 

As  he  started  down  the  rock  he  threw  the  eagles  to  the  ground, 
and  both  of  them  flew  directly  to  the  feet  of  the  younger,  who  caught 
them  and  refused  to  give  them  to  his  brother. 

"Give  me  my  eagles,"  said  the  older. 

<*No,  I  shall  keep  them  for  myself,"  said  the  younger.  After  a 
while,  however,  he  agreed  to  give  up  the  black  eagle  to  his  brother. 

"  And  now  you  had  better  run  home  as  fast  as  you  can,"  said 
the  older,  "for  if  I  am  not  mistaken  it  is  going  to  rain."  (Song.) 

So  the  older  brother  held  up  his  hands  to  the  west  and  brought 
the  rain.  The  clouds  floated  in  and  the  sky  was  covered  with  them, 
and  it  began  to  rain  in  torrents  just  on  the  path  where  the  younger 
brother  was  going.  He  tried  to  find  shelter  here  and  there,  but  the 
rain  beat  in  everywhere.  All  this  time  the  older  brother  went 
another  road  in  the  sunshine.  He  was  very  angry  at  his  brother 
because  he  kept  the  white  eagle  from  him. 

Soog:  A-kwe-kwa 

Hapinatarwhaii,  etc. 

(About  a  dozen  lines.) 

The  younger  brother  suffered  vexy  much  in  the  storm  with  the 
white  eagle  he  was  carr}Mng.  (Song.) 

It  rained  so  hard  that  at  last  the  white  eagle  died.  He  was  sitting 
on  the  ground  beside  the  dead  eagle  when  his  brother  went  by  look- 
ing at  it. 

The  younger  brother  grew  very  angry.  ""You  need  not  look  so 
scornfully  at  me,"  he  said.  "  You  think  I  am  young  and  cannot  do 
anything,  but  you  shall  see  that  I  can  do  things  as  well  as  you."  So 
he  stood  and  held  up  his  hand  to  the  north  and  called  the  thunder- 
storm to  come  (Song),  and  quick  clouds  came,  and  it  rained  very  hard 
on  the  road  the  older  brother  took.    The  younger  went  another  way 


Digitized  by  Google 


228 


yaurual  of  American  Foik-'Lan. 


where  the  sun  shone  bright  and  hot.  He  was  hunting  and  killing 
rabbits  as  he  went  along.  (Song.)  "  I  told  you  what  i  was  going 
to  do,"  he  said  in  his  song. 

The  elder  brother  was  suffering  in  the  storm,  from  which  he  could 
find  no  shelter.  He  tried  to  shield  the  black  eagle  from  the  rain; 
but  this  he  could  not  do,  and  the  black  eagle  was  already  dying. 
(Song.) 

At  last  the  black  eagle  died  and  the  brothers  met  again.  "Why 
did  you  do  this  thing  ? "  each  asked  the  other.  "  I  never  heard  of 
relatives  treating  each  other  sa"  So  they  shook  hands  and  were 
friends  again. 

Then  they  made  ready  to  buiy  the  eagles.  They  dug  a  big  hole, 
but  the  earth  was  black,  and  they  said  that  that  was  not  a  fit  place 
to  bury  the  eagles.  Gophers  and  rats  would  dig  their  bones  and  eat 
them.  So  diey  took  them  up  and  went  to  a  place  where  the  ground 
was  yellow,  and  there  th^  buried  them.  They  made  a  great  big 
hole  and  went  down  into  it  and  buried  the  eagles  there.  Each 
brother  cut  off  his  own  hair  and  dressed  the  eagles  with  it  when  they 
buried  them. 

Soqg:  He-ko-mft4a>ina,  etc. 

The  sun  was  setting  and  it  was  growing  late^  so  they  went  home 
and  lay  down  one  on  either  side  of  the  firCi 

The  mother  was  cooking  their  supper,  but  when  she  brought  it  to 
them  they  would  not  eat 

'"What  ails  you,  my  sons?'*  she  said.  "Here  is  the  supper  I 
cooked  for  you  and  for  no  one  else,  and  in  spite  of  all  my  pains  you 
will  not  eat  my  food.    Have  you  been  fighting,  and  are  you  hurt  ?  " 

(Song.)  The  mother  began  to  sing  that  the  eagles  were  coming, 
but  the  oldest  son  woke  from  his  sleep  and  told  his  mother  she  ought 
not  to  say  what  could  not  be  true,  for  the  eagles  were  dead.  So  he 
lay  down  again. 

(Song.)  But  the  mother  sang  and  danced  and  said  that  the  eagles 
were  coming.   The  boys  made  no  answer,  but  laid  there  quietly. 

Song:  **  I  teO  you,  my  sons,  tiiat  the  eagles  are  oondng,** 

repeated  the  mother. 

"  Get  up  and  see  if  the  eagles  are  coming,"  said  the  older  to  his 
brother.  So  the  younger  went  out  to  look,  and  there  was  the  white 
eagle  coming,  just  as  it  was  before  it  was  buried.  Then  the  elder 
brother  got  his  eagle  back  too,  and  the  mother  scolded  them  for 
doing  such  things  to  each  other.   This  ends  the  story  of  the  eagles. 


Tke  Siory  of  £ke  Chaup.  229 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CHAUP  (CONTINUED). 

The  mother  of  the  boys  told  them  that  she  was  just  like  a  man, 
since  she  knew  everything.  She  had  been  all  around  the  world  and 
knew  everything  in  it.  And  she  commanded  them  to  bring  her  a 
certain  tree,  telling  them  where  it  grew,  as  she  needed  it  for  some- 
thing she  was  going  to  do. 

Next  morning  the  brothers  went  as  their  mother  had  told  them, 
and  found  the  tree  growing  right  in  the  middle  of  a  pond  ;  but  the 
water  about  it  was  so  deep  and  there  were  so  many  animals  around 
the  pondi  that  they  were  afraid  to  go  into  the  water  to  cut  it  down. 

Song:  Ha-me-w4-me-e, 
Hai-wa-ha-ha,  etc. 

Then  the  oldest  son,  who  had  a  pipe  stuck  in  his  ears,  took  the 
pipe  and  smoked  it,  and  blew  the  water  back  and  frightened  all  the 
animals  away,  and  dried  up  the  water,  so  that  they  easily  went  and 
cut  down  the  tree^  chopped  it  up  fine,  and  carried  it  home  on  their 
heads. 

When  they  brought  it  to  their  mother  she  was  very  glad,  and  she 
chopped  the  wood  up  fine,  and  took  the  pieces  and  put  them  out  in 
the  sun  to  dry.  And  the  pieces  of  wood  as  she  touched  them  made 
sweet  music 

Song:  Kwa-la-h4-!e,  etc. 

Then  the  old  woman  decorated  the  pieces  with  the  colored  feathers 
of  woodpeckers  and  the  topknots  of  quails,  and  made  them  into  flutes 
for  her  sons  to  play  on. 

Soag:  We>le>wli»«ha^«ircluii«duL 

So  the  brothers  sat  down  facing  the  north,  and  played  on  the 
flutes  such  sweet  music  that  the  giris  from  the  north  came  to  them, 
attracted  by  t^e  sound ;  but  the  boys  did  not  like  the  girls  from  the 
north. 

Soog:  We4e>whardiE*arta],  etc. 

So  they  sat  down  facing  the  south,  and  played  the  same  music  so 
loud  and  so  sweet  that  the  gurls  from  the  south  came  to  hear  it,  but 
they  did  not  like  them  either,  because  they  ate  rats,  snakes,  and  such 
animals  as  that,  and  theur  bodies  did  not  smell  good. 

Song:  Hi-markd-Iu 

H».m»iWe>Ie,  etc 

(Singer  and  Indian  audience  clapped  hands  in  time.) 

So  they  sat  down  toward  the  west,  and  played  the  beautiful  music 
again,  until  the  girls  from  the  west  came  to  them,  but  they  did  not 
like  them,  because  they  ate  all  the  animals  that  live  in  the  ocean. 


ij  i^ud  by  Google 


230  yaumai  of  Amsriean  FoUtdjtn* 

Soo£;  Hd-ka-s<5-Ia 
Ha-ma-we 
HMuarkoJu 

Hapnapdia. 

But  when  they  played  the  sweet  music  facing  the  eas^  some  girb 
came  from  there,  the  daughters  of  Ith-chin,  the  buzzard,  and  they 
liked  them  because  they  lived  on  the  fruit  that  grows  in  the  east 
and  they  smelled  sweet 
It  was  early  in  the  morning  when  the  gu*ls  first  heard  the  music 
They  were  on  their  way  to  a  pond  where  they  used  to  swim  every 
mornings  and  were  looking  for  something  they  wanted  to  eat  It 
was  the  younger  sister  who  first  heard  the  music ;  and  when  she  told 
her  sister  to  listen  to  the  wonderful  sounds,  the  older  could  hear  no- 
thing. "  Come  stand  where  I  am  standing,"  said  the  younger,  "and 
you  will  hear  it  plainly,"  but  even  then  the  older  sister  could  not 
hear  it 

"  I  must  go,  I  must  follow  the  musics"  said  the  younger,  but  her 

sister  reproved  her. 

"  If  you  mean  to  go  to  get  married,  this  is  no  way  to  do  to  start 
empty-handed.  A  girl  who  is  to  be  married  takes  presents  to  her 
mother-in-law  and  father-in  law." 

Their  father,  the  turkey  buzzard,  knew  what  they  were  planning, 
and  when  they  went  home  he  asked  what  they  had  been  doing  by 
the  pond. 

The  girls  said  they  had  been  looking  for  the  right  kind  of  willow 
peel  to  weave  into  a  dress. 

So  they  went  away  one  day  towards  where  the  boys  lived,  and  from 
far  away  they  looked  back  and  saw  their  old  home  and  sang  a  song 
of  farewell. 

Song:  I&l-o4le 

Marha^id'po-ke^  etc 

And  they  travelled  very  far  that  day,  until  it  grew  so  dark  they 
could  not  see  ;  so  they  sat  down  and  took  the  pipes  from  their  ears 
and  smoked  upon  them  and  blew  the  night  away.  And  it  shone, 
there  was  light,  and  they  found  their  way. 

Song:  Ma-ta-yan-he-p«el-ya 

Ma-ta-yan-ee-e-e-d-l-ya,  etc. 

Meaning,  it  was  only  the  night  they  were  afraid  of,  only  the  dark 
night. 

And  they  went  on  through  brush  and  thorns. 

SOQg:  Ma-ta-yan 
Ta-li-cah 
Ta-roe,  etc 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Siory  of  ike  Chaup.  231 

The  brush  and  thorns  are  hurting  us,  they  sang. 

Ta-ya-wa-ha 
E-ka-wa-ya-karme,  etc 

There  was  no  road*  and  they  pushed  then:  way  through  the  brash 
suffering  and  ciyipg  on  their  way. 

Soog:  Ha-U>mo 

Qua-ma-yarwhee,  eta 

They  came  at  last  to  a  growth  of  willows  high  al  (>vc  their  heads, 
and  the  younger  sister  grew  so  tired  that  she  lagged  lar  behind. 

Song :  Nau-ke-nau-me,  etc 

"  Come  quickly/'  said  the  older  sister.    *'  I  am  too  tired,"  she  sang. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  big  sand  mountain  which  they  tried  to 
climb,  but  every  time  they  tried  they  slipped  and  fell  back  to  the 
bottom  again. 

Song :  Sa-Ud-lle-a-114-lle 
Hd-ke-pd-me,  etc. 

Meaning,  they  tried  in  vain  to  climb  the  mountain. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you  } "  the  younger  sister  asked  the  older. 
"  You  say  you  are  a  witch,  and  yet  you  cannot  contrive  some  way 
for  us  to  climb  the  mountain. "  So  the  older  sister  stood  and  stretched 
up  her  hands  and  brought  something  from  the  sky  like  a  fur  mantle 
or  hide  and  covered  the  mountain  with  it,  so  they  climbed  it  easily 
and  sat  down  on  the  top  to  rest. 

In  the  distance  they  saw  a  pond  of  water,  so  they  said  they  would 
rest  a  while  and  then  go  drink  the  water,  and  from  there  start  on  to 
the  boys'  home,  which  was  not  far  away. 

Half  way  to  the  pond  they  met  a  rattlesnake,  whose  back  was  very 
prettily  painted.  And  they  stood  and  watched  him  until  he  looked 
up  and  saw  them. 

" How  did  you  happen  to  come  over  here,  my  nieces?"  he  asked. 

"  We  heard  some  sweet  music  and  came  to  follow  it,"  they  said. 

"I  am  the  one  who  played  that  music,"  said  the  snake.  *'Then 
play  it  again,"  they  told  him ;  and  the  rattlesnake  tried  hb  best  to 
make  music,  but  all  he  could  do  was  to  rattle  his  rattles. 

Song:  Ha-we-chu-me 

Ha-lia'we<e«<«,  etc. 

"  You  arc  too  good  a  man  to  lie  like  that,"  they  sang.  "The best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  keep  quiet,  or  else  you  are  likely  to  get  hurt." 
(Indian  auditors  laugh.) 

So  they  made  mocking  gestures  and  went  on  their  way. 

And  they  came  to  a  house  where  the  coon  lived. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ? "  said  the  ooon ;  and  the  girls  told  him 


232  youmai of  Ameruati  Folk-Lan^ 


they  were  looking  ior  the  man  who  made  the  sweetest  music  they 

ever  heard. 

"  I  made  the  music,"  said  the  coon. 

"Then  make  it  again,"  they  said ;  but  all  he  could  do  was  to  run 
into  his  house  and  bring  out  a  big  gopher  snake,  which  he  promised 
to  cook  for  supper  if  they  would  stay  and  eat  it. 

"We  do  not  eat  such  things,"  they  said,  and  they  left  him  railing 
at  them,  and  went  on  till  they  came  to  the  horned  owl's  house,  and 
he  asked  the  same  question,  and  at  their  answer  told  them  that  he 
was  the  one  who  made  the  music ;  but  when  they  asked  him  to  play 
it  for  them  he  could  not  do  it,  but  promised  them  a  snake  for  their 
supper  if  they  would  stay  and  share  his  meal. 

They  laughed  at  him  and  went  on  their  way. 

Song :  Ho4i-lu-la-ta-kwa,  etc. 

At  last  they  came  to  the  water  which  they  had  seen  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  in  the  water  was  a  tremendous  frog  that  frightened  them 
so  they  were  afraid  to  drink ;  but  they  took  the  little  baskets  they 
wore  on  their  heads  and  drove  the  frog  away  and  drank  the  water. 

Song:  Maihha-tarkainrhfMHHiia,  etc; 

They  sang  about  the  frog  splashing  in  the  water. 

E-haa-a-ta-ka-han-a,  etc 
They  sang  to  drive  the  frog  away. 

It  was  getting  dark,  and  one  of  the  plants  they  passed  was  makiug 
a  curious  noise.  They  stood  and  watched  it  and  sang  a  song 
about  it 

Song :  Ha-mai-ko-te-e-hay-cha,  etc. 

The  mother  of  the  boys  knew  that  the  girls  were  coming,  and  she 
told  her  sons  that  when  the  girls  came  they  must  not  allow  them- 
selves to  care  for  them,  or  make  an\-  motion  to  greet  them.  If  they 
were  perfectly  cold  and  silent  to  them,  the  girls  would  go  away  again 
to  their  home  where  they  belonged. 

That  night  the  owls  and  coyotes  howled  and  hooted  around  the 
house  where  the  boys  lived,  and  the  mother  said  that  something  must 
be  going  to  happen.  It  was  an  evil  omen,  for  she  never  heard  the 
owls  and  coyotes  make  such  a  noise  before.  She  told  the  older  son  to 
go  out  towards  the  south  and  see  what  was  going  to  happen ;  but 
he  came  back  declaring  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen. 

But  the  coyotes  and  owls  howled  and  hooted  the  more  because  the 
girls  were  coming,  and  the  mother  told  her  younger  son  to  go  out 
towards  the  north  and  see  what  was  the  matter. 

He  took  his  bows  and  arrows  and  went  out  of  the  house ;  but  when 
he  came  back  he  said  there  was  nothing  anywhere  about 


The  Story  of  Uic  C/iaup, 


233 


Just  as  he  entered  the  bouse  the  girls  came,  and  the  mother  was 
lying  by  the  door  inside  the  bouse.  So  the  girls  came  and  sat  down 
in  silence  in  front  of  the  door  where  the  mother  could  see  them. 

*•  Who  are  you  ? "  asked  the  mother.  "  Are  you  my  nieces — my 
sisters  —  my  aunts^or  any  of  my  relations  ?  " 

To  each  of  these  questions  the  girls  made  no  reply. 

"Are  you  my  daughters-in-law  ?"  she  asked  at  last;  and  to  this 
question  the  girls  replied  very  softly,  "Yes." 

"Then  there  are  your  husbands  sleeping  in  the  house.  Go  to 
them  if  you  choose." 

So  the  older  and  the  younger  sister  went  each  to  the  bed  of  her 
husband  and  lay  down  beside  him  ;  but  the  elder  son  remembered 
his  mother's  command,  and  would  not  greet  his  wife;  and  when 
vexed  at  his  silence  she  sent  fleas  and  bugs  to  bite  him«  he  would 
not  move  or  stir. 

Song  (sung  by  the  mother-in-law). 

Song  (sung  by  the  sisters). 

And  in  the  morning  the  brothers  rose  very  early  and  went  out  to 
saddle  their  horses,  and  the  girls  went  out  and  sat  outside.  The 
mother-in-law  told  them  that  they  could  go  to  the  pond  to  bathe. 
While  they  sat  there  the  older  sister  said  to  the  younger,  "  You  are 
now  a  relative  of  the  old  woman  since  your  husband  loves  you,  but 
I  am  not,  and  I  shall  go  back  to  my  home." 

*'  I  shall  be  too  lonely  to  stay  without  you,"  said  her  sister.  If 
you  go  I  shall  go  with  you." 

So  they  went  to  the  pond,  bathed  their  faces  and  went  home.  The 
younger  son  was  sick  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  wife.  The  older 
brother  would  go  hunting  and  bring  something  home  to  his  mother 
to  eat,  but  she  would  give  nothing  to  the  younger  son.  *'  I  told  3rou 
not  to  care  for  the  girl  or  to  speak  to  her/'  she  said.  "  Now  you  are 
pining  away  for  her,  and  may  die  of  your  disobedience." 

He  pined  and  fasted  for  many  days,  until  he  was  too  weak  to  hunt 
anything  but  lizards  and  little  animals  on  the  hills,  though  he  would 
tell  his  elder  brother  stories  of  the  deer  be  pretended  to  have  killed. 
At  last  his  mother  took  pity  on  him  when  he  was  wasted  nearly  to 
death,  and  she  threw  him  in  the  pond,  and  he  grew  well  and  fat 
again. 

The  younger  brother  used  to  beg  the  older  to  go  away  with  bim 
to  seek  their  wives.  His  wife,  he  said,  was  going  to  have  a  baby, 
and  he  must  go  to  her  ;  but  the  older  brother,  who  cared  nothing  for 
his  wife,  would  not  at  first  agree  to  undertake  the  journey. 

At  last  he  yielded  to  his  brother's  wishes,  and  told  his  mother 
that  he  was  going  on  a  long  journey.  He  took  off  a  feather  head- 
dress that  he  wore  and  hung  it  up  in  the  house.    "  Watch  this  every 

VOL.  xvH.    NO.  67.  16 


.  J  i^ud  by  Google 


234 


y&urtial  of  American  Folk-Lon, 


day  that  I  am  away,"  he  said.  "  While  I  am  living  the  feathers  will 
remain  as  they  are,  but  when  I  die  they  will  move  back  and  forth." 

The  younger  son  said  farewell  in  the  same  way,  and  took  a  feather 
rope  which  he  had  made  and  stretched  it  across  the  house. 

**  Watch  this  carefully,"  he  said,  "for  while  I  live  it  will  remain  as 
it  is,  but  when  I  die  it  will  be  cut  in  two."  And  he  promised  that 
some  day  he  would  come  back  to  her  again. 

Song :  Hay-a-ka-whin-ya,  etc. 

But  the  mother  was  sick  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  her  sons ;  she 
refused  to  let  them  go ;  and  holding  up  her  hands  to  the  sky  she 
brought  down  hailstones  for  them  and  told  them  to  stay  at  home 
with  her  and  play  with  the  hailstones  as  they  did  when  they  were 
little.  But  already  they  were  far  away  ;  and  they  looked  back  and 
said  to  her  that  when  they  were  young  she  never  brought  hailstones 
down  for  them.    Now  they  were  old  and  must  go  away. 

They  went  on  till  they  they  came  to  a  large  grove  of  trees,  and 
here  they  made  stufted  figures  of  grass  and  put  feathers  around  the 
head  and  waist  of  each,  and  stood  them  up  and  left  them  there.  1  he 
old  woman  was  in  her  bed,  but  looking  out  of  the  door  she  thought 
she  saw  her  sons,  and  she  ran  to  meet  them  and  put  her  arms  around 
them  ;  but  it  was  only  withered  grass  that  she  held  in  her  arms.  She 
fainted  and  fell  to  the  ground.    She  did  not  know  what  to  do. 

Song :  Ho-cha-ma-ta-we-wha,  etc. 

The  boys  went  on  looking  for  the  track  of  the  girls.  They  could 
only  see  a  faint  trace  of  their  footsteps.  The  night  came  and  they 
found  a  place  to  rest.  The  owls  and  coyotes  howled  very  much. 
There  was  no  road  through  the  brush. 

Song:  Kwa-o-o-yo*Ok  etc 

All  night  the  younger  brother  slept  soundly,  but  the  older  could 
not  sleep.  He  sat  up  and  tied  bunches  of  feathers  on  sticks  which 
he  stuck  in  a  circle  on  the  ground  ;  and  he  sat  down  in  the  middle 
singing  about  the  owls  and  coyotes  that  were  hooting  and  howling 
around. 

Song:  Har-o-twa-mc.  etc. 

At  last  he  woke  his  brother  and  told  him  that  he  was  afraid  that 
something  was  going  to  happen,  for  the  owls  and  the  coyotes  made 
such  a  noise. 

"Why  are  you  afraid  asked  his  brother.  "When  the  coyotes 
howl  and  the  owls  hoot  it  is  a  sign  that  they  are  beginning  to  get 
ready  for  the  summer-time.    There  is  no  need  to  be  afraid." 

In  the  morning  they  travelled  towards  the  girls'  house,  and  they 
came  to  the  same  pool  of  water  where  the  frog  used  to  be.  The 
older  brother  bad  gotten  up  first  in  the  morning,  and  he  said  to  the 


The  Siary  of  the  Chaup,  235 

younger,  "Make  haste,  it  is  getting  late."  So  the  older  came  first 
to  the  pond,  and  drank  there  and  waited  for  his  brother.  Then  the 
younger  came  to  the  water.  "  Take  a  drink  oi  the  water,"  said  the 
older. 

"  No,  answered  his  brother,  "that  is  not  a  good  place  to  drink. 
They  used  to  kill  people  here." 

"  Lie  flat  on  your  stomach,  and  shut  your  eyes  while  you  drink," 
said  the  older.  He  meant  to  drown  his  brother  while  his  eyes  were 
shut  by  pushing  him  into  the  water,  and  then  go  back  to  his  home 
again. 

SoDg:  Whl>Ie>wi-jraphan 

Whi'le-wi-Tarban,  etc.* 

The  younger  brother  lay  down  to  drink,  but  he  did  not  shnt  his 
eyes.  He  was  looking  in  the  water,  and  just  as  he  was  getting  ready 
to  drink  be  saw  in  the  water  the  reflection  of  his  brother,  who  bent 
over  to  push  him  in ;  and  jumping  up  quickly  asked  if  he  was  mean- 
ing to  drown  him. 

**  I  was  only  killing  a  fly  upon  your  neck,"  said  his  brother. 

"  I  know  well  enough  you  want  to  kill  me,*'  said  the  younger,  and 
he  got  up  without  drinking  the  water. 

From  there  they  travelled  till  they  came  to  the  top  of  a  high  moun- 
tain, and  the  elder  came  first  to  the  top  and  sat  down,  and  then  the 
younger  came^  and  they  watched  the  people  in  the  valley  where  a 
large  crowd  was  playing  a  game  of  ball. 

"  Look  at  all  those  people,"  said  the  older.  "  How  are  we  going 
to  be  able  to  get  to  the  place  in  safety  }  " 

So  the  younger  stood  up  and  held  up  to  his  hands  to  the  sky,  and 
got  a  lot  of  stars  and  put  them  all  over  his  body.  And  his  brother 
did  the  same,  and  they  sat  down  and  were  watching  the  people. 
They  were  shining  like  stars. 

So^g:  HsMiiai*naiM-clisk-oi]i<wln-i'i,  etc. 

They  rose  as  if  they  had  wings,  and  flew  over  to  where  th^ 
wanted  to  go. 

Song:  Ha^he-naQ-e-cMcom-whi-i-i,  etc. 

"  I  am  going  to  fly  to  the  girls'  house^"  said  the  younger.  "  Watch 
me  very  closely  and  you  will  see  where  I  go  in  among  the  crowds 
of  people." 

'*  We  will  die  for  the  sake  of  the  girls,"  said  the  older.  "And  we 
shall  never  see  our  home  again." 

The  older  watched  his  brother  and  saw  htm  fly  towards  the  houses 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  people.   Among  all  the  houses  he  did  not 

^  Up  to  this  point  I  have  used  English  pronunication  for  songs.  After  this, 
a  modified  Spanish  ;  English  not  being  sufficiently  phonetic 


Digitized  by  Google 


236  y&umal  of  American  Folk^Lore. 

know  where  to  go ;  but  he  came  to  one  of  the  houses  where  there 

was  a  crowd  of  people  about  it,  and  the  roof  opened  and  he  went  in 
shining  like  a  star.  As  he  fiew  over  their  heads  the  people  looked 
up  and  saw  the  Chaup.  They  wanted  to  catch  him,  but  they  could 
not.  The  father  of  the  girls  was  there,  and  he  told  the  people  not 
to  catch  him,  as  that  was  not  a  star  but  a  person.  When  the  roof 
opened  he  went  into  the  house^  and  here  he  found  his  wife. 

Song:  HaFdie-imu-e^tn.-koni'Whi'i'i,  etc. 

The  older  brother,  left  alone  on  the  mountain,  flew  after  his 
brother  shining  like  Chaup.  People  tried  to  catch  him  in  the  same 
way,  but  the  girls"  father  warned  them  again,  and  he  too  went  into 
the  house,  where  he  found  his  wife. 

The  girls  were  glad  to  see  their  husbands,  and  laughed  so  loud 
that  their  father  heard  them  from  outside  and  said:  **  I  wonder  what 
is  the  matter  with  my  daughters.  Th^  never  make  a  noise  like 
that.  Go  and  see  what  is  the  matter  with  them/'  he  said  to  his 
grandson ;  and  he  gave  him  a  shell  full  of  wheat  to  eat  on  the  way. 
The  little  hoy  went  along  eating  and  playing  till  he  finished  all  the 
wheat,  and  then  he  came  back  without  any  news^  So  the  old  man 
gave  him  a  shell  full  of  com,  and  the  littie  boy  went  along  eating 
the  com  till  he  came  to  the  house,  and  peeped  inside  and  saw  the 
brothers  there  with  eyes  shining  like  fire ;  and  he  was  afraid  of  them, 
they  shone  so  bright  and  clear.   So  he  ran  back  as  fast  as  he  could. 

"What  is  the  matter  ?"  asked  the  grandfather.  . 

"There  is  something  like  stars  in  the  house.  They  have  eyes  of 
fire,  and  I  was  afraid." 

When  the  old  man  heard  this  he  wanted  to  kill  the  Chaups ;  so  he 
went  to  the  house  of  the  coyote  and  asked  him  if  he  was  willing  to 
kill  them  for  him.  The  coyote  took  up  his  bow  and  arrow  and  went 
to  the  house ;  but  when  he  saw  the  brothers  they  were  shining  so 
bright  he  could  not  go  near  them.  So  he  went  back  and  told  the 
old  man  that  nothing  could  hurt  them.  They  were  great  wizards 
with  eyes  of  fire  that  made  him  afraid. 

So  the  old  man  could  not  find  any  one  to  kill  them  until  he  went 
to  a  place  where  there  were  a  great  many  hawks,  an' I  he  asked  if 
they  were  willing  to  kill  the  Chaups.  They  agreed  and  said  that 
they  would  tear  them  in  pieces  with  their  beaks. 

Song:  Mi^lcan-AiiHiplia, etc. 

So  the  hawks  flew  to  the  house  where  the  Chaups  were  and  tried 
to  kill  them  ;  but  they  were  afraid,  and  they  met  the  old  man  on  the 
way  home  and  told  him  they  could  not  do  anything. 

So  then  he  went  to  the  beards  house,  and  asked  him  if  he  would 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


The  Story  of  the  Chaup. 


237 


kill  them.  He  consented  and  said  that  he  would  scratch  them  and 
tear  them  in  pieces  with  his  claws. 

The  bear  went  to  the  house  and  scratched  around  the  door,  but 
did  not  dare  to  touch  the  Chaups,  and  told  the  old  man  he 'd  better 
find  some  one  else  to  do  it  for  him.  So  the  old  m:m  went  home 
determined  to  do  it  himself,  since  no  one  else  would  dare  to.  So  he 
dug  a  passage  underground  from  his  house  towards  the  girls'  house, 
and  when  he  dug  under  the  house  it  began  to  fall  with  a  loud  noise  ; 
and  the  brothers  flew  out  among  the  people,  who  followed  them  say- 
ing they  were  Chaups  and  trying  to  kill  them  ;  but  since  they  were 
witches  no  one  could  hurt  them. 

So  they  all  returned  home  and  met  the  old  man  going  out  alone 
with  his  bow  and  arrow.  "  Where  are  you  going  ? "  they  asked  him. 
"You  are  too  old  to  do  anything  by  yourself." 

"I  am  going  to  look  at  them,"  he  said;  and  he  went  on  till  he 
caught  up  with  the  Chaups.  He  was  a  wizard  too  ;  and  as  he  came  up 
to  the  younger  brother  he  killed  him  first.  Then  the  younger  called 
out  to  the  older  to  save  himself ;  but  when  the  older  looked  back  and 
saw  his  brother  dead,  he  said  he  might  as  well  die  too.  He  would  be 
so  lonely.  So  he  sat  down  on  the  ground,  and  the  old  man  came 
and  killed  him  toa 

And  he  called  out  very  loud  to  the  people  to  cqpe  and  see  his 
dead  enemies.  think  I  hear  some  one  calling/'  said  the  coyote ; 
and  when  he  saw  the  Chaups  were  dead  he  called  to  the  people  and 
said  it  was  he  who  had  killed  them.  And  all  the  people  left  their 
houses  and  gathered  together  and  told  the  two  sisters  to  sing  about 
the  dead  Chaups. 

Song :  To-m^to-ml,  etc. 

and  they  sang  that  they  had  killed  them  under  the  trees. 
But  the  old  man  pushed  them  aside  and  sang  by  himself. 

Song:  A-Uan-a-hi,  etc. 

He  stood  on  the  breast  of  the  dead  Chaups  and  sang  that  it  was  he 
who  had  killed  them. 

Song:  Ha-whai  cha-hi-i-i  i,  etc. 

Then  he  told  the  people  to  cut  them  in  pieces  and  eat  them.  And 
the  people  gathered  together  and  cut  them  up  and  ate  them. 

The  wife  of  the  dead  Chaup  knew  that  as  soon  as  her  baby  was 
born,  if  it  was  a  son  the  old  man  would  kill  it  and  cat  its  brains. 

He  had  a  little  olla  ready  to  put  the  brains  in  ;  but  when  the  child 
was  born  the  mother  pretended  that  it  was  a  girl ;  and  the  old  man 
was  so  angry  that  he  took  the  olla  and  threw  it  at  the  mother  and 
broke  it  on  her  head. 

The  baby  boy  grew  so  fast  that  while  the  people  were  still  eating 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


his  father's  body  he  cried  for  a  piece,  which  they  would  not  give  him. 

He  did  not  know  it  was  his  father. 

His  grandmother,  the  mother  of  his  mother^  told  him  that  that  was 
his  father's  body  they  were  eating. 

When  the  boy  grew  older  the  old  grandfather  tried  many  ways  to 
kill  him,  but  could  not  because  the  boy  was  a  witch.  The  grand- 
father once  dug  a  big  hole  in  the  ground  and  filled  it  full  of  water 
and  set  up  sharp  stakes  in  it  under  the  water  and  told  the  little  boy 
that  he  had  made  it  for  him  to  swim  and  dive  in.  The  boy  knew 
that  he  wished  to  kill  him,  but  he  swam  about  in  it  and  nothing  hurt 
him. 

Another  time  the  grandfather  took  a  big  rock  and  told  the  boy  to 
play  with  it  by  throwing  it  up  in  the  air,  expecting  that  it  would  fall 
upon  him  and  kill  him  ;  but  the  boy  knew  his  purpose,  and  he  threw 
the  rock  up  in  the  air  but  got  out  of  its  way  when  it  came  down. 

His  grandmother  used  to  take  the  bones  of  his  father  and  put 
feathers  with  them  and  put  them  upon  her  body  and  go  out  and  dance 
by  herself.  The  little  boy  used  to  see  her  dance,  and  one  day  the 
thought  came  to  him  that  these  were  the  bones  of  bis  father.  He 
had  an  uncle  who  loved  him  very  much,  and  he  asked  this  uncle  for 
a  bow  and  arrow ;  and  when  his  uncle  gave  it  to  him,  he  went  to  the 
place  where  his  grandmother  used  to  dance,  and  he  asked  his  uncle 
to  dig  him  a  hole  in  the  ground,  as  he  wanted  to  play  in  it  The 
uncle  did  this  to  please  him,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  setting  the  boy 
went  into  the  hole  and  hid  there. 

The  old  woman  came  as  usual  to  the  place  to  sing  and  dance ;  and 
the  little  boy  shot  and  killed  her.  When  the  people  came  running 
to  the  dead  woman,  he  said  it  was  he  who  had  killed  his  grandmother. 
When  they  tried  to  seize  him  he  went  into  the  ground,  and  they 
could  not  find  him.  He  came  out  again  in  another  place,  but  they 
could  not  hurt  him  because  he  was  a  witch.  • 

One  day  he  saw  the  bone  of  his  father's  heel  made  into  a  painted 
ball,  and  the  people  played  with  it  for  a  shinny-balL  The  boy  knew 
it  was  his  father's  bone,  and  so  he  stood  far  away  and  whistled  and 
sangt  and  the  ball  rolled  to  his  feet  and  he  took  it  up  and  threw  it 
far  out  into  the  ocean.  When  he  threw  that  ball  a^vay  they  brought 
out  another  ball  of  the  same  kind  ;  and  he  knew  it  was  his  uncle's 
bone,  that  of  the  older  Chaup,  and  he  was  very  sorry.  And  he  stood 
towards  the  east  and  the  ball  came  rolling  to  his  feet,  and  with  his 
feet  he  threw  it  far  away  to  the  east  Then  he  was  glad  and  sang 
and  danced. 

Song :  Cuy-a-tio-marr,  etc. 

He  sang  that  he  was  the  Chaup  because  he  was  the  son  of  Chaup. 
His  mother  called  him  by  this  name,  Cuy-a-ho-marr. 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


Tke  Story  of  the  Chaup. 


239 


He  used  to  sleep  with  his  g^ndfather»  and  one  time  his  grandfather 
told  him  that  the  chief  must  lead  the  people,  and  they  must  be  will- 
ing to  obey  him.  So  he  told  him  to  get  up  on  the  housetop  and 
proclaim  that  Cuy-a-ho-marr  was  to  lead  them,  and  command  them 
to  bring  their  bows  ;  and  if  the  people  called  out  and  accepted  him 
he  could  live,  but  if  they  kept  silent  he  must  die.  The  boy  agreed, 
and  in  the  morning  the  new  chief  got  upon  the  housetop,  and  all  the 
people  agreed  to  his  words,  so  he  knew  he  was  to  live  and  not  die. 

One  day  all  the  people  went  to  another  place  to  play  peon  ^  with 
the  people  there,  and  they  got  beaten.  The  grandfather  went,  and 
the  little  boy  went  afterwards  and  told  his  grandfather  that  he  was 
going  to  play  the  game,  and  he  would  beat  all  the  people  of  the  other 
pueblo.  But  his  grandfather  forbade  him  to  play  with  the  strangers, 
saying  that  he  would  be  killed  by  them.  But  the  boy  played  and 
won,  and  burned  all  their  houses  and  fields. 

In  the  morning  after  he  had  beaten  the  game  they  all  went  home. 
As  they  were  going  along,  the  old  man  had  a  little  basket  full  of 
wheat,  but  the  little  boy's  basket  was  empty.  He  asked  his  grand- 
father for  some  of  his  wheat,  but  the  grandfather  would  not  give  him 
any.  The  boy  said  he  was  going  to  grind.  So  he  did,  and  ate. 

As  they  went  on  the  way»  the  people  who  had  killed  his  father  were 
ahead  with  his  grandfather.  He  was  behind  and  got  lost.  His  unde 
was  looking  for  his  nephew,  fearing  that  some  one  might  have  killed 
him.  He  was  with  them,  but  they  could  not  see  him.  When  they 
saw  him  his  unde  called  out  to  him,  and  they  asked  him  to  lead  the 
way.  So  he  went  ahead  and  came  first  to  a  big  rock.  He  made  a 
path  through  the  rock,  and  then  climbed  on  top  of  it  The  peopte* 
went  through  the  rock,  and  as  they  went  in  one  by  one  the  rock  sUut 
up  and  killed  all  the  people  that  had  killed  his  father.  He  jumped: 
down  to  see  if  any  were  left  alive»  but  there  was  not  one. 

Song :  Po-co-bo>kini,  etc. 

When  the  little  boy  came  to  his  house  he  told  all  the  people  who 
had  remained  at  home  that  those  who  were  coming  back  were  thirsty 
and  wanted  water.    He  told  them  to  get  water  and  go  to  meet  them. 

And  all  the  people,  young  and  old,  that  were  at  home  went  with 
water  to  look  for  the  others  and  all  died  on  the  way.  He  had  killed- 
everyone  from  that  place  except  his  grandfather,  his  aunt,  his  uncle, 
and  mother.    These  were  the  only  ones  left. 

And  now  he  thinks  of  going  to  his  old  grandmother,  the  one  left 
away  off,  the  mother  of  his  father.  His  mother  and  aunt  used  to 
make  him  sleep  with  them  so  they  could  watch  him  ;  but  fbr  three 
days  he  got  up  very  early  every  morning;  and,  whea'they  missed  him, 

*  A  famous  gambfing  game. 


Digitized  by  Google 


240 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lorg, 


he  said  he  was  hunting.  But  his  grandfather  knew  what  he  was 
planning  to  do.  One  day  he  went  away  and  never  came  back. 
When  the  boy  had  gone  his  grandfather  looked  for  him  and  went  in 
all  the  houses  of  the  others,  and  asked  if  they  could  not  find  him. 
The  coyote  hunted  for  him  for  four  days,  each  day  in  a  different 
direction,  till  at  last  he  found  tracks  that  went  towards  the  east. 
He  came  home  and  told  them  that  he  had  found  tracks  going  to  the 
east  where  the  old  grandmother  lived ;  and  they  all  went  after  him, 
following  the  tracks  of  the  boy. 

At  last  they  found  marks  upon  the  ground  which  showed  that  he 
had  been  playing  there,  and  then  they  knew  that  they  were  on  the 
right  road. 

Song:  E-Barme^ha,  etc. 

Those  that  followed  were  singing  this.  His  aunt,  uncle,  and  mother 
started  together,  and  his  uncle  caught  up  with  him  first,  tired  and 
worn  out,  and  asked  his  nephew  why  he  had  run  away  from  his  home. 
He  said  he  was  going  away  and  would  never  come  back  again,  and 
he  advised  his  uncle  to  go  back  to  his  house. 

Song:  E-wan-i-chau-ah-wa,  etc. 

Then  his  aunt  caught  up  with  him  and  asked  him  the  same  ques- 
tion, and  he  made  her  the  same  answer  that  he  was  never  going  back. 

Soog:  In-i-si-in-i-si 

Han-a-mak-a-ha,  etc 

Then  he  went  on  again  towards  the  home  of  his  grandmother. 

On  the  way  he  came  to  a  big  cafton  where  they  had  killed  his 
father  and  uncle,  and  an  owl  went  hooting  before  him.  He  tried  to 
shoot  it  but  could  not  hit  it,  and  it  kept  on  flying  in  front  of  him  till 
it  led  him  to  the  spot.  Red  ants,  flies,  and  all  sorts  of  insects  were 
thick  there.  The  ants  had  made  paths  where  they  went  back  and 
forth. 

Song :  Ah-y(i-na-ki-y6-na-ki,  etc. 

He  was  standing  there  when  his  father's  voice  spoke  to  him,  and 
told  him  that  his  bones  were  all  broken  in  pieces  and  he  could  not 
do  anything ;  so  the  boy  sat  down  and  tried  to  fit  the  bones  into 
their  places.  He  put  all  together  but  the  leg ;  and  that  he  could  not 
join  so  it  would  stand  up.    He  could  not  do  anything  with  it. 

Song :  Na-wapini-he-charwhai-o,  etc 

He  was  sony  and  cried  and  went  away. 

Song:  Natt-wa-ri-nau-i-l,  etcw 

After  he  left  that  place  he  came  to  a  house  where  there  were  lot9« 
of  lions.    He  stood  at  a  distance  and  was  thinking  how  he  could  get 
by.  So  he  made  himself  into  an  old  man,  thinking  that  perhaps  they 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Story  of  the  Chaup. 


241 


would  not  kill  him  in  that  shape  ;  but  not  being  sure  of  that,  he  made 
himself  into  a  young  man,  and  then  into  a  little  boy ;  and  he  took  fire 
and  burned  his  head  and  made  sores  on  his  head,  and  went  to  the 
lions'  house,  where  he  found  no  one  but  a  little  boy  of  his  own  size. 
The  little  boy  said  nothing  to  him,  but  went  and  told  the  lions  that 
his  cousin  had  come  to  see  him.  He  was  still  there  when  the  lions 
came  back.  They  brought  rabbits  and  other  kinds  of  game  and  be- 
gan cooking  them,  hut  gave  nothing  to  the  little  boy,  who  was  picking 
up  little  bits  of  meat.  There  was  a  red-hot  olla  on  the  fire,  and  they 
put  it  on  his  head  when  he  did  not  know  it.  He  fainted  and  fell 
back.  He  was  sick,  and  when  he  got  up  he  asked  the  old  man  to 
doctor  him.  The  old  man  said  all  the  people  roust  come  together 
in  one  house  and  he  would  doctor  him  there: 
So  all  the  people  got  together  in  one  house. 

Song :  Kwi-nau-wi,  ctc.^ 

After  they  doctored  him  he  left  the  houses  and  there  was  a  big 
stone  before  the  houses  and  he  shut  the  door  with  it  and  got  on  top 
of  the  house.   The  house  fell  and  killed  all  the  people. 

From  there  he  came  to  a  pond  where  there  were  lots  of  blackbirds 
by  the  water,  and  he  was  afraid  of  them  ;  and  as  he  came  nearer  he 
heard  the  birds  say,  "  Who  is  that }    Kill  him." 

When  he  heard  them  say  that,  he  threw  a  big  stick  and  hit  them 
on  the  legs  and  killed  some,  and  the  others  flew  away. 

And  he  went  on  and  came  to  a  wide  lake,  and  just  as  he  came  to 
the  other  side  of  it  he  turned  back  and  saw  his  mother  following 
him,  and  she  was  tired  ;  and  he  took  his  bow  and  it  spread  out  long, 
and  he  told  her  to  walk  on  it  across  the  lake.  Just  as  she  came  near 
to  him  he  took  the  bow  away,  and  she  fell  into  the  water  and  was 
drowned.    He  had  killed  his  mother. 

He  went  on  till  he  came  to  a  big  water,  and  he  saw  a  big  crane 
standing  in  the'water,  and  the  crane  took  hold  of  him  and  swallowed 
him  by  the  feet ;  and  just  as  his  head  was  going  down  he  called  to  a 
buzzard  for  help  ;  and  the  buzzard  flew  down  and  took  hold  of  him 
and  dragged  him  out. 

He  came  to  a  hill  and  stood  on  the  hill  and  saw  his  grandmother, 
who  was  sitting  there  and  looking  towards  htm.  He  came  to  her, 
but  she  could  not  see  him.  She  was  blind.  He  sat  on  her  lap,  and 
she  put  her  arms  around  him,  and  they  both  cried.  When  he  came 
to  the  house  it  was  full  of  heaps  of  dirt,  and  he  cleaned  it  and  burned 
the  house  down.   •'Where  shall  we  go  now?"  asked  his  grand- 

*  Towards  the  last  of  the  story  many  of  the  songs  were  omitted  for  the  sake  of 
brevity  in  the  recital.  This  resulted  in  a  certain  lack  of  fulness  in  this  part  of 
the  namtive,  the  songs  amphfying  and  eladdating  die  text 


Digitized  by  Google 


242  yountal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


mother.  "I  have  no  house."  "Where  do  you  want  to  go?"  he 
asked.  "  I  will  take  you  wherever  you  choose."  "  I  will  go  any- 
where with  you,"  she  said.  So  he  sat  down  and  she  climbed  upon 
his  back,  and  he  flew  with  her  far  away  to  the  north  to  the  San  Ber- 
nardino Mountains,  and  Chaup  lives  there  now  with  his  grandmother. 

Constance  Goddard  DuBois, 

Watbrburt,  Comh. 


Digitized  by  Google 


^  Some  Traiis  of  PrimUtve  CuUure,  343 


SOME  TRAITS  OF  PRIMITIVE  fULTURE. 

The  needs  of  anthropological  research  have  led  many  investigators 
to  adapt  themselves  as  thoroughly  as  may  be  to  the  ways  of  thinking 
of  foreign  tribes  and  peoples,  —  to  take  part  in  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  their  life,  to  penetrate  the  motives  that  prompt  their  actions,  and 
to  share  the  emotions  that  fill  their  hearts.  The  experiences  thus 
gathered  have  led  many  of  us  to  think  that  the  gulf  does  not  exist 
that  was  once  believed  to  separate  the  nund  of  primitive  man  from 
that  of  civilized  man.  The  difference  between  the  type  of  primitive 
thought  and  feeling  and  that  of  our  own  appears  to  us  rather  as  a 
product  of  the  diversity  of  the  cultures  that  furnish  the  material  with 
which  the  mind  operates  than  as  the  result  of  a  fundamental  differ- 
ence in  mental  oiiganization. 

Nevertheless  we  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  typical  differences 
that  do  exist  between  the  modes  of  thought  and  action  characteristic 
of  primitive  society  and  of  civilized  society,  and  the  question  of  their 
origin  must  be  considered  one  of  the  great  problems  of  anthropo- 
logical research. 

In  the  following  remarks  I  will  tiy  to  formulate  anew  one  trait  of 
primitive  mental  life  that  early  attracted  the  attention  of  investigators, 
namely,  the  general  laclc  of  differentiation  of  mental  activities^  In 
primitive  life,  religion  and  science;  music,  poetry, and  dance;  myth 
and  history;  fashion  and  ethics,  —  appear  to  us  inextricably  inter* 
woven.  We  may  express  this  general  observation  also  by  saying 
that  primitive  man  views  each  action  not  only  as  adapted  to  its  main 
object,  each  thought  as  related  to  its  main  end,  as  we  should  per- 
ceive them,  but  that  he  associates  them  with  other  ideas,  often  of 
a  religious  or  at  least  of  a  symbolic  nature.  Thus  he  gives  them  a 
higher  sis^nificance  than  they  seem  to  us  to  deserve.  Every  taboo 
is  an  example  of  such  associations  of  apparently  trifliiig  actions  with 
ideas  that  are  so  sacred  that  a  deviation  from  the  customary  mode 
of  performance  creates  the  strongest  emotions  of  abhorrence.  The 
interpretation  of  ornaments  as  charms,  the  symbolism  of  decorative 
art,  are  other  examples  of  association  of  ideas,  that,  on  the  whole, 
are  foreign  to  our  mode  of  thought. 

In  order  to  make  clear  the  point  of  view  from  which  these  phe- 
nomena seem  to  fall  into  an  orderly  array,  we  will  investigate  whether 
all  vestiges  of  similar  forms  of  thought  have  disappeared  from  our 
civilization.  In  our  intense  life,  which  is  devoted  to  activities  re- 
quiring the  full  application  of  our  reasoning  powers  and  a  repres- 
sion of  the  emotional  life,  we  have  become  accustomed  to  a  cold, 
niatter«of-fact  view  of  our  actions,  of  the  incentives  that  lead  to  them, 


244 


yaurmd  of  Amtrkan  FM-Lore. 


and  of  their  consequences.  It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  go  far 
afield  to  find  a  state  of  mind  which  is  open  to  other  aspects  of  life. 
If  those  among  us  who  move  in  the  midst  of  the  current  of  our 
quickly  pulsing  life  do  not  look  beyond  their  rational  motives  and 
aims,  others  who  stand  by  in  quiet  contemplation  recognize  in  it  the 
reflection  of  an  ideal  world  that  they  have  built  up  in  their  own  con- 
sciousness. To  the  artist  the  outer  world  is  a  symbol  of  the  beauty 
that  he  feels  ;  to  the  fervent  religious  mind  it  is  a  symbol  of  the 
transcendental  truth  which  gives  form  to  his  thouL::ht.  Instrumental 
music  that  one  enjoys  as  a  work  of  purely  musical  art  calls  forth  in 
the  mind  of  another  a  group  of  definite  concepts  that  are  connected 
with  the  musical  themes  and  their  treatment  only  by  the  similarity 
of  the  emotional  states  they  evoke.  In  fact»  the  different  manner  in 
which  individuals  react  to  the  same  stimulus,  and  the  variety  of  asso- 
ciations elicited  by  the  same  sense-impression  in  different  individuals, 
aie  so  self-evident  that  they  hardly  call  for  spedal  remarks^ 

More  important,  for  the  purpose  of  our  investigation,  than  the 
observations  just  mentioned,  is  the  fact  that  there  are  certain  stimuli 
to  which  all  of  us  who  live  in  the  same  society  react  in  the  same  way 
without  our  being  able  to  express  the  reasons  ior  our  actions.  A 
good  example  of  what  I  refer  to  are  breaches  of  social  etiquette.  A 
mode  of  behavior  that  does  not  conform  to  the  customary  manners, 
but  differs  from  them  in  a  striking  way,  creates,  on  the  whole, 
unpleasant  emotions ;  and  it  tequires  a  determined  effort  on  our  part 
to  make  it  clear  to  ourselves  that  such  behavior  does  not  conflict  with 
moral  standards.  Among  those  who  are  not  trained  in  courageous 
and  rigid  thought,  the  confusion  between  traditional  etiquette^ 
S0<aUed  good  manners  and  moral  conduct  is  habitual.  In  certain 
lines  of  conduct  the  association  between  traditional  etiquette  and 
ethical  feeling  is  so  close  that  even  a  vigorous  thinker  can  hardly 
emancipate  himself  from  it  This  is  true,  for  instance,  of  acts  that 
may  be  considered  breaches  of  modesty.  The  most  cursory  review 
of  the  history  of  costume  shows  that  what  was  considered  modest  at 
one  time  has  been  immodest  at  other  times.  The  custom  of  habitu- 
ally covering  parts  of  the  body  has  at  all  times  led  to  the  strong 
feeling  that  exposure  of  such  parts  is  immodest.  This  feeling  of 
propriety  is  so  erratic  that  a  costume  that  is  appropriate  on  one 
occasion  may  be  considered  opprobrious  on  other  occasions  ;  as,  for 
instance,  a  low-cut  evening  dress  in  a  street  car  during  business  hours. 
What  kind  of  exposure  is  felt  as  immodest  depends  always  upon 
fashion.  It  is  quite  evident  that  fashion  is  not  dictated  by  modesty, 
but  that  the  historical  development  of  costume  is  determined  by  a 
variety  of  causes.  Nevertheless  fashions  are  typically  associated 
with  the  feeling  of  modesty,  so  that  an  unwonted  exposure  excites 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


Some  Traits  of  Primithe  Culture^ 


the  unpleasant  feelings  of  impropriety.  There  is  no  conscious  rea- 
soning why  the  one  form  is  proper,  the  other  improper  ;  but  the  feel- 
ing is  aroused  directly  by  the  contrast  with  the  customary. 

For  another  example  we  need  go  back  only  a  short  period  in  his- 
tory. It  is  not  so  many  years  ago  that  dissension  from  accepted 
reHgious  tenets  was  believed  to  be  a  crime.  The  intolerance  of 
diverging  religious  views  and  the  encrg)'  of  persecution  for  heresy 
can  be  understood  only  when  we  recognize  the  violent  feelings  of 
outraged  ethical  principles  that  were  aroused  by  this  deviation  from 
the  customary  line  of  thought.  There  was  no  question  as  to  the 
logical  validity  of  the  new  idea.  The  mind  was  directly  agitated  by 
the  opposition  to  an  habitual  form  of  thought  which  was  so  deeply 
rooted  in  each  individual  that  it  had  come  to  be  an  integral  part  of 
his  mental  life. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  in  both  the  cases  mentioned  the 
rationalistic  explanation  of  the  opposition  to  a  change  is  based  on 
that  group  of  concepts  with  which  the  excited  emotions  are  inti- 
mately connected*  In  the  first  case^  reasons  are  adduced  why  the 
new  style  of  costtime  is  improper ;  in  the  second  case,  proof  is  given 
that  the  new  doctrine  is  an  attack  against  eternal  truth. 

I  think,  however,  that  a  close  introspective  analysis  shows  these 
reasons  to  be  only  attempts  to  interpret  our  feelings  of  displeasure ; 
that  our  opposition  is  not  by  any  means  dictated  by  conscious  rea- 
soning, but  primarily  by  the  emotional  effect  of  the  new  idea  which 
creates  a  dissonance  with  the  habitual. 

It  may  be  well  to  exemplify  the  characterbtics  of  our  opposition 
to  unwonted  actions  by  a  few  additional  examples,  which  will  help 
to  dear  up  the  mental  processes  that  lead  us  to  formulate  the  rea- 
sons for  our  conservatism.  Wc  are  not  accustomed  to  eat  caterpil- 
lars, and  we  should  probably  decline  to  eat  them  from  feelings  of 
disgust.  On  the  other  hand,  the  aversion  to  eating  dogs  or  horses 
or  cats  would  probably  be  based  rather  on  the  seeming  impropriety 
of  eating  animals  that  live  with  us  as  our  friends.  Cannibalism  is 
so  much  abhorred  that  we  find  it  difficult  to  convince  ourselves  that 
it  belongs  to  the  same  class  of  aversions  as  those  mentioned  before. 
The  fundamental  concept  of  the  sacredness  of  human  life,  and  the 
fact  that  most  animals  will  not  eat  others  of  the  same  species,  set 
off  cannibalism  as  a  custom  by  itself,  considered  as  one  of  the  most 
horrible  aberrations  of  human  nature.  In  these  three  groups  of 
aversions,  disgust  is  probably  the  first  feeling  present  in  our  minds, 
by  which  we  react  against  the  suggestion  of  partaking  of  these  kinds 
of  food.  We  account  for  our  disgust  by  a  variety  of  reasons,  accord- 
ing to  the  groups  of  ideas  with  which  the  suggested  act  is  associated 
in  our  minds.    In  the  first  case,  there  is  no  special  association,  and 


.  J       Ly  Google 


346  youmal  of  American  Folh^Lon. 


we  are  satisfied  with  the  simple  statement  of  disgust.  In  the  second 
case,  the  most  important  reason  seems  an  emotional  one,  although 
we  may  feel  inclined,  when  questioned  regarding  the  reasons  of  our 
dislike,  to  bring  forward  also  habits  of  the  animals  in  question  that 
seem  to  justify  our  aversion.  In  the  third  case,  the  immorality  of 
cannibalism  would  stand  forth  as  the  one  sufficient  reason. 

Another  example  may  not  be  out  of  place.  A  variety  of  reasons 
are  given  why  certain  styles  of  dress  are  improper.  To  see  a  man 
wear  a  hat  in  company  indoors  nettles  us  ;  it  is  considered  rude. 
To  wear  a  hat  in  church  or  at  a  iLincial  would  cau;>e  more  vigorous 
resentment  on  account  of  the  greater  emotional  value  of  the  feelings 
concerned  A  certain  tilt  of  the  hat,  although  it  may  be  very  com- 
fortable to  the  wearer,  would  stamp  him  at  once  as  an  uneducated 
brute.  Other  novelties  in  costume  may  hurt  our  aesthetic  feelings, 
no  matter  how  bad  the  taste  of  our  fashions  may  be. 

In  all  these  cases  the  custom  is  obeyed  so  often  and  so  regularly 
that  the  habitual  act  becomes  automatic,  and  remains  entirely  sub- 
conscious. It  Is  only  when  an  infraction  of  the  customary  occurs* 
that  all  the  groups  of  ideas  with  which  the  action  is  associated  are 
brought  into  consciousness.  A  dish  of  dog's  meat  would  bring  up 
all  the  ideas  of  companionship;  a  cannibal  feast,  all  the  altruistic 
principles  that  have  become  our  second  nature.  The  more  automatic 
any  series  of  activities  or  a  certain  form  of  thought  has  become,  the 
greater  is  the  conscious  effort  required  for  the  breaking  off  from  the 
old  habit  of  acting  and  thinking,  and  the  greater  also  the  displeasure^ 
or  at  least  the  surprise,  produced  by  an  innovation.  The  antagonbm 
against  it  is  a  reflex  action  accompanied  by  emotions  not  due  to 
conscious  speculation.  When  we  become  conscious  of  this  emotional 
reaction,  we  endeavor  to  interpret  it  by  a  process  of  reasoning.  This 
reasoning  must  necessarily  be  based  on  the  ideas  which  rise  into 
consciousness  as  soon  as  a  break  in  the  established  custom  occurs  ; 
in  other  words,  our  rationalistic  explanation  will  depend  upon  the 
character  of  the  associated  ideas. 

It  is  therefore  of  great  importance  to  know  whence  the  associated 
ideas  are  derived,  particularly  in  how  far  we  may  assume  that  these 
associations  are  stable.  It  is  not  quite  easy  to  give  definite  exam- 
ples of  changes  of  such  associations  in  our  own  culture,  because,  on 
the  whole,  the  rationalistic  tendencies  of  our  times  have  eliminated 
many  of  the  lines  of  association,  even  where  the  emotional  effect 
remains  ;  so  that  the  change,  on  the  whole,  is  one  from  existing 
associations  to  loss  of  associations.  I  pointed  out  before  the  rise  of 
associations  between  fashions  and  feelings  of  modesty  which  arise 
with  the  establishment  of  a  new  type  of  costume.  There  are  a 
great  number  of  customs  that  had  originally  a  religious  or  semi-reli-> 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Same  TraUs  of  PrimiHoe  CuUure. 


247 


gious  aspect  which  are  continued  and  explained  by  more  or  less  cer- 
tain utilitarian  theories.  Such  are  the  whole  group  of  customs  re- 
lating to  marriages  in  the  incest  group.  While  the  extent  of  the 
incest  group  has  undergone  material  changes,  the  abhorrence  of 
marriages  inside  the  existing  group  is  the  same  as  ever ;  but  instead 
of  religious  laws,  ethical  considerations  often  explained  by  utilitarian 
concepts  are  given  as  the  reason  for  our  feelings.  People  affected 
with  loathsome  diseases  were  once  shunned  because  they  were  be- 
lieved to  be  stricken  by  God,  while  at  present  the  same  a\  (Mciance  is 
due  to  the  fear  of  contagion.  The  disuse  into  which  profanity  has 
fallen  in  English  was  first  due  to  religious  reaction,  but  has  come  to 
be  simply  a  question  of  good  manners. 

In  short,  while  each  habit  is  the  result  of  historical  causes,  it  may 
in  course  of  time  associate  itself  with  different  ideas.  As  soon  as  we 
become  conscious  of  an  association  between  a  habit  and  a  certain 
group  of  ideas,  we  are  led  to  explain  the  habit  by  its  present  associa- 
tions»  which  probably  differ  from  the  associations  prevailing  at  the 
time  when  the  habit  was  established. 

We  will  now  tura  to  a  consideration  of  analogous  phenomena  in 
primitive  life.  Here  the  dislike  of  that  which  deviates  from  the  cus- 
tom of  the  land  is  even  more  strongly  marked  than  in  our  own  civili- 
zatioa  If  it  is  not  the  custom  to  sleep  in  a  house  with  feet  turned 
towards  the  fire,  a  violation  of  this  custom  Is  dreaded  and  avoided. 
If  it  is  not  customary  to  eat  seal  and  walrus  on  the  same  day,  nobody 
will  dare  to  transgress  this  law.  If  in  a  certain  society  members  of 
the  same  clan  do  not  intermarry,  the  most  deep-seated  abhorrence 
against  such  unions  will  arise.  It  is  not  necessary  to  multiply  exam- 
ples, for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  more  primitive  a  people,  the 
more  it  is  bound  by  customs  regulating  the  conduct  of  daily  life  in 
all  its  details.  I  think  we  are  justified  in  concluding,  from  our  own 
experience,  that,  as  among  ourselves,  so  among  primitive  tribes,  the 
resistance  to  a  deviation  from  firmly  established  customs  is  due  to  an 
emotional  reaction,  not  to  conscious  reasoning.  This  does  not  pre- 
clude the  possibility  that  the  first  special  act,  which  became  in  course 
of  time  customary,  may  have  been  due  to  a  con^ious  mental  process, 
but  it  seems  to  me  likely  that  many  customs  came  into  being  without 
any  conscious  activity.  Their  development  must  have  been  of  the 
same  kind  as  that  of  the  categories  which  are  reflected  in  the  mor- 
phology of  languages,  and  which  can  never  have  been  know^n  to  the 
speakers  of  these  languages.  For  instance,  if  we  accept  Cunow's 
theory  of  the  origin  of  Australian  social  systems,^  we  may  very  well 

'  Some  Australian  tribes  are  divided  into  four  exopamic  groups.  The  laws  of 
exogamy  demand  that  a  member  of  the  first  p^rouj)  must  niarr^-  a  member  of  the 
second  group,  and  a  member  of  the  third  group  one  oi  the  fourth  group.  The 


.  J       Ly  Google 


24S 


yaumal  of  American  FoS^L&rt. 


say  that  originally  each  generation  kept  by  tbemselvestand  therefore 
marriages  between  members  of  two  succeeding  generations  were 
impossible^  because  only  marriageable  men  and  women  of  one  gen- 
eration came  into  contact.  Later  on,  when  the  succeeding  genera- 
tions were  not  so  diverse  in  age,  and  their  social  separation  ceased, 
the  custom  was  established,  and  did  not  lapse  with  the  chang-ed 
conditions.  We  may  also  imagine  a  tribe  which  had  never  had  an 
opportunity  of  eating  fish,  moving  toward  the  sea  and  still  abstaining 
from  the  unaccustomed  food.  These  imaginary  cases  make  it  clear 
that  the  unconscious  origin  of  customs  is  quite  conceivable,  although 
of  course  not  necessary.  It  seems,  however,  certain  that  even  when 
there  has  been  a  conscious  reasoning  that  led  to  the  establishment 
of  a  custom,  it  soon  ceased  to  be  conscious,  and  instead  we  find  a 
direct  emotional  resistance  to  an  infraction  of  the  custom. 

It  might  seem  that  in  primitive  society,  where  the  whole  com- 
munity follow  the  same  customs,  opportunity  could  hardly  be  given 
to  bring  into  consciousness  the  strong  emotional  resistance  against 
infractions.  There  is  one  feature  of  social  life,  however,  that  tends 
to  keep  the  attachment  to  the  customary  before  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  that  is  the  education  (tf  the  young.  White  many  of  the 
customs  that  enter  into  the  every-day  life,  and  which  are  observed 
and  performed  constantly,  may  be  imitated  by  the  young  and  im- 
partdl  without  teaching,  there  are  others  which  are  not  performed 
quite  so  often  that  can  be  transmitted  only  by  precept  Any  one 
familiar  with  primitive  life  will  know  that  the  children  are  constantly 
exhorted  to  follow  the  example  of  their  elders,  and  every  collection 
of  carefully  recorded  traditions  contains  numerous  references  to  ad- 
vice given  by  parents  to  children  to  observe  the  customs  of  the 
tribe.  The  greater  the  emotional  value  of  a  custom,  the  stronger 
will  be  the  desire  to  inculcate  it  in  the  minds  of  the  young.  Thus 
am|de  opportunity  is  given  to  bring  the  resistance  against  infractions 
into  consciousness ;  and  thus  occasions  must  arise  when  people, 
either  led  by  children's  questions  or  following  their  own  bent  to 
speculation,  look  for  explanations  of  the  custom.  These  will  be 
based  on  the  genera)  ideas  current  among  the  tribe  and  related  to 
the  custom  in  question,  but  probably  not  at  all  related  to  its  historical 
origin. 

children  of  these  unions  helong  respectively  to  the  third  and  fourth,  and  first 
and  second  groups,  according  to  the  group  to  which  the  father  or  mother  belongs. 
Aceording  to  Cnnow's  theory,  the  first  and  second  groups  represent  one  genera- 
tion,  the  third  and  fourth  the  next  geseratioii.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  each 
generation  is  divided  into  two  exogamic  groups.  These  exogamic  groups  persist 
through  the  generations.  The  curious  crossing  is  brought  about  by  the  restrictioa 
of  marriages  to  members  of  the  same  generation. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Som§  Traits  of  Primitive  Culture.  349 

The  explanations  of  customs  that  are  given  by  primitive  man  are 
generally  based  on  concepts  that  are  intimately  related  to  his  gen- 
eral views  of  the  constitution  of  the  world.  Some  mytholo<;ical  idea 
may  be  considered  the  basis  of  a  custom  or  an  avoidance.  Jt  may  be 
interpreted  as  of  syml)()lic  sii^nificance,  or  it  may  merely  be  con- 
nected with  the  fear  of  ill  luck.  Evidently  this  last  class  of  ex- 
planations are  identical  with  those  of  many  superstitions  that  linger 
among  us. 

Investigators  like  Spencer  and  Tylor,  who  have  tried  to  dear  up 
the  history  of  avoidances  as  well  as  of  other  customs,  hold  the  view  * 
that  their  origin  lies  in  primitive  man*s  view  of  nature ;  that  to  him 
the  world  is  filled  with  agencies  of  superhuman  power,  which  may 
harm  man  at  the  slightest  provocation,  and  that  fear  of  them  die* 
tates  the  innumerable  superstitious  regulations.  These  authors  ex- 
press their  views  in  words  which  would  make  it  appear  as  though 
the  habits  and  opinions  of  primitive  man  had  been  formed  by  con- 
scious reasoning.  It  seems  evident,  however,  that  this  is  not  a 
necessary  part  of  their  theories.  Theu:  whole  Ime  of  thought  would 
remain  consistent  if  it  is  assumed  that  the  processes  were  all  sub- 
conscious. I  believe  that  these  theories  need  extension,  because  it 
would  seem  that  many  cases  of  this  kind  may  have  arisen  without 
any  kind  of  reasoning,  conscbus  or  subconscious,  for  instance,  cases 
in  which  a  custom  became  established  by  the  general  conditions 
of  life,  and  came  into  consciousness  as  soon  as  these  conditions 
changed.  I  do  not  doubt  at  all  that  there  are  cases  in  which  cus- 
toms originated  by  more  or  less  conscious  reasoning ;  but  I  am 
just  as  certain  that  others  originated  without,  and  that  our  theories, 
should  cover  both  points. 

We  must  include  in  our  consideration  also  customs  for  which  other 
types  of  explanations  are  given.  If  among  the  Indians  of  Van- 
couver Island  it  is  bad  form  for  a  younf^  woman  of  nobility  to  open 
her  mouth  wide  and  to  eat  fast,  a  deviation  from  this  custom  would 
also  be  deeply  felt,  but  in  this  case  as  an  impropriety  which  would 
seriou.sly  damage  the  social  standing  of  the  culprit.  The  same  group 
of  feelings  are  concerned  when  a  member  of  the  nobility  —  even  in 
P!^urope  —  marries  below  her  station.  In  other  more  trifling  cases 
the  overstepping  of  the  boundaries  of  custom  merely  exposes  the 
offender  to  ridicule  on  account  of  the  impropriety  of  the  act.  All 
these  cases  belong  psychologically  to  the  same  group  of  emotional' 
reactions  against  breaks  with  established  automatic  habits. 

We  have  so  far  discussed  only  cases  of  emotional  resistance  . 
against  unwonted  actions  and  their  associations.    There  are  other 
groups  of  phenomena,  however,  in  which  diverse  mental  states  and 
activities  occur  in  close  associationi  although  no  direct  causal  relation 

VOL.  xvn. — NO.  67.  17 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


250 


youmal  of  American  Foik^Lan. 


between  them  is  apparent.  In  these  cases  also  long-continued  histor- 
ical association  accounts  for  the  present  state  of  affairs. 

Sombre  colors  and  depressed  feelings  are  closely  connected  in  our 
minds,  although  not  in  those  of  peoples  of  foreign  cultures.  Noise 
seems  inappropriate  in  a  place  of  sadness,  although  among  primitive 
people  the  loud  wail  of  the  mourners  is  the  natural  expression  of 
grief.  Decorative  art  serves  to  please  the  eye,  yet  a  design  like  the 
cross  has  retained  its  symbolic  significance. 

On  the' whole,  such  associations  between  groups  of  ideas  appar- 
ently unrelated  are  rare  in  civilized  life.  That  they  once  existed  is 
shown  by  historical  evidence  as  well  as  by  survivals  in  which  the  old 
ideas  have  perished,  although  the  outer  form  remains.  In  primitive 
culture  these  associations  occur  in  great  numbers.  In  discussing 
them  we  may  begin  with  examples  that  have  their  analogues  in  our 
own  civilization,  and  which  therefore  are  readily  intelligible  to  us. 

The  most  extended  domam  of  such  customs  is  that  of  ritual.  We 
have  numerous  stated  ritual  forms  accompanying  important  actions 
which  are  constantly  applied,  although  their  original  significance  has 
been  lost  entirely.  Many  of  them  are  so  old  that  their  origin  must 
be  looked  for  in  antiquity  or  even  in  prehistoric  times.  In  our  day 
the  domain  of  ritual  is  restricted,  but  in  primitive  culture  it  pervades 
the  whole  life.  Not  a  single  action  of  any  importance  can  be  per- 
formed that  is  not  accompanied  by  proscribed  rites  of  more  or  less 
elaborate  form.  It  has  been  proved  in  many  cases  that  rites  are 
more  stable  than  their  explanations  ;  that  they  symbolize  different 
ideas  among  different  people  and  at  dififerent  times.  The  diversity 
of  rites  is  so  great,  and  their  occurrence  so  universal,  that  here  the 
greatest  possible  variety  of  associations  are  found. 

It  seems  to  my  mind  that  we  may  apply  this  point  of  view  to  many 
of  the  most  fundamental  and  inexplicable  traits  of  primitive  life,  and 
that  when  considered  as  associations  between  heterogenous  thoughts 
and  activities,  their  rise  and  history  become  more  readily  intelli- 
gible. 

The  symbolism  of  decorative  art  seems  to  belong  to  this  domain. 
A  vestige  of  this  form  of  association  remains  in  our  use  of  the  cross, 
or  in  the  patriotic  use  of  national  emblems  which  restrict  the  appli- 
cability of  these  forms  as  purely  ornamental  motives,  and  determine 
their  significance  wherever  they  occur.  In  primitive  society  this 
symbolic  interpretation  is  much  more  widely  spread.  Among  many 
primitive  peoples  of  all  parts  of  the  world,  no  matter  what  the  history 
of  their  decorative  art  may  have  been,  the  association  between  deco- 
rative element  and  ideas  apparently  foreign  to  its  forms  is  found. 
For  years  the  theory  held  swa)  tiuit  Ihi.s  association  musl  have  devel- 
oped from  an  actual  historic  correlation,  from  the  fact  that  the  geo- 


Digilized  by  Google 


Same  Traits  of  Primitive  Culhtre.  351 


metrical  form  is  developed  from  the  realistic  form.  I  have  tried  to 
show  *  that  in  certain  cases  the  association  is  a  secondary  one,  and  in 
these  views  I  am  entirely  in  accord  with  Dr.  Karl  von  den  Steinen 
and  with  Professor  Hamlin.^  The  characteristic  trait  of  primitive  art 
is  its  strong  tendency  to  associate  itself  with  ideas  foreign  to  its  artis- 
tic purport.  What  these  ideas  are  depends  upon  the  character  of  the 
culture  in  which  they  occur. 

On  the  North  Pacific  coast  of  America  the  animal  design  which  is 
found  in  many  other  parts  of  the  world  has  associated  itself  firmly 
with  the  totemic  idea,  and  has  led  to  an  unparalleled  application  of 
animal  motives.  This  may  also  have  helped  to  preserve  the  realistic 
character  of  this  art  Among  the  Sioux  the  high  valuation  of  mili- 
tary prowess  and  the  habit  of  exploiting  deeds  of  war  before  the  tribe 
have  been  the  causes  that  led  the  men  to  associate  the  decoration  on 
their  garments  with  events  of  war,  so  that  among  them  a  military 
symbolism  has  developed,  while  the  women  of  the  same  tribe  explain 
the  same  design  in  an  entirely  different  manner.'  It  seems  to  me 
that  in  this  last  case  we  have  no  particular  difficulty  In  following  the 
line  of  thought  that  leads  to  the  association  between  forms  of  decora- 
tion and  military  ideas,  although,  in  general,  our  minds  require  a  much 
more  conscious  effort  than  that  of  primitive  man.  The  very  fact  of 
the  well-nigh  universal  occurrence  of  decorative  symbolism  shows 
that  this  association  must  establish  itself  automatiofdly  and  without 
conscious  reasoning. 

We  may  go  a  step  farther,  and  observe  from  our  general  point  of 
view  the  relation  between  social  organization  and  religion.  To  us 
family  organization  as  such  has  been  freed  almost  entirely  from  the 
religious  aspect,  which  survives  chiefly  in  the  religious  sanction  of 
marriage.  The  religious  rites  connected  with  birth  and  death  have 
lost  almost  all  connection  with  family  organization.  Among  primi- 
tive men  we  find,  on  the  other  hand,  a  type  of  association  which  is 
quite  analogous  to  that  found  in  decorative  art.  As  there  form  tends 
to  associate  itself  with  ideas  entirely  foreign  to  it,  so  the  social  unit 
tends  to  associate  itself  with  various  impressions  of  nature,  particu- 
larly with  the  divisions  of  the  animal  world.  This  form  of  associa- 
tion seems  to  me  the  fundamental  trait  of  totemism.  It  is  difficult 
for  us  to  appreciate  the  psychological  process  by  means  of  which 
these  associations  are  established.  It  would  seem  that  one  of  the 
fundamental  requirements  must  be  the  feeling  that  a  family,  or  some 
other  social  group,  is  absolutely  distinct  from  all  other  social  groups. 

'  Popular  Science  Monthly,  October,  1903,  pp.  481  et  seq» 

*  The  A merican  Architect  and  Tsuilding  Nnvs,  1 898. 

•  Dr.  Clark  Wissler,  "The  Decorative  Art  of  the  Sioitf  Indians,"  BulUtin 
Anurican  Museum  of  Natural  History^  vol.  xviii. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


252 


yaurwU  of  American  Foik-Lore* 


This  granted,  the  establishment  of  association  with  the  supernatural 
world  becomes  at  least  intelligible.  That  such  feelings  are  not  by 
any  means  improbable,  or  even  rare,  is  sufficiently  shown  by  the 
exclusiveness  of  the  European  high  nobility,  or  by  the  national  emo- 
tions in  their  pronounced  form.  It  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  understand 
how  an  overbearing  enthusiasm  of  self-ajji^reciation  of  a  community 
may  become  a  powerful  emotion  or  a  passion  which,  on  account  of 
the  lack  of  rational  explanation  of  the  world,  will  tend  to  associate 
the  members  of  the  community  with  all  that  is  good  and  powerful. 
However  these  associations  may  have  been  brought  about,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  they  do  exist,  and  that,  psychologically  considered, 
they  are  of  the  same  character  as  those  previously  discussed,  and 
that  the  rationalizing  mind  of  man  soon  lost  the  historic  thread  and 
reinterpreted  the  established  customs  in  conformity  with  the  general 
trend  of  thought  of  his  culture.  We  are  therefore  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  these  customs  must  also  be  studied  by  the  pragmatic 
method,  because  their  present  associations  are  not  likely  to  be  origi- 
nal, but  rather  secondary. 

When  we  once  recognize  the  general  applicability  of  the  theory  of 
the  historical  modification  of  associations,  we  can  no  longer  hope  to 
establish  one  single  line  of  origin  and  development  of  institutions 
like  totemism,  or  of  religious  systems,  because  the  theories  of  those 
who  hold  to  such  systems  are  without  historic  value,  and  express 
only  types  of  association  ;  but  we  are  rather  led  to  the  problem  what 
associations  are  typical  of  various  forms  of  culture,  and  how  they  will 
affect  the  thoughts  and  activities  of  man.  These  associations  may 
again  fall  into  order ;  no  longer,  however,  as  forming  a  genetically 
connected  system,  but  as  a  series  of  phenomena  that  arise  ever  anew, 
according  to  the  type  of  culture  of  each  people,  and  influenced  by 
historical  and  geographical  transmission. 

It  is  perhaps  venturesome  to  discuss  at  the  present  moment  these 
types  of  association  ;  yet  it  may  be  admissible  to  chvcll  on  a  few  of 
the  most  generalized  facts  which  seem  to  characterize  primitive  cul- 
ture as  compared  to  civilization.  From  our  point  of  view,  the  strik- 
ing features  of  primitive  culture  are  the  great  number  of  associations 
of  entirely  heterogeneous  groups  of  phenomena,  su^h  as  natural  phe- 
nomena and  individual  emotion,  social  groupini^s  and  religious  con- 
cepts, decorative  art  and  symbolic  interpretation.  These  tend  to 
disappear  with  the  approach  to  our  present  civilization,  although  a 
careful  analysis  reveals  the  persistence  of  many,  and  the  tendency  of 
each  automatic  action  to  establish  its  own  associations  according;  to 
the  mental  relations  in  which  it  regularly  occurs.  One  of  the  great 
changes  that  has  taken  place  may  perhaps  best  be  expressed  by  say- 
ing that  in  primitive  culture  the  impressions  of  the  outer  world  are 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


Some  Traits  of  Primitive  Culture.  253 

associated  intunately  with  subjective  impressions,  which  they  call 
forth  regularly,  but  which  are  determined  largely  by  the  social  sur- 
roundings of  the  individual  Gradually  the  greater  uncertainty  of 
these  connections,  as  compared  to  others,  is  recognized,  that  remains 
the  same  for  all  mankind,  and  in  all  forms  of  social  surroundings, 
and  thus  sets  in  the  gradual  elimination  of  one  subjective  association 
after  another,  which  culminates  in  the  scientific  method  of  the  pre- 
sent day.  We  may  express  this  also  by  saying  that  when  we  have 
our  attention  directed  to  a  certain  concept  which  has  a  whole  fringe 
of  incident  concepts  related  to  it,  we  at  once  associate  it  with  that 
group  which  is  represented  by  the  category  of  causality.  When 
the  same  concept  appears  in  the  mind  of  primitive  man,  it  associates 
itself  with  those  concepts  related  to  it  by  emotional  states. 

If  this  is  true,  then  the  associations  of  the  primitive  mind  are 
hetero;j;eneous,  and  ours  homogeneous  and  consistent  only  from  our 
own  point  of  view.  To  the  mind  of  primitive  man,  only  his  own 
associations  can  be  rational.  Ours  must  appear  to  him  just  as  het- 
erogeneous as  his  to  us,  because  the  bond  between  the  phenomena 
of  the  world,  as  it  appears  after  the  elimination  of  their  emotional 
associations,  which  is  being  established  with  increasing  knowledge, 
does  not  exist  for  ///w,  while  we  can  no  longer  feel  the  subjective 
associations  that  govern  his  mind. 

This  peculiarity  of  association  is  also  another  expression  of  the 
conservatism  of  primitive  culture  and  the  changeability  of  many 
features  of  our  civilization.  We  tried  to  show  that  the  resistance 
to  change  is  largely  due  to  emotional  sources,  and  that  in  primitive 
culture  emotional  associations  are  the  prevailing  type.  Hence  re- 
dstance  i^nst  the  new.  In  our  civilization,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  actions  are  performed  merely  as  means  to  a  rational  end. 
They  do  not  enter  sufficiently  deeply  into  our  minds  to  establish  con- 
nections which  would  give  them  emotional  values.  Hence  our  readi- 
ness to  change.  We  recognize,  however,  that  we  cannot  remodel, 
without  serious  emotional  resistance^  any  of  the  fundamental  lines  of 
thought  and  action  which  are  determined  by  our  early  education, 
and  which  form  the  subconscious  basis  of  all  our  activities.  This  is 
evinced  by  the  attitude  of  civilized  communities  towards  religion, 
politics,  art,  and  the  fundamental  concepts  of  science. 

In  the  average  individual  among  primitive  tribes  reasoning  cannot 
overcome  this  emotional  resistance,  and  it  therefore  requires  a  de- 
struction of  the  existing  emotional  associations  by  more  powerful 
means  to  bring  about  a  change.  This  may  be  brought  about  by  some 
event  which  stirs  up  the  mind  of  the  people  to  its  depths,  or  by  eco- 
nomic and  political  changes  against  which  resistance  is  impossible. 
In  civilization  there  is  a  constant  readiness  to  modify  those  activities 


254 


Jourtud  of  Ameruan  Folk-Lore, 


that  have  no  emotional  value.  This  is  true  not  only  of  activities 
designed  to  meet  a  practical  end,  but  also  of  others  that  have  lost 
their  associations,  and  that  have  become  subject  to  fashion.  There 
remain,  however,  others  which  are  retained  with  ^eat  tenacity,  and 
which  hold  their  own  against  reasoning,  because  their  strength  lies 
in  their  emotional  values.  The  history  of  the  progress  of  science 
yields  example  after  example  of  the  power  of  resistance  belonging 
to  old  ideas,  even  after  increasing  knowledge  of  the  world  has  under- 
mined the  ground  on  which  they  were  erected.  Their  overthrow  is 
not  brought  about  until  a  new  generation  has  arisen,  to  whom  the  old 
is  no  longer  dear  and  near. 

Besides  this,  there  are  a  thousand  activities  and  modes  of  thought 
that  constitute  our  daily  life,  of  which  we  are  not  conscious  at  all 
until  we  come  into  contact  with  other  types  of  life,  or  until  we  are 
prevented  from  acting  according  to  our  custom,  that  cannot  in  any 
way  be  claimed  to  be  more  reasonable  than  others,  and  to  which, 
nevertheless,  we  cling.  These,  it  would  seem,  are  hardly  less  numer- 
ous in  civilized  than  in  primitive  culture,  because  they  constitute  the 
whole  series  of  well-established  habits  according  to  which  the  neces- 
sary actions  of  ordinary  every-day  life  are  performed,  and  which  are 
learned  less  by  instruction  than  by  imitatioa 

Thus  an  important  change  from  primitive  culture  to  civilization 
seems  to  consist  in  the  gradual  elimination  of  what  might  be  called 
the  social  associations  of  sense  impressions  and  of  activities,  for 
which  intellectual  associations  are  gradually  substituted  This  pro- 
cess is  accompanied  by  a  loss  of  conservatism,  which,  however,  does 
not  extend  over  the  fidd  of  habitual  activities  that  do  not  come  into 
consciousness*  and  only  to  a  slight  extent  over  tho^e  generalizations 
which  are  the  foundation  of  all  knowledge  imparted  in  the  course 
of  education. 


Digili^cj  uy  Google 


An  Ancient  Egyptian  Folk-Tale, 


255 


r 

TRAITS  OF  AN  ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  FOLK-TALE. 
COMPARED  WITH  THOSE  3f  ABORIGINAL  AMERI- 
CAN TALES. 

The  story  of  the  Two  Brothers,  which  is  inscribed  on  a  papyrus 
dating  back  to  the  XIX***  Egyptian  dynasty,  has  in  its  opening  episode 
a  certain  resemblance  to  that  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife.  It  is 
more  remarkable,  however,  for  the  evidence  it  affords  of  the  exist- 
ence in  early  Egypt  of  ideas  current  in  the  folk-lore  of  many  peoples. 
This  applies  no  less  to  the  folk-lore  of  the  aborigines  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent  than  to  that  of  the  peoples  of  the  old  world.  Indeed 
many  of  the  incidents  of  the  story  can  be  parallelled  by  similar  inci- 
dents in  the  legends  of  the  Plains  Indians  of  North  America,  and 
allowing  for  differences  of  environment,  the  story  of  the  Two 
Brothers  might,  with  little  variation,  have  emanated  from  an  Indian 
source.  Not  that  it  really  did  so,  as  its  ideas  are  found  also  in  the 
"Arabian  Nights  Entertainments,"  and  possibly  the  tale  itself  in  its 
main  features  had  its  birth  on  Asiatic  soil. 

The  Egyptian  story  may  be  regarded  as  the  relation  of  the  misad- 
ventures of  a  younger  brother,  Bata,  through  the  conduct  of  two 
women,  of  whom  one  was  the  wife  of  his  elder  brother  Anpu  and 
the  other  his  own  wife.  Bata  lived  with  Anpu,  who  loved  him  as  a 
son  and  was  faithfully  served  by  him.  Anpu's  wife  makes  improper 
overtures  to  Bata  while  his  brother  is  in  the  field,  but  her  suit  is 
rejected.  Bata  goes  back  to  his  brother,  who,  on  returning  home 
in  the  evening,  finds  his  wife  apparently  ill  through  violence.  She 
accuses  Bata  of  having  beaten  her  for  refusing  to  lie  with  him,  and 
declares  that  if  he  is  allowed  to  live  she  will  slay  herself.  Anpu 
becomes  enraged,  and  goes  to  the  stable  to  kill  his  brother  when  he 
comes  home  with  the  cattle.  The  returning  cattle  approach,  and  the 
two  leading  "COws,  seeing  Anpu  behind  the  stable  door,  tell  Bata  to 
flee  for  his  life:  He  sees  his  brother's  feet,  and  running  away  he 
calls  on  Ra  Harakhti,  the  Sun,  to  help  him.  The  god  causes  a  great 
water  fuU  of  crocodiles  to  appear  between  the  two  brothers.  It  is 
now  dark,  and  in  the  morning  Bata  tells  his  brother  what  had  really 
happened  and  then  mutilates  himself.  Anpu  now  grieves  for  his 
brother,  but  Bata  says  he  is  going  to  the  Valley  of  the  Acacia  and 
foretells  the  events  which  form  the  second  part  of  the  Stoiy.  Anpu 
goes  home,  lulls  his  wife,  throws  her  to  the  dogs,  and  mourns  his 
brother. 

The  chief  action  here,  that  of  the  deceitful  woman  who  seeks  the 
death  of  her  husband's  brother  for  declining  her  advances,  is  the 
motive  of  the  Arapaho  story  of  "  Badger-Woman."   A  hunter  has 


L-iyiii^ed  by  Google 


youmal  of  American  Folk'Lare, 


living  with  him  a  younger  brother,  of  whom  he  is  so  fond  he  will  not 
let  him  do  any  work.  His  wife  falls  in  love  with  her  brother-in-law, 
and  then,  after  he  has  refused  her  attentions  several  times,  she  deter- 
mines to  bring  about  his  death.  She  does  not  accuse  him,  as  in  the 
Egyptian  story,  but  she  digs  a  hole  under  the  young  man's  bed,  into 
which  he  falls,  and  then,  covering  him  up,  she  leaves  him  there  to 
die.  Bata  is  saved  by  Ra,  to  whom  he  prays,  but  the  Indian  youth 
is  saved  by  Gray-Wolf,  who  hears  his  cries.  Gray-Wolf,  who  prob- 
ably represents  the  sun,  calls  for  other  wolves  to  come,  and  they  dig 
until  they  reach  the  young  man,  whom  they  keep  with  them  for 
some  time,  and  finally  take  home  to  his  brother.  When  the  husband 
hears  the  story  he  devotes  his  wife  to  death  and  she  becomes  the 
prey  of  the  animals  who  had  rescued  her  brother-in-law.  In  both 
the  Egyptian  and  the  Indum  stories  animals  are  endowed  with 
speech.  The  cows  converse  with  liata  as  though  they  are  human 
lUee  himself,  and  so  in  the  Arapaho  story  Gray-Wolf  cries  out,  like 
an  old  man,  when  he  calls  the  other  wolves,  and  they,  when  they  dig 
out  the  young  man,  question  him  ahout  his  fate.  The  incident  of 
the  sudden  appearance  of  the  stream  full  of  crocodiles  can  be  paral- 
lelled from  many  Indian  sources.  The  crocodiles  are  a  purely  local 
feature,  but  in  an  Arapaho  story,  "  The  Flood,"  a  river  suddenly  ap- 
pears to  arrest  the  progress  of  a  skull  which  is  seeking  to  devour  a 
family  it  has  fed  and  who  are  fleeing  away  from  it.  Here,  however, 
the  skull  passes  the  river  as  though  on  ice.  In  many  Indian  stories 
impediments  are  placed  in  the  way  of  pursuers,  but  usually  they 
appear  as  the  result  of  mere  wishing,  instead  of  through  appeal  for 
divine  aid,  although  probably  some  such  assistance  is  supposed  to  be 
behind  the  wish.  A  canyon  with  steep  cliffs  is  the  most  effectual 
mode  of  stopping  a  pursuing  enemy,  and  it  is  just  as  much  a  mark 
of  local  coloring  as  the  river  of  crocodiles  of  the  Egyptian  story. 
The  act  of  mutilation  performed  here  by  the  younger  brother  in 
testimony  of  his  innocence  is  unexampled  in  American  mythology* 
so  far  as  I  know,  and  it  evidences  that  the  latter  belongs  to  a  more 
primitive  area  of  culture  than  that  represented  by  the  story  of  "  The 
Two  Brothers." 

We  come  now  to  the  second  part  of  this  ancient  story,  that  which 
narrates  the  misadventures  of  Bata,  the  younger  brother,  through 
the  agency  of  his  own  wife.  Bata's  first  act  after  arriving  at  the 
Valley  of  the  Acacia,  which  is  evidently  near  the  sea,  is  to  draw  out 
his  soul  and  place  it  in  the  top  flower  of  the  acacia  for  safe  keeping. 
This  external  location  of  the  soul  to  protect  its  owner  against  being 
killed  is  a  very  common  incident  in  ancient  legendary  lore,  where, 
*  however,  usually  it  is  spoken  of  as  the  heart.  It  is  not  an  uncom- 
mon incident  of  the  stories  of  the  American  Indians.    The  dwarfs 

• 


jin  Afuient  Egyptian  Folk-Tale. 


257 


are  said  to  leave  their  hearts  at  home,  when  they  go  on  their  canni- 
bal excursions,  and  if  their  hearts  are  pierced  they  fall  down  dead 
wherever  they  arc.  In  America,  however,  the  feather  would  seem 
to  take  the  place  of  the  flower  as  the  habitation  of  the  soul.  In  the 
Arapaho  story  of  Blue-Feather  the  soul  of  the  hero  is  supposed  to 
reside  in  his  blue  feather  headdress  or  in  a  single  blue  feather.  This 
feather,  or  a  portion  of  the  headdress,  escapes  destruction  when  the 
hero  is  trampled  to  death  by  buffalo,  and  hence  he  can  be  again  re- 
stored to  life.  In  the  Norse  tale  of  the  "  Giant  who  had  no  Heart  in 
his  Body,"  the  heart  is  placed  in  an  egg  for  safe  keeping,  and  in  the 
well-known  story  of  "  Punchkin  "  the  magician's  heart  is  in  the  form 
of  a  little  green  parrot,  which  is  in  a  cage  hidden  below  six  jars  of 
waici  located  in  the  centre  of  a  jungle  and  guarded  by  myriads  of 
demons. 

Having  put  his  soul  in  a  safe  place,  Bata  makes  himself  a  home 
by  building  a  tower.  One  day  he  meets  the  Ennead  of  nine  Gods, 
wbo  are  sad  for  him,  and  the  Sun  (Ra)  tells  Khnumu  to  make  him  a 
wife.  The  craftsman  god  thereupon  makes  Bata  a  mate  "  who  was 
more  beautiful  in  her  limbs  than  any  woman  who  is  in  the  whole 
land."  That  might  well  be^  as  every  god  was  in  her.  When  Bata 
goes  hunting  he  tells  his  wife  not  to  go  outside  of  the  house,  as  the 
sea  might  seize  her,  and  if  so  he  could  not  rescue  her.  He  then 
tells  her  about  his  soul  and  that  if  it  were  to  be  found  by  another  he 
would  be  vanquished.  The  woman  does  not  obey  him,  but  goes  out 
of  the  house  and  walks  by  the  side  of  the  acacia.  The  sea  sees  her 
and  sends  waves  after  her.  She  runs  into  the  house,  and  the  sea 
asks  the  acacia  to  catch  hold  of  her.  The  acacia  seizes  a  lock  of  her 
hair,  which  it  gives  to  the  sea,  and  the  sea  carries  it  to  Egypt  and 
drops  it  in  the  place  where  Pharaoh's  linen  is  washed. 

Disobedience  to  legitimate  instructions  is  a  common  source  of  evil  ; 
in  folk-lore  tales,  and  usually  it  is  ascribed  to  a  woman,  as  in  the  story  » 
of  Eden.  In  the  Arapaho  legend  of  "  Splinter-Foot-Girl,"  the  girl 
is  warned  not  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  shinny  players  who  would 
come  near  the  tipi.  She  disobeys  at  last  and  is  carried  away  by  the 
buffalo.  The  story  of  "  Found-in-Grass  "  turns  on  the  curiosity  of  a 
wife  who  has  been  told  by  her  husband  not  to  take  notice  of  any 
one  who  should  speak  to  her  from  outside  the  tipi.  Twin  brothers, 
who  are  born  in  an  extraordinary  manner  through  her  disobedience, 
get  into  various  adventures  through  their  desire  to  find  out  why  their 
father  forbids  them  to  go  to  certain  places.  In  the  course  of  their 
adventures  one  of  them,  who  is  afterwards  Found-in-Grass,  is  carried 
away  by  a  strong  wind  —  as  Splinter-Foot-Girl  is  drawn  along  by  the 
shinny  ball  and  carried  off  by  the  buffalo.  What  incited  the  wife  of 
Bata  to  quit  the  tower  we  are  not  told,  but  probably,  as  in  many 


Digitized  by  Google 


258  Journal  of  American  FolhJLore, 


other  cases,  it  was  in  order  to  find  out  what  would  happen  in  case 

she  disobeyed  the  command. 

The  lock  of  hair  carried  to  Egypt  by  the  sea  scents  Pharaoh's 
linen,  and  search  is  made  for  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  The  chief  of 
the  washers  finds  the  lock  of  fragrant  hair,  which  he  takes  to  Pha- 
raoh. The  king  sends  for  the  scribes  and  wise  men,  and  he  is  told 
that  the  hair  belongs  to  a  daughter  of  Ra,  and  that  the  strain  of 
every  god  is  in  her.  On  their  recommendation,  messengers  are  sent 
to  every  land  to  discover  the  woman,  and  many  go  to  the  Valley  of 
the  Acacia.  These  are  slain  by  Bata,  except  one  man,  whom  he  al- 
lows to  return  to  report  to  Pharaoh  what  has  taken  place.  Another 
party  is  sent  to  the  Valley,  and  with  them  a  woman  who  is  furnished 
with  many  attractive  ornaments.  The  woman  brings  the  girl  back 
with  her  and  there  is  great  rejoicing.  The  girl  is  made  a  princess 
arid  Pharaoh  speaks  with  her  with  reference  to  her  husband.  She 
tells  him  the  story  of  Bata  and  his  soul  and  asks  hirn  to  have  the 
acacia-tree  cut  down  and  chopped  up.  Pharaoh  accordingly  sends 
soldiers  for  the  purpose.  The  tree  is  cut  down,  and  when  they  cut 
the  flower  upon  which  was  placed  the  soul  of  Bata,  he  falls  down 
dead.  This  and  what  follows  had  been  foreseen  by  Bata  and  told  by 
him  to  Anpu,  who  now  acts  upon  his  brother's  instructions.  The 
story  continues:  '*And  Anpu,  the  elder  brother  of  Bata,  entered 
his  house ;  he  sat  down  and  washed  his  hands :  one  gave  him  a  pot 
of  beer,  it  foamed  up ;  another  was  given  him  of  wine,  it  becomes 
fouL  He  took  his  staff,  his  sandals,  likewise  his  clothes,  with  his 
weapons  of  war ;  he  set  out  to  walk  to  The  Valley  of  the  Acacia.  He 
entered  the  tower  of  his  young  brother,  he  found  his  younger  brother 
lying  on  his  bed  ;  he  was  dead.  He  wept  when  he  saw  his  younger 
brother  verily  lying  dead.  He  went  out  to  seek  the  soul  of  his 
younger  brother  under  the  acacia-tree,  under  which  his  younger 
brother  used  to  lie  in  the  evening.  He  spent  three  years  in  seeking 
for  it,  but  found  it  not.  When  he  began  the  fourth  year  ...  he 
found  a  seed-pod.  He  returned  with  it  Behold  this  was  the  soul 
of  his  younger  brother.  He  brought  a  cup  of  cold  water,  he  dropped 
it  into  it :  he  sat  down,  as  his  manner  of  every  day  was.  Now  when 
night  came  his  soul  absorbed  the  water  ;  Bata  shuddered  in  all  his 
limbs,  he  looked  on  his  elder  brother  ;  .his  soul  was  in  the  cup.  Then 
Anpu  took  the  cup  of  cold  water  in  which  the  soul  of  his  younger 
brother  was  ;  he  drank  it,  his  soul  stood  again  in  its  place,  he  became 
as  he  had  been."    Thus  was  Bata  restored  to  life. 

The  incidents  of  this  narrative  for  which  we  may  expect  to  find 
parallels  in  American  folk-lore  are  the  death  of  Bata  and  the  restor- 
ing him  to  life  again  by  recovery  of  his  soul.  The  setting  of  such 
Incidents  in  the  Egyptian  story  are  local.    Reference  has  already 


Digitized  by  Google 


A  n  Ancient  Egyptian  Folk-  Tale,  259 

been  made  to  the  localization  of  the  soul  in  a  feather,  mentioned  in 
Indian  stories.  When  the  man  Biue-Feather  was  killed,  his  body, 
answering  to  the  acacia-tree,  was  ground  to  dust,  as  the  tree  was 
chopped  up,  the  soul  escaping  destruction  in  either  case.  Now,  the 
rising  of  a  cloud  of  dust  into  the  sky  was  to  be  the  signal  by  which 
Blue-Feather's  brother  Magpie  was  to  be  made  aware  of  his  death ; 
just  as  the  foaming  of  Anpu's  beer  was  to  be  the  signal  of  the  death 
of  Bata.  Magpie  seeing  the  ascending  dust  knows  that  his  brother 
has  been  killed  and,  as  a  bird,  flics  to  the  spot.  He  hears  groaning 
and  then  sees  a  blue  feather  on  the  ground.  He  picks  it  up  and 
carries  it  to  the  sweat-house  he  had  caused  to  be  made.  He  resumed 
his  human  form  and  places  the  feather  in  the  sweat-house  and  then 
by  means  of  his  four  magical  arrows,  which  he  shoots  upwards,  he 
brings  his  brother  Blue-Feather  to  life  again,  that  is,  causes  the  soul 
to  unite  itself  to  the  renewed  body.  The  use  of  the  sweat-bath  and 
the  magic  arrow  is  in  Indian  talcs  the  usual  mode  of  restoring  the 
dead  to  life,  and  it  is  adopted  even  when  there  is  no  visible  repre- 
sentative of  the  soul  beyond  the  body  of  the  dead  person.  It  is  a 
form  of  the  application  of  heatt  and  possibly  here  we  have  evidence 
ol  its  origination  hi  a  cold  or  temperate  climate^  as  the  reference  to 
celd  water  in  the  Egyptian  story  may  be  taken  to  show  that  this 
idea  originated  in  the  hot  climate  of  Egypt  itself. 

In  the.remaining  incidents  of  the  Egyptian  story  we  find  several 
points  of  contact  with  -American  legend.  Bata  becomes,  after  the 
cutting  up  of  the  acacia^iee,  a  great  buU  with  the  right  markings, 
and  tdUs  Anpu  to  sit  on  it  and  take  it  to  Pharaoh.  Pharaoh  rejoices 
when  he  sees  the  buU,  and  gives  him  silver  and  gold  for  Anpu,  with 
which  he  returns  to  his  village,  and  loves  the  bull  above  all  men  in 
the  land.  Here  we  have  the  sameness  of  nature  between  man  and 
animal  which  runs  throughout  the  whole  of  Indian  folk-lore.  There 
is  no  surprise  on  the  part  of  the  elder  brother  when  the  younger 
says  he  will  become  a  bull,  and  Pharaoh  loves  the  bull  so  strongly 
because,  doubtless,  he  regards  him  as  an  incarnation  of  a  god,  Osiris. 
The  bull  enters  the  place  of  purifying  where  the  princess  is,  and  tells 
her  that  he  is  Bata.  She  is  not  astonished,  apparently,  at  being  ad- 
dressed in  human  speech  by  an  animal.  Soon  afterwards  the  prin- 
cess has  a  good  day  with  the  king.  She  asks  him  to  swear  that  he 
will  do  whatever  she  says,  and  he  consents.  Then  she  said  :  "  Let 
me  eat  of  the  liver  of  this  bull,  for  he  will  do  nothing."  Pharaoh  is 
grieved  exceedingly,  but  he  has  promised  and  the  bull  is  sacrificed. 
It  shakes  its  head  and  throws  two  drops  of  blood  near  Pharaoh's 
door.  During  the  night  these  drops  of  blood  grow  as  two  Persea- 
trees,  one  on  each  side  of  Pharaoh's  gate.  The  people  rejoice,  and 
o£ferings  are  made  to  the  trees.    The  king  hears  of  this  wonder,  and 


L-iyui^uO  by  Google 


26o 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


he  has  himself  adorned  with  a  blue  crown  and  with  garlands  of  floweri 
on  his  neck  and  drives  in  his  chariot  to  see  the  Pcrsea-trees.    He  is 

followed  by  the  princess,  and  while  he  sits  with  her  beneath  one  of 
the  trees  it  speaks  to  her,  saying,  "Oh  thou  deceitful  one,  I  am  Bata, 
I  am  alive,  though  I  have  suffered  violence.  Thou  knowest  well  that 
the  causing  of  the  acacia  to  be  cut  down  for  Pharaoh  was  to  my  hurt. 
I  then  became  an  ox,  and  thnu  hadst  me  slain."  The  idea  of  the 
growth  of  a  tree  from  a  drop  of  blood  would  be  entertained  without 
difliculty  by  the  mind  of  the  Indian  who  is  familiar  with  the  story  of 
Blood-Clot-Girl,  who  is  born  from  a  clot  of  blood  placed  in  a  kettle 
to  be  boiled  for  soup.  In  destroying  a  witch  or  other  "  wonderful  '* 
being  it  is  supposed  to  be  necessary  that  every  portion  of  it  shall  be 
consumed,  as  the  being  may  come  to  life  again  if  a  single  particle  of 
it  remains. 

The  princess  still  pursues  Bata,  and  one  day  when  Pharaoh  was 
pleased  with  her,  as  was  Herod  with  the  daughter  of  Herodias,  she 
made  the  king  again  swear  to  do  what  she  should  ask.  Then  she 
said,  "  Let  these  two  Persea-trees  be  cut  down,  and  let  them  be  made 
into  goodly  timber.*'  Now  comes  the  climax,  for  when  the  crafts> 
men  cut  down  the  trees,  while  the  princess  stood  by, "  a  chip  flew 
up  and  entered  into  the  mouth  of  the  princess ;  and  she  perceived 
that  she  had  conceived.'*  She  bore  a  male  child,  which  was  brought 
to  the  king,  and  there  was  rejoicing  in  the  whole  land.  When  the 
ceremony  of  naming  him  was  performed  the  king  loved  him  ex- 
ceedingly, and  he  raised  him  to  be  the  royal  son  of  Kush.  Afterwards 
Pharaoh  made  him  heir  of  all  the  land.  The  growth  of  a  child  from 
a  splinter  is  the  subject  of  several  Arapaho  stories,  but  here  the 
splinter  enters  the  foot  of  a  young  man  and  causes  an  abscess,  from 
which  the  child  proceeds.  In  the  story  of  **  Light-Stone,"  however, 
a  g^rl  accidentally  swallows  a  small  round  transparent  stone,  which 
causes  her  to  give  birth  to  a  boy.  The  boy  does  not  become  heir  to 
a  king,  but  he  destroys  the  murderer  of  his  mother's  brothers,  and 
brings  them  to  life  again,  subsequently  becoming  a  stone  once  more. 
On  the  death  of  the  king,  Bata  succeeds  him,  and  then  he  brings  the 
case  between  his  wife  and  himself  before  the  great  nobles  of  the 
land,  how  the  story  does  not  say,  but  probably  the  woman  was  de- 
voted to  the  infernal  deities,  as  was  the  Arapaho  wife  to  the  wolves. 
Bata  reigned  for  thirty  years,  and  then  his  elder  brother  Anpu 
"stood  in  his  place." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  any  direct  communication  between 
Egypt  and  North  America  to  account  for  the  existence  of  common 
elements  in  the  folk-lore  of  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  these  regions, 
although  doubtless  there  was  indirect  communication  between  them 
through  the  Phoenicians.    Egypt  was  in  close  association  with  West- 


An  Andeni  EgypHan  Folk-Tale, 


era  Asia,  so  close  indeed  that  the  term  Ethiopia  was  applied  to 
southera  Asia,  as  far  as,  if  not  including,  India,  as  well  as  to  north- 
eastern Africa,  and  a  common  culture  overspread  in  early  days  the 
whole  of  that  region,  which  included  Egypt,  Babylon,  and  Persia,  the 
three  great  empire  centres  of  the  primitive  era.  Egypt,  thus,  as  a 
seat  of  civilization  belonged  to  Asia  rather  than  to  Africa,  and  we 
may  in  general  terms  assert  that  Central  Asia  was  the  real  source  of 
the  folk-lore  stories  which  gradually  spread  throughout  the  old  world 
and  thence  to  the  American  continent.  Even  India  itself  must  ulti- 
mately have  been  thus  indebted,  for  such  stories  antedate  the  rise 
of  Buddhism,  to  which  has  been  traced  the  origin  of  many  folk-tales 
in  their  comparatively  modem  dress. 

That  the  northern  part  of  the  American  continent  should  he 
brought  within  this  early  cultural  area  is  evidenced  hy  numerous 
facts,  of  which  the  data  of  folk-lore  furnish  many,  as  shown  by  the 
incidental  resemblances  between  the  Two  Brothers  story  and  similar 
ones  current  among  the  American  Indians.  In  confirmation  of  this 
view,  reference  may  be  made  to  a  story  which  under  various  forms  has 
been  traced  among  many  Asiatic  and  European  peoples,  that  of  Eros 
and  Psyche^  certain  features  of  which  are  common  also  to  stories 
which  are  still  current  among  the  Indians  of  North  America.  In 
the  Norse  version  of  that  legend  the  Wliite  Bear  falls  in  love  with  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  a  peasant,  and  she  is  persuaded  to  marry  him, 
as  he  promised  to  make  her  father  rich.  The  girl  rides  away  on  the 
White  Bear's  back  to  his  mountain  home,  and  at  night  a  man  comes 
to  her,  the  White  Bear  being  an  enchanted  prince  who  was  able  to 
put  on  the  human  form  at  night  but  before  daylight  had  to  assume* 
his  beast  form  again.  We  have  a  perfect  analogy  to  this  transfor- 
mation, except  as  to  the  enchantment  and  the  animal  form  assumed, 
in  the  Arapaho  stnry  of  the  Sun,  who  becomes  enamoured  of  a. 
beautiful  girl,  to  whom  he  appears  during  the  day  as  a  white  i\o<^,  but 
visits  at  nif^ht  in  human  form.  Through  curiosity  to  see  the  features 
of  the  human  being  who  comes  to  see  her  at  night,  White  Bear's 
wife  lighted  a  candle  while  he  was  asleep.  She  kissed  him  and  while 
doing  so  three  drops  of  tallow  fell  upon  his  shirt,  awakening  him,  and 
after  telling  her  of  his  enchantment  he  and  his  castle  disappeared.  In 
the  Arapaho  story  the  girl  presses  her  hand  on  her  lover's  back, 
leaving  its  impress  in  red  paint.  The  denouement  differs  here 
from  that  of  the  Norse  tale,  as  wlien  the  girl  sees  her  mark  on  the 
dog's  back  she  is  so  enraged  that  she  strikes  it  on  the  head  and  the 
dog  runs  away,  returning  as  a  young  man  to  his  father's  house.  He 
comes  back  again  sometime  afterwards  and  takes  away  the  puppy 
children  the  girl  had  given  birth  to^  who  had  become  little  boys,  and 
then  she  follows  him  to  the  sun's  home  to  recover  her  children. 


.  J  i^ud  by  Google 


263 


yimmal  of  American  Fclk-L&n, 


Many  of  the  incidents  of  the  Norse  stor)',  in  which  the  girl 
searches  for  the  enchanted  prince,  undergoing  many  adventures  be- 
fore she  recovers  him,  can  be  parallelled,  however,  in  other  Indian 
talcs.  Thus,  she  makes  inquiries  of  three  old  women  in  succession, 
one  of  whom  gives  her  a  golden  ball,  another  a  golden  comb,  and  the 
third  a  golden  spinning-wheel,  to  aid  her  in  her  search.  In  the 
Arapaho  story  of  "  Sleepy- Young-Man  and  the  Cannibals,"  the  young 
man  on  his  travels  comes  to  the  tipi  of  an  old  woman  of  whom  he 
asks  information  and  she  gives  him  a  piece  of  sinew  to  help  him  on 
his  way.  He  goes  on  and  receives  aid  from  two  other  old  women, 
the  third  of  whom  enables  him  to  obtain  the  object  of  his  quest,  as 
the  golden  spinning-wheel  secures  the  girl's  desired  inter\'iew  with 
the  enchanted  prince.  The  girl  reaches  the  country  of  the  Winds 
who  pass  her  on  until  she  comes  to  North  Wind,  who  carries  her  to 
the  enchanted  castle  where  the  prince  is.  Here  by  means  of  the 
golden  apple,  comb,  and  spinning-whed  she  gains  access  to  the  prince. 
All  the  bad  people  burst  themselves  with  rage,  and  the  prince  and 
his  wife  escape,  The  Winds  are  personified  also  in  American  story, 
but  they  do  not  aid  a  girl  to  release  her  husband  from  enchantment. 
The  person  in  distress  there  is  usually  a  girl  who  is  carried  off  by 
the  buB^o  and  is  rescued  by  the  aid  of  certain  animals,  one  of  whom 
knows  where  the  girl  has  been  taken. 

In  the  Celtic  tale  of  <*The  Battle  of  the  Birds,"  a  young  prince 
cuts  off  the  head  of  a  snake  who  was  about  to  overcome  a  Raven. 
The  Raven  becomes  a  yoimg  man,  who  gives  the  prince  a  bundle 
which  he  is  not  to  look  into  until  he  sees  the  place  where  he  would 
mo^t  like  to  dwell.  He  cannot  wait,  but  looks  into  the  bundle  and 
finds  himself  in  a  great  castle  with  fine  grounds  about  it  He  wishes 
to  put  it  into  the  bundle  again  but  cannot.  He  meets  a  great  giant, 
aRrho  puts  the  castle  into  the  bundle  on  the  prince  promising  him  his 
son  when  seven  years  old.  The  prince  marries  and  has  a  son  whom 
he  is  obliged  to  give  to  the  giant  in  fulfilment  of  his  promise.  The 
boy  lives  with  the  giant  a  long  time  and  asks  him  for  his  youngest 
daughter  in  marriaixe.  The  giant  is  angry,  and  says  before  the  boy 
can  marry  her  he  must  perform  three  tasks.  These  tasks  are  very 
difficult,  but  he  performs  them  by  the  aid  of  the  daughter,  to  whom 
he  is  thereupon  married.  The  wonderful  bundle  ^  has  its  parallel  in 
Indian  story  in  the  bundle  which  contains  a  numerous  company  of 
soldiers,  with  their  weapons  and  horses,  by  whose  aid  a  boy  gains 
victories  over  the  enemy.  The  Buffalo  chief  who  marries  a  girl 
answers  to  the  giant,  and  three  tasks  imposed  by  the  giant  corre- 
spond to  the  trials  imposed,  according  to  another  story,  on  a  man 

*  In  a  West  Indian  "  Nancy  Story,"  in  which  three  old  womCD  are  the  magical 
agents,  a  sugar  estate  comes  out  of  an  egg  given  to  a  girL 


An  Ancimi EgypHan  Folk-TeUe. 


who  goes  to  recover  his  wife  and  son  from  the  Buffalo.  The  last 
task  the  king's  son  has  to  perform  is  the  choosing  of  the  giant's 
youngest  daughter  from  among  others,  all  of  them  being  made  to 
look  alike.  This  he  effects  by  the  youngest  daughter  giving  him  an 
agreed  sign.  The  trial  by  choosing  has  to  be  gone  through  also  by 
the  husband  in  the  American  story,  and  he  succeeds  in  discovering 
his  wife  in  a  similar  manner. 

When  the  giant's  daughter  has  returned  to  the  bridal  chamber 
with  the  prince,  she  tells  him  they  must  fly  quickly  or  her  father 
will  kill  them.  She  divides  an  apple  into  nine  pieces  and  puts  two 
of  the  pieces  at  the  head  of  the  bed,  two  at  the  foot,  two  at  the  door 
of  the  kitchen,  two  at  the  great  door,  and  one  outside  of  the  house. 
Then  she  and  her  husband  ride  oflF  on  horseback.  Soon  the  giant 
calls  out, "  Are  you  askcp  yet  ? "  The  giant  repeats  the  question  sev- 
eral times  and  each  time  the  pieces  of  apple  in  turn  say,  "We  are 
not  asleep  yet."  When  the  apple  outside  of  the  house  answers,  the 
giant  knows  he  has  been  tricked,  and  he  runs  to  the  bedroom  and 
finds  it  empty.  He  immediately  chases  the  couple,  and  at  daybreak 
the  daughter  tells  her  husband  to  put  his  hand  in  the  ear  of  the 
horse  and  throw  behind  him  what  he  finds  there.  He  finds  a  twig 
of  sloe^tree^  and  when  he  throws  it,  twenty  miles  of  thick  blackthorn 
wood  grows  up.  The  giant  cuts  through  it,  however,  and  again  pur- 
sues. A  piece  of  gray  stone  is  then  thrown  and  a  mountain  twenty 
miles  broad  and  twenty  miles  high  appears.  The  giant  makes  a  way 
through  the  rocks,  and  at  sunset  the  husband  throws  behind  him  a 
bladder  of  water,  which  becomes  a  lake  twenty  miles  long  and 
twenty  miles  broad.  The  giant  endeavors  to  cross  and  is  drowned. 
The  use  of  the  pieces  of  apple  to  delay  pursuit  by  the  giant  is  repre- 
sented in  several  American  stories  by  the  placing  about  the  tipi  of 
several  pairs  of  moccasins,  which  call  out  after  the  pursuer  and  thus 
bring  him  bnck.  In  one  of  the  I^nffalo  stories  the  woman  leaves  her 
dress  behind,  and  whenever  the  Buffalo  husband  asks  if  she  is  ready 
yet,  it  calls  out, "  Not  yet."  In  other  stories  of  pursuit,  obstacles  similar 
to  those  which  delayed  the  giant  are  placed  in  the  way  of  the  pur- 
suer. The  nearest  parallel  to  the  Celtic  series  of  hindrances  is  to 
be  found  in  one  of  the  "  Nancy  "  stories  given  in  Lewis's  "  Journal  of 
a  West  India  Proprietor."  In  this  tale,  which  has  much  resemblance 
to  the  above  Celtic  story,  a  young  man  in  love  with  the  daughter  of 
a  king  or  headman  has  to  pick  out  the  girl,  transformed  with  her 
sisters  first  into  three  dogs  and  then  three  cats.  He  is  successful 
and  receives  his  bride,  but  she,  knowing  that  her  father  will  try  to 
kill  them  during  the  first  wedding  night,  takes  a  rose,  a  pebble,  and 
a  phial  of  water  and  then  rides  away  with  her  husband.  The  rose 
leaves  become  a  wood  of  briars,  the  pebble  a  high  precipitous  moun- 


Digitized  by  Google 


264 


youmal  of  American  Foik-Lon, 


tain,  and  the  phial  a  deep  water,  in  which  the  father  and  his  magical 
horse  Dandy  are  drowned. 

The  Celtic  story  introduces  other  adventures  through  which  the 
prince  and  the  u:iant's  daughter  pass  before  they  are  married,  the 
incidents  of  which  are  due  to  the  Celtic  imai;iiKition  and  therefore 
arc  not  likely  to  be  found  in  any  tale  preserved  among  the  Indians 
ol  America.  John  Thackeray  Bunce,  who  has  written  on  "  Fairy 
Tales,  their  Origin  and  Meaning,"  remarks,  as  to  the  stories  just  re- 
ferred to,  that  they  are  "  enough  to  show  how  the  same  idea  repeats 
itself  In  different  ways  among  various  peoples  who  have  come  from 
the  same  stock :  for  the  andent  Hindu  legend  of  Urvasi  and  PurA- 
ravas,  the  Greek  fable  of  Eros  and  Psyche,  the  Norse  story  of 
the  Land  East  of  the  Sun  and  West  of  the  Moon,  the  Teutonic 
story  of  the  Soaring  Lark,  and  the  Celtic  story  of  the  Battle  of 
the  Birds,  are  all  one  and  the  same  in  their  general  character,  their 
origin,  and  their  meaning ;  and  in  all  these  respects  they  resemble 
the  story  which  we  know  so  well  in  English  —  that  of  Beauty  and 
the  Beast  Each  form  of  the  legend  shows  the  special  genius  of  the 
people  to  whom  it  belongs,  and  so  it  is  of  the  Beauty  and  the  Beast 
stories  of  the  American  Indian,  which  have  a  special  character  of 
their  own  due  to  the  condition  of  civilization  of  the  primitive  people 
with  whom  they  originated,  at  an  era  antedating  that  of  the  early 
Hindus,  and  while  the  Aryan  ancestors  were  yet  inhabitants  of  Cen- 
tral Asia.  In  accordance  with  the  cosmical  explanation  of  the  old 
world  myths,  the  story  of  Eros  and  Psyche,  and,  therefore,  the  other 
stories,  is  related  to  that  of  the  Sun  and  the  Dawn,  which  vanishes 
when  it  beholds  the  risini^  Sun.  There  can  be  no  objection  to  an 
analogous  explanation  being  given  of  the  American  legends  of  a 
similar  character.  But  these  represent  the  more  primitive  condition 
of  thought,  when  the  Sun  was  regarded  as  being  a  young  man,  who 
was  rather  the  sun-bearer  than  the  actual  solar  body,  and  who  could 
assume  an  animal  form  at  will ;  and  the  Dawn  was  a  young  woman 
whose  beauty  is  the  first  flush  of  light  in  the  sky,  which,  although 
really  a  reflection  of  himself,  is  fallen  in  love  with  by  the  Sun,  as 
Narcissus  is  lost  in  admiration  of  his  own  appearance  in  the  reflect- 
ing water. 

C  Staniland  Wake, 


Digitized  by  Google 


^    French  Canadian  Folk'TaUs.  265 


FRENCH  CANADIAN  FOLK-TALES 

The  following  tales  were  kindly  communicated  to  me  by  Mr.  John 
C.  Day,  of  Toronto.  These  tales  were  related  by  Mr.  Day's  mother, 
a  French  Canadian. 

L   TRANSFORMATION  INTO  ANIMALS. 

(i.)  "Once  upon  a  time  (about  the  year  1850)  a  man  refused  to  pay 
his  church  fees,  so  he  was  put  out  of  the  church  by  one  of  the  officers. 
This  church  officer  was  taking  a  load  of  hay  to  market  next  day, 
when  he  saw  a  colt  come  up  and  stop  the  horses,  and  also  bite  and 
annoy  them.  The  man  took  his  whip,  and  getting  down  from  the 
load,  he  tried  to  drive  the  animal  away,  but  the  colt  ran  with  full 
force  against  him  and  tried  to  stamp  him  to  the  ground.  He  then 
thought  of  his  long  knife,  which  he  opened  and  stabbed  the  colt. 
As  soon  as  blood  appeared  the  colt  turned  into  a  man,  and  it  was 
the  man  that  had  been  put  out  of  the  church.  The  officer  then  tied 
his  horses  and  led  the  evil  man  to  a  priest,  but  the  priest  only  ban- 
ished him  to  an  island  to  be  heard  of  no  more." 

(2.)  "  Once  upon  a  time,  an  old  woman  was  so  possessed  with  an 
evil  spirit  that  she  could  turn  herself  into  several  different  animals. 
She  lived  on  the  cream  of  milk  stolen  from  her  neighbors  while 
turned  Into  a  frog.  But  one  day,  after  disturbing  the  pans  of  milk 
for  days,  she  was  caught  hopping  around  in  a  ndghhor's  cellar.  Her 
neighbor  took  her  and  put  her  upon  a  red>hot  iron  over  the  fireplace. 
She  hopped  off  and  out  through  the  door  to  her  home.  When  she 
came  over  the  next  day  to  see  her  neighbor,  her  hands  were  seen  to 
be  burned  and  blistered,  and  she  was  n't  able  to  work  for  days." 

U.  THE  EVIL  EYE. 

The  events  narrated  in  the  following  story  are  said  to  have  oc- 
curred in  1 850,  near  C6teau  Landing,  in  the  county  of  Soulanges, 
Quebec: — 

**  My  uncle  and  wife  went  to  Glengarry  one  day,  and  left  their  only 
daughter,  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  to  take  care  of  the  house. 
About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  an  old  tramp  passed  by  the 
door,  then  stopped  and,  seeing  the  door  open,  asked  for  something  to 
eat.  The  girl,  being  afraid  of  the  tramp,  closed  the  door  on  him  and 
told  him  to  go  on,  for  she  would  not  give  him  anything  or  let  him  in. 
The  old  tramp  became  mad,  and  with  oaths  and  threats  he  pounded 
on  the  door  until  he  became  tired  ;  then,  seeing  the  girl  through  the 
window,  through  madness  he  bewitched  her  and  went  away. 

VOL.  XVII.  —  NO.  67.  18 


Digitized  by  Google 


266  journal  of  American  Folk'Lore. 

'*  When  the  parents  returned  the  girl  was  going  through  all  sorts 
of  manceuvres,  such  as  crawling  through  the  rounds  of  chairs  and  try- 
ing to  climb  the  walls,  so  the  folks  had  to  tie  her.  The  next  day  a 
quack  doctor  passed  up  the  road  and  stopped  at  the  house  as  usuaL 
Upon  seeing  the  girl  in  such  a  way,  he  adted  the  cause  of  it  When 
told,  he  asked  for  the  petticoat  she  wore,  and  two  packages  of  new 
pins.  Getting  them,  he  put  the  girl  in  bed,  sat  in  the  old  fireplace, 
with  the  door  open,  and  taking  the  petticoat  and  pins,  he  put  [stuck] 
all  the  pins  into  the  petticoat,  then  pulled  them  out  and  put  them  in 
again  until  the  old  tramp  arrived  before  the  door  and  asked,  '  What 
are  you  doing  there?  *  '  Go  on  1  '  said  the  doctor,  '  why  clo  you  want  to 
know?'  'But  stop!'  said  the  tramp,  'you  are  doing  no  good!* 
'  Oh  ! '  said  the  doctor,  '  you  are  the  villain,  are  you,  that  put  this 
poor  girl  in  such  a  state  ?  Now  I  want  you  to  take  that  spell  off  the 
girl  immediately  ! '  *  I  can't,*  said  the  tramp,  '  unless  I  have  some- 
thing to  throw  it  on.*  'There's  an  old  hen  before  the  door,' said 
the  doctor,  '  throw  it  on  her.'  The  tramp  did  so,  the  girl  got  out  of 
bed  sensible,  but  the  hen  turned  over  and  died.  The  doctor  took 
the  tramp  at  once  in  charge  and  went  away,  but  the  girl  was  for  years 
silly  at  spells." 

III.  JACK  WITH  HIS  LANTBItlf. 

(i.)  "About  the  year  1837  the  Lower  Canada  French  were  very 
superstitious,  so  much  so  that  they  believed  the  devil  was  about  them 
in  different  forms.  One  form  was  'Jack  with  his  Lantern/  that 
would  lead  travellers  into  swamps  and  laugh  at  them  afterwards. 
Upon  one  occasion,  one  Louis  LaFontaine  was  driving  home  from 
Alexandria  [Glengarry  County,  Ont]  with  his  grist,  when  he  was 
attracted  by  a  light  in  the  road  before  him.  He  knew  the  road  well» 
but  as  it  was  dark  and  the  light  seemed  to  make  on  to  his  house,  he 
decided  to  follow  it  In  the  course  of  about  twenty  minutes  he 
plunged  into  a  deep  swamp^  and  the  light  also  disappeared  and  left 
him  in  the  dark,  to  get  out  the  best  he  knew  how.  Through  his  ex- 
citement he  heard  the  light,  or  the  devil  as  he  called  it,  laugh  at  htm 
until  morning  dawned.  So  afterwards  the  people  would  always  ke^ 
dear  of  'Jack  with  his  Lantern.' " 

(a.)  "One  Johnnie  Saveau  went  fishing  one  dark  and  foggy  night, 
about  one  hundred  yards  from  his  house,  when  he  saw  '  Jack  with  his 
Lantern  '  moving  in  his  direction.  He  had  a  torch>light  at  the  bow 
of  the  boat,  so  did  n't  feel  timid  until  *  Jack '  came  pretty  close  to 
him ;  and  then  he  became  afraid  and  tied  his  boat  to  the  shore  as 
quickly  as  possible  ;  and  to  make  it  more  secure  pinned  the  rope  to 
a  log  with  his  jackknife  and  hammered  it  down  as  much  as  he  could. 


Frmuh  Canadian  FaOk-Taks, 


267 


Then  he  ran  for  the  house  and  closed  the  door  as  quickly  as  possible 
on  arriving  there ;  but  the  *  old  devil '  {:is  he  called  the  evil  spirit  in 
the  light)  pulled  the  knife  out  of  the  log  and  threw  it  after  him, 
planting  it  in  the  door,  just  as  he  closed  it,  with  such  force  that  he 
could  not  at  first  pull  it  away.  So^  to  be  sure^  the  devil  was  working 
in  many  a  form." 

X  Wintembers, 

TOROMTOb  CAHADA.  * 


« 


.         ..y  Google 


268 


yaurmU  of  American  Foik^Lon. 


PROVERBS  IN  THE  MAKING:  SOME  SCIENTIFIC 

COMMONPLACES.  II. 

206.  One  can  understand  the  influence  of  repetition  on  crowds 
when  one  sees  how  powerful  it  is  with  the  most  enlightened  minds. 

G.  Lc  Bon. 

207.  One  is  astonished  to  find  that  very  rude  inventions  completely 
satisfy  children ,  they  are  condemned  for  their  little  taste  for  art, 
whilst  we  might  rath^  admire  that  power  of  imagination  which  makes 
this  niosion  possible  to  them.  Mme.  Necker. 

208.  One  generation  of  dumb  beasts  ia»  after  all,  very  like  another. 
•  J.  Fiske. 

ao9u  One  must  not  moralize  too  soon.  B.  Machada 

2ia  Organs  are  bilingual  and  functions  bigamous.   N.  Colajanni. 

21 1.  Originality  is  a  trait  which  is  by  no  means  lacking  in  the 
life  of  primitive  peoples.   F.  Boas. 

212.  Original  sin  and  free  will  are  now  questkms  of  heredity. 
G.  Stanley  HalL 

213.  Our  ancestors  have  left  us  deadly  poisons  as  well  as  civiliza- 
tion.  G.  Stanley  HalL 

214.  Our  century  democratizes  everything,  even  duty.  RMachado. 

215.  Our  culture  is  the  o£fspring  of  parents  whom  it  resembles. 
O.  T.  Masoa 

216.  Patriotism  is  a  savage  virtue.    G.  Tarde. 

217.  Pedantism  is  hated  at  all  ages.   Mme.  de  Minermont. 

218.  Peevish  old  age  sends  more  wrinkles  to  the  mind  than  to  the 
body.  Montaigne. 

219.  Perfected  organs  are  the  product  of  stressful  functioning. 
W  J  McGee. 

220.  Perfection  from  inner  necessity  is  the  law  of  all  things.  G. 

Stanley  Hall. 

221.  Personal  ascendancy  of  one  man  over  another  is  the  elemen- 
tary social  phenomenon.    G.  Tarde. 

222.  Pessimism  of  heart  is  above  pessimism  of  mind.  Mme.  de 
Lambert, 

223.  Pity  and  honesty,  the  two  fundamental  altruistic  feelings,  are 
universal  neither  in  time  nor  in  space.    N.  Colajanni. 

224.  Play  and  speech  make  up  the  elements  in  which  the  child 
lives.    F.  Froebel. 

225.  Play  comes  providentially  to  the  child  who  feels  the  imperious 
necessity  of  new  sensations,  since  it  makes  it  possible  for  him  con- 
tinually to  experience  new  ones.  R.  Ardig6  (contemporary  Italian 
psychologist). 


Proverbs  in  the  Making, 


269 


22d  Playing  boys  make  good  pupils.    F.  Froebel. 

227.  Play  is  all  that  from  which  man  derives  pleasure  freely.  G. 
A.  Rayneri  (contemporaiy  Italian). 

228.  Play  is  an  occupation  as  serious  and  important  for  the  child 
as  are  study  and  work  for  the  adult.    Paola  Lombroso. 

229.  Play  is  synonymous  with  experiment.  G.  A  Colozza  (con- 
temporary  Italian  psychologist). 

230.  Play  shows  the  first  development  of  art  and  of  the  esthetic 
impulse  in  the  child.    G.  A.  Colozza. 

231.  Plays  and  games  are  the  most  original  creations  of  childhood, 
and  their  adaptation,  modification,  and  development  form  a  training- 
school  of  infancy.    Paola  Lombroso. 

232.  Plays  must  not  be  commanded.    G.  A  Colozza. 

233.  Pleasure  socializes.    B.  Machado. 

234.  Poetry  and  melody  are  twins,  born  of  the  dancing  chant  J. 

W.  Powell. 

235.  Polish  is  not  culture.    F.  Jahn. 

236.  Pride,  like  faith,  like  love,  is  something  eternal.    G.  Tarde. 

237.  Primitive  man  sees  only  a  few  qualities,  and  identifies  them  if 
they  have  points  of  agreement  S.  N.  Patten  (contemporaiy  Ameri- 
can economist). 

238.  Primitive  societies  had  no  physical  or  social  ccmceptioo  of  the 
world.  De  Greef. 

239.  Pmostitution  has  the  same  origin  as  crime.  F^r6  (contemporary 
French  psychologist). 

24a  Prostitution  is  woman's  crime.   S.  Venturi. 

241.  Psychological  embryogeny  is  a  measurer  of  psychic  atavism. 
P.  Mant^gazza. 

242.  Raw  books  are  far  worse  than  raw  potatoes,  bad  books  more 
pemsdotts  than  had  meat   F.  Jahn. 

243.  Reason  is  of  female  nature;  it  can  give  only  after  it  has 
received.    Schopenhauer  (1788-1860). 

244.  Religion  and  science  have  more  and  more  in  common  and 
less  in  severalty.    G.  Stanley  Hall. 

245.  Religion  is  all.    G.  Stanley  Hall. 

246.  Religion,  like  language^  is  a  work  of  imitation  of  the  highest 

order.    G.  Tarde. 

247.  Revelation  is  the  true  education  of  humanity.  Lessing. 

248.  Revenge  is  a  kind  of  wild  justice.  Bacon. 

249.  Science  is  only  a  symbolism  of  reality  —  a  system  of  skilful 
ruses.  Payot. 

250.  Science  is  the  social  development  of  individual  logic.  G. 
Tarde. 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


2/0 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


251.  Science  cannot  do  without  conscience.   B.  Machado. 

252.  Scoldings  and  cries  disturb  children  more  than  they  convert 
them»  causing  more  tears  than  true  repentance.   Mme.  Necker. 

253.  Selection  eliminates  those  who  do  not  imitate.  •  G.  Tarde. 

254.  Simplification  oi  instruction  is  absolutely  necessaiy.  & 
Machado. 

255.  Sleep  is  not  the  brother  of  death  ;  it  is  only  bis  image.  Gri- 
mard  (contemporary  French  psychologist). 

256.  Sleep  is  a  world  aparL   Mme.  de  Manac^ine  (contemporary 
Russian  physioloG:ist). 

257.  Sleep  is  more  necessary  than  food  to  animals  endowed  with 
consciousness.    Mme.  de  Manac^ine. 

258.  Social  commerce,  comradeship,  are  indispensable  to  the  for- 
mation of  character.    B.  Machado. 

259.  Social  evolution  is  a  myth,  from  the  biological  standpoint. 
G.  A.  Reid  (contemporary  English  writer). 

260.  "Social  love  conquers  all  appetites.    B.  Machado. 

261.  Social  passions  sometimes  become  instinctive.  Lord  Karnes. 

262.  Societies  have  only  the  criminals  they  deserve.  Lacassagne 
(contemporary  French  criminologist). 

263.  Society  is  only  the  family  increased  and  expanded.  F.  Froebel. 

264.  Solitude  is  the  school  of  genius.  Gibbon  (i  737-1794). 

265.  Study  cannot  abolish  social  obligation.  E  Machado. 

266.  Susceptibility  to  pain  increases  with  civilization.  T.  Ribot 

267.  Sympathy  Is  long  posterior  to  the  great  outburst  of  faith  and 
duty.  G.  Tarde. 

268.  Take  away  sympathy  and  imitation,  and  what  would  be  left  . 
to  the  child }  Mme  Necker. 

269.  Tendency  to  crime  is  not  inevitable  by  the  mere  fact  of  he- 
redity ;  it  becomes  sa  R  Caro  (French  philosopher,  1 826-1 887). 

27a  That  other  world,  the  truest  microcosm,  the  womb  of  our 
mother.   Sir  T.  Browne; 

271.  That  simple  but  wasteful  process  of  survival  of  the  fittest, 
through  which  such  marvellous  things  have  come  into  being,  has  little 
about  it  that  is  analogous  to  the  ingenuity  of  human  art.    J.  Fiske. 

272.  The  aesthetic  hunger  of  primitive  artists.    W  J  McGee. 

273.  The  agreeable  feelings  join  with  the  painful  to  produce  the 
arrest  of  the  reflexes  in  the  very  young  child.    B.  Perez. 

274.  The  anatomical  characters  of  the  races  have  in  all  their  main 
points  remained  constant.    F.  Boas. 

275.  The  animals  do  not  play  because  they  are  yoiinc:,  but  they 
have  their  youth  because  they  must  play.  K.  Groos  (contemporary 
German  psychologist). 


Digitized  by  Google 


Prwerhs  in  the  Making,  271 

276.  The  aristocracy  of  intelligence  is  not  less  cruel  than  the 
others.    B.  Machado. 

277.  The  "  art  impulse "  and  the  "  play  impulse "  are,  indeed, 
emphatically  spontaneous.    H.  R.  Marshall. 

278.  The  art  of  a  people  must  also  be  judged  by  what  they  need 
not  do  and  yet  accomplish.    A.  C.  Haddon. 

279.  The  art  works  with  which  our  children  decorate  table  and 
wall  are  rather  symbolic  than  naturalistic.    Iv  Grosse. 

280.  The  artistic  skill  of  a  people  is  dependent  upon  the  favorable- 
ness  of  their  environment.    A  C.  Haddon. 

281.  The  best  part  of  most  of  us  is  the  boy  that  was  bom  with  us. 
Bradford  Torrey  (American  author,  b.  1843). 

2S2.  The  birth  of  the  soul  was  the  dawn  of  the  psychic  faculties. 
L.  F.  Ward. 

283.  The  body  of  the  growing  child  is  a  mazy  federation  of  cells, 
freighted  by  heredity  with  reverberations  from  a  past  the  remoteness 
of  which  we  can  only  conjecture.   G.  Stanley  HaU. 

284.  The  brain  may  be  called  the  mouthpiece  of  the  universe, 
without  which  it  would  be  dumb.   G.  Stanley  HalL 

285.  The  child  grows  less  and  less  like  the  savage  with  years.  H. 
Drummond. 

2861  The  child  is  extremely  sen^tive  to  the  judgment  of  his  peers. 
T.  Ribot 

J8y.  The  child  is  father  of  the  man.  Wordsworth. 

288.  The  child  is  sincere  only  by  spontaneity,  natural  transpatv- 
ence  and  clearness  of  soul.  Guyau. 

289.  The  child  makes  phrases  as  it  makes  houses,  gavdiens,  and' 
mud-pies,  with  the  same  r^ardlessness  of  the  real.  Guyaa 

29a  The  child  of  an  uncultivated  race  is  obliged  to  learn  every* 
thing,  while  the  child  of  the  civilized  race  has  only^  to  remember. 
Mismer. 

291.  The  child  of  to-day  is  the  chrysalis  of  a  completely  intuitive 

man.    Anon.  (Italian). 

292.  The  child  retains  and  reproduces  images  much  more  than  he 
invents  and  thinks.  Guyau. 

293.  The  child  seeks  by  prolonging,  in  its  voice  and  motions,  the- 
duration  of  an  effect  to  prolong  also  a  consciousness  of  its  cause. 
Shelley  (i 792-1 822). 

294.  The  child  thinks  he  sees  life  in  everything  that  moves.  Mme.. 
Nccker. 

295.  The  child's  first  work  is  play.  Guyau. 

296.  The  criminal  is  nearer  the  madman,  than  the  savage.  C.. 
Lombroso. 

297.  The  crowd-state,  or  the  rule  of  the  crowd,  is  barbarism,  or  a 
return  to  barbarism.   G.  Le  Bon. 


272  ^aumal  of  AmeHcem  FM-Lare* 

298.  The  curse  of  superstition  is  met  with  in  women  more  than  in 
men.    Erasmus  (1467-1536), 

299.  The  darkness  never  lets  us  be  so  witty  or  so  intelligent  as  the 
light.    Johannes  Miiller  (German  biologist,  1801-1858). 

300.  The  darkness  of  night  reduces  many  a  neurasthenic  to  the 
level  of  a  child  or  a  savage.  McFarlane. 

301.  The  day  that  cave-man  first  split  the  marrow-bone  of  a  bear 
by  thrusting  a  stick  into  it  and  striking  it  home  with  a  stone  —  that 
day  the  doom  of  the  hand  was  sealed.    H.  Di  ummond. 

302.  The  development  of  culture  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  development  of  mind.  F.  Boas. 

303.  The  discovery  of  things  Is  to  be  sought  from  the  light  of 
nature,  not  to  be  re-sought  from  the  studies  of  antiquity.  Bacon. 

304.  The  distempers  of  automatism  need  conquermg.  B.  Ma- 
^  chada 

30s,  The  earth  first  laughed  when  the  children  came.  A.  Dobson 
Xconteroporary  English  man  of  letters). 

J06.  The  emancipation  of  women  is  fr(»m  a  sdf^posed  bondage. 
O.  T.  Mason.  See  No.  443. 

307.  The  emotional  value  of  opinions  is  great  F.  Boas. 

305.  The  entire  esdstence  of  little  chtldren  is  drgunatic  Mme. 
Necker. 

309.  The  experience  of  life  is  the  broad  way,  heredltaiy  truismis- 
sion  the  difficult  and  narrow  path.   A.  Bain  (contemporary  Scotch 

psychologist). 

310.  The  experience  of  thediild  almost  takes  the  form  of  play. 

G.  A.  Colozza. 

311.  The  faith  and  trust,  the  hope  and  anticipation,  with  -which 
the  child  enters  school,  accomplish  everything.   F.  Froebel. 

3 1 2.  The  fear  which  affects  the  old  man  gives  a  peculiar  character 

to  his  thoughts.    Despine  (French  pathologist). 

313.  The  fear  which  children  have  of  dogs  and  cats  before  know- 
ing the  motives  of  their  fear  is  an  hereditary  fact.  A.  Mosso 
(Italian  physiologist,  b.  1846). 

314-  The  feelins^  of  activity  is  the  source  of  the  child's  most  lively 
enjoyments.    Mmc.  Necker. 

315.  The  figures  of  small  bodies  seem  to  be  learned  by  children 
by  their  lips  as  much  as  by  their  fingers  ;  on  which  account  they  put 
every  new  object  to  their  mouths.    E.  Darwin. 

316.  The  finer  the  man,  the  better  the  art.    A.  C.  Haddon. 

317.  The  gifts  of  the  soul  and  the  mind  are  essentially  the  same 
in  both  sexes,  and  there  is  only  diilcicnce  in  the  proportions.  Mme. 
Necker. 

318.  The  happiness  of  individuals  and  the  rank  of  the  species  are 


Digitized  by  Google 


Provef^s  in  ike  Making, 


273 


in  direct  proportion  to  the  female  activities  and  inverse  to  the  mascu- 
line. Toussenel. 

319.  The  hearth  created  leisure.  £.  Grimard  (contemporary 
French  writer). 

320.  The  hearth  is  the  perpetual  rendez-vous  of  humanity.  R 
Grimard. 

321.  The  hearth  was,  from  the  dawn  of  history,  the  first  centre  of 
family-attraction,  the  origin  and  point  of  departure  of  nascent  civil- 
ization.   E.  Grimard. 

322.  The  history  of  the  human  mind  is  written  in  language.  G. 
Regnaud  (contemporary  French  philologist). 

323.  The  hum  an  plant  is  of  all  plants  that  which  needs  sunlight 
most.    J.  Michelet  (French  historian,  1798-1874). 

324.  The  idea  of  inferiority  and  superiority  is  eminently  relative. 
N.  Colajannl 

325.  The  ideas  as  well  as  the  children  of  our  youth  often  die 
before  u&  Anon. 

3261  The  imagination  is  eternally  young  m  its  nature*  and  the 
child  lives  always  in  the  man,  though  dl  the  man  be  not  in  thechOd. 
Mme.  Necker. 

327.  The  imagination  of  children  has  its  point  of  departure  in  the 
confusion  of  ideas  produced  by  their  reciprocal  attraction.  GuyatL 

328.  The  infinitude  of  child-play  is  capable  of  exciting  any  feel- 
ings or  affection.  G.  A.  Colozza. 

329.  The  little  child  needs  to  play  as  the  silk-worm  needs  contin- 
ually to  eat  leaves.   Paola  Lombrosa 

33a  The  long  habit  of  living  makes  mere  men  more  hardly  to  part 
with  life.   Sir  T.  Browne. 

331.  The  majority  of  prostitutes  are  bom  into  prostitution  at  the 
same  time  as  into  puberty.  Augagneur. 

332.  The  man  of  genius  is,  in  many  respects,  a  somnambulist  J.  P. 
Richter. 

333.  The  man  who  goes  to  sleep  is  an  idiot,  the  man  who  dreams 

is  a  lunatic.    Maury  (French  physiologist). 

334.  The  more  imaginative  the  child's  play  is,  the  more  pleasure 

he  has.    Mme.  Necker. 

335.  The  mother  is  the  best  school.    J.  Michelet. 

336.  The  need  to  play,  in  the  little  child,  increases  in  proportion 
as  it  plays ;  the  more  it  plays,  the  more  it  wishes  to  play.  G.  A. 
Colozza. 

337.  The  nineteenth  century  ought  to  define  woman:  A  being 
equal  to  man,  but  different  from  man.  £.  Legouv^  (French  man  of 
letters). 

338.  The  nursery  is  the  place  where  study  is  most  general  and 
universal.    W.  De  Witt  Hyde  (American  pedagogue,  b.  1852). 


a74 


Jimmalof  American  FoIA-Lare. 


339.  The  object  of  nature  is  function  ;  the  object  of  man  is  hap- 
piness ;  the  object  of  society  is  action.    L.  F.  Ward. 

340.  The  organ  is  derived  from  the  function  ;  somageny  from 
psychogeny.    W.  Wundt  (contemporary  German  physiologist  and 

psychologist). 

341.  The  organism  is  so  much  the  more  developed  and  complex, 
the  greater  the  number  of  unities  composing  it  and  the  freer  they 
are  to  move  and  act  in  their  own  spheres.    G.  Sergi. 

342.  The  origin  of  the  ajsthetic  pleasures  is  to  be  found  in  the 
pleasure  of  play.    G.  Sergl 

343.  The  people  that  ceases  to  invent  ceases  to  grow.  O.  T. 
Mason. 

344.  The  period  of  infancy  was  a  period  of  plasticity.  J.  Fiske. 

345.  The  play  ol  the  child  is  its  work,  its  trader  its  life,  its  snitia- 
tton  into  society.   Mme.  Kei^gomard. 

34d  The  plays  of  children  are  a  microcosm  possessing  almost  all 
the  elements  of  life:   G.  A.  Colozza. 

347.  The  plays  of  children  are  the  germinal  leaves  of  all  later  life. 
F.  FroeheL 

348w  The  pleasure  of  exerting  their  strength  is  inexhaustible  in 
children.   Mme;  Necker. 

349.  The  poet  hath  the  child's  sight  in  his  breast,  and  sees  all  new. 
Mrs.  Browning  (i  809-1 861). 

35a  The  poet  is  bom  and  made.  R.  Fletcher  (American  phy- 
sician, b.  1823). 

351.  The  probable  effect  of  civilization  upon  an  evolution  of  human 
faculty  has  been  much  overestimated.    F.  Boas. 

352.  The  progress  of  culture  has  shortened  the  period  of  baby* 

hood.   O.  T.  Mason. 

353.  The  progress  of  man  is  his  progress  of  gaining  independence 
from  nature,  of  making  her  forces  his  slaves  and  not  leaving  them 
his  masters.    D.  G.  Brinton  {American  anthropologist,  1837- 1899). 

3  54.  The  psychology  of  the  child  is  fundamental  in  education.  B. 
Machado. 

355.  The  race-soul  dominates  entirely  the  crowd-soul.    G.  Le  Bon. 

356.  The  real  savage  is  not  the  show-savage  of  an  Australian  town, 
the  quai  KafBr  of  a  South  African  port,  or  the  Reservation  Indian  of 
a  western  state.    H.  Drummond. 

357.  There  are  no  diseases,  only  sick  people.    B.  Machado. 

358.  There  are  no  grotesques  in  nature.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

359.  There  are  emotive  talents,  —  some  persons  need  warming  up 
to  think.    B.  Machado. 

360.  There  are  things  it  is  better  not  to  think  than  to  think.  G. 
Stanley  HaU. 


Digiu^Lo  Ly  Google 


Profurhs  in  Uu  Making. 


27$ 


361.  The  rebellion  of  delinquents  finds  only  perennial  maledictions, 
the  rebellion  of  genius  is  destined  to  receive  the  adoration  of  hu- 
manity. Anon. 

362.  The  relation  of  the  function  to  the  organ  is  not  fixed.  (A. 
Hovelacque  (contemporary  French  anthropologist). 

363.  The  religion  of  feeling  comes  back  to  fear,  its  primitive  form 
in  evolution.    T.  Ribot. 

364.  There  is  a  certain  sense  of  play  in  the  taste-experiments  of 
children.    G.  Sergi. 

365.  There  is  an  intellectual  gluttony.   B.  Machada 

366L  There  is  an  embryology  of  the  tniiid  as  well  as  of  the  body. 
WJMcGee. 

367.  There  is  a  normal  limit  of  dastidty  for  all  our  acts.  B. 
Machado. 

36&  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  race  may  be  said  to  have  in* 
vented  itseli  O.  T.  Mason. 

369L  There  is  but  one  immortality,  that  of  good  deeds.  K  Ma- 
chada 

37a  There  is  no  deformity  but  in  monstrosity.   Sir  T.  Browne. 

371.  There  is  no  gymnastic  like  that  we  have  with  our  children. 
B.  Machada 

372.  There  is  no  man  bad.   Sir  T.  Browne. 

373.  There  is  no  normal  type  of  bnun.  K  von  Bardeleben  (con- 
temporary German  anatomist). 

374.  There  is  no  traditional  error  that  can  withstand  inoculation 
with  the  blood  of  youth.   B.  Machado. 

375.  There  is  some  difference  between  a  soul  and  a  clock,  —  let  us 
not  mechanize  everything.    B.  Machado. 

376.  There  is  surely  a  piece  of  divinity  in  11?;.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

377.  The  rite  is  originally  based  on  the  myth.    D.  G.  Brinton. 

378.  There  ought  to  be  a  large  margin  to  the  personal  life  of  chil- 
dren.   B.  Machado. 

379.  The  rudest  phases  of  religion  connect  the  ideas  of  the  divine 
with  particular  external  objects,  a  tree,  a  rock,  a  special  place,  around 
which  grow  up  a  series  of  local  myths  and  usages.    D.  G.  Brinton. 

380.  The  same  processes  operate  in  the  art  of  decoration,  whatever 
the  subject,  wherever  the  country,  whenever  the  age,  —  another  ex- 
ample of  the  essential  solidarity  of  mankind.    A.  C.  Haddon. 

381.  The  same  vice,  committed  at  sixteen,  is  not  the  same,  though 
it  agrees  in  all  other  circumstances,  as  at  forty.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

382.  The  savage  is  a  child ;  the  moral  decadent  in  civilization  a 
decadent  old  man.  C.  Letourneau  (contemporary  French  anthro- 
pologist). 

383.  The  savage  is  a  man  as  we  aie  men.  D.  G.  Brinton. 


27$  y&umal  of  Amencau  Folh-Lon. 

384.  The  savage  is  not  the  type  of  a  free  man.    D.  G.  Brinton. 

385.  The  savage  is  to  ages  what  the  child  is  to  years.  Shelley. 

386.  The  savage  knows  not  death  as  a  natural  occurrence.  D.  G. 
Brinton. 

387.  The  savage  plays  at  warfare  and  finds  an  outlet  for  his  re- 
covered energies  in  violent  emotions.    H.  Hoffding. 

388.  The  school  must  not  teach  servility.    B.  Machado. 

389.  The  slumber  of  the  body  seems  to  be  but  the  waking  of  the 
soul.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

390.  The  social  milieu  is  the  culture-medicine  of  criminality;  the 
microbe  is  the  criminal,  an  clement  having  importance  only  the  day 
when  he  finds  the  culture  which  makes  him  ferment.  Lacassagne 
(contemporary  French  criminologist). 

391.  The  soul  of  man  may  be  in  heaven  anywhere.  Sir  T.  Browne. 

392.  The  spontaneous  play  of  the  child  discloses  the  future  inner 
life  of  the  man.   F.  FroebeL 

393.  The  tahu  extends  its  veto  into  every  department  of  primitive 
life.   D.  G.  Brinton. 

394.  The  talkative  animals,  as  dogs  and  swine  and  children,  scream 
most  when  in  pain,  and  even  from  fear.   £.  Darwia 

395.  The  toys  the  child  invents  are  those  which  amuse  him  most. 
Mme.  Necker. 

396.  The  trinity  formed  by  the  offensive  instinct  (anger),  the  de> 
fensive  instinct  (fear),  and  the  instinctive  needs.  Th.  Ribot. 

397.  The  two  functions  absolutely  essential  to  life  ate  nutrition 
and  reproduction.  I«  F.  Ward. 

398.  The  veiy  existence  of  youth  is  largely  for  the  sake  of  play. 
K.  Groos. 

399.  The  whole  world  is  man's  body.   H.  Drummond. 

400.  The  whole  world  was  made  for  man,  but  the  twelfth  part  of 
man  for  woman.    Sir  T.  Browne. 

401.  The  woman  who  does  not  love,  or  is  not  a  mother  or  a  wife, 
falls  short  of  being  a  woman,  —  for  her  involution  has  begun.  S. 
Venturi. 

402.  The  word  is  by  all  odds  the  most  effective  of  all  agencies  to 
bring  about  altered  and  abnormal  conditions  either  in  the  individual 
or  in  the  mass.    D.  G.  Brinton. 

403.  The  word  is  servant  of  the  idea.    A.  Darmesteter. 

404.  The  worship  of  life  was  the  central,  positive  conception  in 
primitive  ceremonies.    D.  G.  Brinton. 

405.  The  young  of  all  animals  play.    G.  A.  Colozza. 

406.  This  awe  of  nature,  even  when  not  a  kind  of  worship,  is  the 
child  of  our  observances.  Dr.  S.  M.  Burnett  (American  physician, 
b.  1847). 


Digitized  by  Google 


Frouerds  in  the  Makings 


277 


407.  This  is  the  century  of  the  small  and  weak.    B.  Machado. 

408.  This  propensity  to  imitation  not  only  appears  in  the  actions 
of  children,  but  in  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the  world  £. 
Darwin. 

409.  To  chew  well  and  to  walk  well  are  the  two  greatest  secrets 
of  long  living.  Bosquillon. 

410.  To  do  good  is  more  than  to  think  or  to  know.    B.  Machado. 

411.  To  have  something  to  do  is  the  first  principle  o£  all  educa- 
tion.  B.  Machada 

412.  To  listen  is  to  observe,  to  speak  is  to  act*  B.  Macfaada 

413.  To  study  men  we  have  to  study  mind.  J.  W.  Powell. 

414.  To  the  mother  the  child  is  ker  child,  to  the  school  it  is  a 
child.   Hailman  (American  pedagogue). 

415.  To  the  savage  all  nature  testifies  to  the  presence  of  the  mys- 
terious power  which  is  behind  its  forms  and  motions.  D.  G.  Brinton. 

416.  Unconscious  and  conscious  imitation  are  factors  influencing 
civilized  society  not  less  than  primitive  society.    F.  Boas. 

417.  Unmarried  men  are  best  friends,  best  masters,  best  servants, 
but  not  best  subjects.  Bacon. 

418.  Urbanization  develops  the  need  of  being  amused.    G.  Tarde. 

419.  Vagabondage  is  a  vice,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  mental 
resource  for  children,  by  which  they  escape  the  narrowness  of  the 
school  and  the  vacuity  of  the  home.  B.  Machado. 

42a  Vision  and  manipulation,  th^e  in  the  countless  indirect  and 
transfigured  forms  are  the  two  codperating  factors  in  all  intellectual 
progress.  J.  ^ke. 

421.  We  are  something  more  than  ourselves  in  our  sleeps.  Sir  T. 

Browne. 

422.  We  are  the  heirs  of  the  ages  and  do  not  desire  to  be  their 
prodigal  son.    O.  T.  Mason. 

423.  We  believe  and  think  with  all  we  are,  body  as  well  as  sensi- 
bility and  intelligence.    J.  Payot. 

424.  We  have  made  more  progress  in  intelligence  than  in  kind- 
ness.   J.  Fiske. 

425.  We  live  by  our  imagination.    B.  Machado. 

426.  We  must  distinguish  between  the  influence  of  civilization  and 
of  race.    F.  Boas. 

427.  We  must  not  confuse  luck  with  superiority.   B.  Machado. 

428.  We  take  ourselves  to  a  woman,  forgetting  our  mother  in  a 
wife,  and  the  womb  that  bare  us  in  that  which  shall  bear  our  image. 
Sir  T,  Brown& 

429.  What  education  is  to  the  mdividual,  revelation  is  to  the  race. 
Leasing. 


.  J  i^ud  by  Google 


yaumal  of  Anmican  Folk-Lore* 


430.  What  function  is  to  biologyi  feeling  is  to  sociology.   L.  F, 

Ward. 

431.  What  is  moral  evil  but  arrested  development?   K.  W. 

Emerson. 

432.  When  one  grows  old  one  has  to  deck  one's  self  out  Vauve- 
nargues  (171 5-1747). 

433.  Who  seeth  me  in  dreams  seeth  me  truly.  Mahomet. 

434.  Who  would  think,  because  he  found  his  boy  pugnacious  with 
his  companions,  that  he  must  make  him  a  soldier  with  a  large  chance 
that  he  would  develop  into  a  Napoleon     H.  R.  Marshall. 

435.  Without  dialects  the  body  of  language  would  be  a  corpse. 
F.  Jahn. 

436.  With  the  animal  heredity  is  everything,  and  his  individual 
experience  is  next  to  nothing.    F.  Jahn. 

437.  With  the  discovery  of  fire  man  first  entered  into  human  social 
life.  D.  G.  Brinton. 

438.  With  the  genesis  of  the  CamUy,  the  creation  of  man  may  he 
said,  in  a  certain  degree,  to  have  been  completed.  J.  Fiske; 

439.  Woman  has  two  specific  traits  of  genius,  one  of  physical 
cliaracter,  the  other  of  functional, — the  first  is  beauty,  the  second 
is  the  genius  of  seductioa  S.  Venturl 

44a  Woman  b  a  bom  teacher.  E  Machado. 

441.  Woman  was  a  slave  before  the  slave  existed.  A.  Bebel 
(contemporary  German  socialist). 

442.  Women  are  real  savages  inside.   D.  Diderot  (I7I5-*I784). 

443.  Women  are  rather  the  bearers  of  genius  than  tiie  possessors 
of  it.   G.  Sergi 

444.  Women  hold  to  the  heart  only  by  the  ties  of  the  heart. 
Mme.  de  Stael  (1766-18 17). 

445.  Women  live  from  infancy  to  old  age  without  desiring  any 
other  happiness  than  that  of  loving.   Mme.  Meeker. 

446.  Young  or  old  women  never  see  a  baby  without  feeling  an 
emotion  that  men  never  know.    Mme.  Campan. 

447.  Youth  is  a  continual  intoxication.  La  Rochefoucauld  (161 3- 
i68o>. 

448.  Youth  is  a  blunder,  manhood  a  struggle,  old  age  a  regret 
Disraeli  (i  776-1848). 

449.  Youth  is  the  fever  of  reason.  Rousseau. 

45a  Zodculture  is  a  child  of  sun  and  sand.  W  J  McCxee. 

For  the  English  dress  in  which  the  citations  from  authors  in  other 
languages  appear  the  present  writer  is  responsible. 

Alexander  F,  ffumberiaiH. 

Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass. 


Digitized  by 


The  Drama  of  the  Filipinos,  279 

THE  DRAMA  OF  THE  FILIPINOS. 
T  r 

Op  all  departments  of  literature,  it  is  only  in  the  drama  that  the 
native  Filipino  has  attained  that  excellence  which  consists  in  vital 
force  and  interest  Certainly,  if  we  judged  by  the  effect  produced  on 
him  and  his  narrow  world,  we  should  have  a  product  of  unsurpassed 
merit.  In  so  far  as  the  [^ys  are  concerned,  they  give  a  key  to  the 
character  of  the  old  Filipino,  and  of  the  modern  one  also.  What 
English  or  American  playwright,  even  in  the  time  of  the  most  seri- 
ous wars,  has  succeeded  in  keeping  an  audience  on  its  feet,  rabid 
with  fury  and  frenzy,  for  three  hours  ?  What  play  have  we  known 
for  the  sake  of  seeing  which  we  would  risk  a  term  in  prison  ?  Or 
have  we  ever  been  so  powerfully  impressed  that  the  performance 
might  be  said  to  have  been  the  mainspring  of  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity ?  Such  influence  belongs  to  the  historic  drama  of  the  Fili- 
pino, and  has  been  so  frequently  attested,  even  during  the  brief  time 
of  my  own  residence  in  the  archipelago,  as  to  require  no  further 
proof.  The  knowledge  I  have  been  able  to  gather  has  led  me  to 
make  a  classification  for  the  sake  of  better  understanding.  Con- 
cerning the  ancient  plays  and  lyrics,  my  information  has  been  de- 
rived from  the  older  Spanish  historians  and  bibliographers,  such  as 
Morga,  San  Augustfn,  de  Rada,  Delgado,  de  Ziifiiga,  and,  at  the 
present  day,  Retana.  Riz^  has  contributed  his  share,  but  his  work 
is  so  f  ttU  of  erratic  and  loose  statements  as  to  require  caution  in  the 
reader. 

My  classification  divides  the  plays  and  poems  into  four  classes  or 
periods.  These  an : — 

(i.)  Prehistoric;  until  1521. 

(2.)  Religious ;  from  1529  to  the  present  time. 

(3.)  Moro-Moro»  or  Middle  Period ;  from  1750  to  about  187^  and 
to  the  present  day. 

(4.)  Seditious,  or  anti-American ;  from  189S. 

This  is  the  arrangement  I  have  found  most  satisfactory ;  although 
each  period  overlaps  its  successor,  the  facility  with  which  the  plays 
can  be  studied  is  greater  than  with  any  other  division. 

I.  With  respect  to  the  prehistoric  time,  our  knowledge  must  of 
necessity  be  inaccurate  and  limited.  I  wish  to  make  it  clear  at  the 
outset,  that  my  results  are  here  given  in  the  full  knowledge  that  they 
are  in  many  respects  incomplete  and  faulty,  and  set  forth  with  the  de* 
sire  that  they  may  be  of  assistance  in  clearing  up  some  points,  and 
in  stimulating  further  investigation  with  fuller  material.  Centuries 
ago,  the  Filipino,  while  learning  the  new  thought  and  belief,  was  for- 
bidden to  repeat  his  heathen  tales.  This  injunction  has  not  been 
forgotten. 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


2So  youmai  o/Ameruan  Folk-Lan. 

In  the  early  time,  it  is  fair  to  presume,  from  circumstantial  evidence 
and  the  character  of  the  people,  that  each  tribe  had  beliefs  of  its  own 
which  crystallized  into  definite  traditions,  orally  handed  down  in  song 
and  story.  The  Filipino  knows  little  of  the  soul  of  music,  but  has  a 
strong  sense  of  rhythm.  In  the  island  of  Samar  exist  songs  which, 
according  to  native  statement,  were  in  vogue  before  the  advent  of 
the  Spaniards.  From  the  use  of  airs  for  the  words  of  the  traditions, 
the  transition  was  easy  to  dramatic  gesture  and  action.  The  native 
mind  quickly  responded  and  the  drama  was  slowly  evolved  out  of 
the  folk-tale.  From  the  Spanish  authorities  I  gather  that  these  old 
lyrics  were  used  especially  to  celebrate  state  occasions.  Some  were 
dirges,  some  festival  pieces.  According  to  the  famous  Jesuit,  Padre 
CoHn,  most  of  them  "  recited  the  vain  deeds  of  their  gods,"  and  the 
relation  of  gods  to  men.  Many  were  of  a  marine  character,  owing 
no  doubt  to  the  piracy  usual  with  many  of  the  tribes,  and  also 
because  the  people  were  fishermen.  It  is  related,  whether  with  au- 
thority I  know  not,  that  when  Legazpi  came  to  Mactan  on  his  con- 
quering expedition,  and  made  a  treaty  with  the  natives,  a  "  play  " 
was  given  to  celebrate  the  fact  that  Spaniard  and  Filipino  were  now 
brothers."  After  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  these  dramatic  poems 
and  lyrics  seem  to  have  fallen  into  general  disuse. 

II.  Of  the  religious  plays  we  have  positive  information,  and  manu- 
script copies  may  still  be  seen  in  certain  of  the  greater  museums. 
In  his  interesting,  though  not  exact  book,  Don  Vicente  Barrantes 
says  that  the  number  of  recorded  religious  dramas,  tn  all  the  lan- 
guages, "according  to  what  may  be  considered  as  forming  the  true 
drama,"  varies  between  about  twenty-six  and  forty.  The  first  men- 
tioned bears  the  date  of  1529^  and  must  therefore  have  been  given 
less  than  seven  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  islands.  That  the 
religious  plays  should  have  begun  so  early  in  the  process  of  civiliza- 
tion is  ample  proof  that  the  friars  used  the  drama  as  one  of  the  first 
means  for  drawing  attention  to  their  religion.  For  the  rest  we  have 
the  testimony,  direct  and  indirect,  of  the  friars  themselves,  to  show 
that  the  priests  adopted  the  religious  melodrama  as  the  best  way  to 
cultivate  Filipino  interest.  The  native  saw  the  grotesque,  and  to 
our  minds  blasphemous,  representations  of  the  passion  of  Christ ; 
his  instincts  were  stirred,  and  he  wished  to  learn  more.  More  was 
supplied,  and  he  soon  knew  also  the  stories  of  the  saints.  I  am 
convinced  that  the  old  missionaries  of  Spain  in  this  manner  accom- 
plished more,  with  [greater  speed  and  more  lasting  results,  than  has 
elsewhere  been  achieved. 

The  striking  feature  of  dramas  of  this  class  is  their  obvious  deri- 
vation from  the  mediaeval  European  ecclesiastical  plays.  The  pan- 
tomime and  dialogue  of  the  miracle-play  expanded,  until  it  grew 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


Tke  Drama  of  the  FiHpinos, 


sufficiently  strong  to  make  its  way  in  the  world  of  laymen.  The 
process  thus  corresponds  to  that  of  the  European  drama,  as  excel- 
lently set  forth  by  Dr.  Ikander  Matthews. 

The  religious  plays  are  themselves  capable  of  subdivision,  and  to 
my  mind  the  distinction  between  their  varieties  is  sharp,  (a)  First 
may  be  mentioned  plays  original  with  the  friars.  These  were  written 
in  Spanish  and  translated  into  the  native  dialects,  the  actors  being 
the  friars  themselves,  with  the  assistance  of  their  native  students  and 
helpers,  (b)  Translations  from  ancient  Latin  religious  plays.  These 
were  doubtless  of  a  higher  order,  as  the  Latin  pieces  were  better 
specimens  of  literature.  Such  pieces  are  still  popular  both  in  city 
and  province,  and  may  to  this  day  be  seen  in  Manila,  the  most  cos- 
mopolitan city  in  the  archipelago,  (c)  Plays  written  in  the  native 
dialect  by  Filipinos.  At  first,  of  course,  these  must  have  been  pro- 
duced under  the  eyes  of  the  friars,  in  the  monasteries,  but  after  the 
insurrections,  outsiders  adopted  the  art,  and  to  some  extent  wrote 
what  they  chose.  It  is  true  that  the  government  issued  a  decree 
forbidding  any  native  to  publish  or  even  write  anything  in  any 
native  dialect,  but  before  the  plays  were  produced  in  the  cities  they 
were  censored,  wl&ile  in  the  country  the  power  of  Spain  was  never 
sufficiently  secure  to  enable  the  suppression  of  frequent  gatherings. 
Don  Vicente  gives  dates  of  such  plays  ^  to  1882,  but,  strange  to  say, 
does  not  name  a  single  Filipino  playwright 

III.  The  third  class,  that  of  the  Moro-Moro  plays,  affords  the  most 
interesting  study  of  the  drama,  and  the  character  of  the  Filipino. 
The  name  indicates  the  nature  of  the  pieces.  "  Moro,"  according  to 
the  coUoquial  use  of  the  word,  signifies  any  native  who  is  a  Moham- 
medan. The  plays,  accordingly,  recite  the  Struggles  between  these 
and  the  Christian  tribes,  the  former  attempting  to  seduce  the  latter 
to  Islam,  with  the  alternative  of  deatb  in  various  horrible  forms.  If 
the  Moro-Moro  play  contained  no  more,  it  might  be  considered  a 
peculiar  division  of  the  religious  drama.  But  the  plays  were  filled 
with  fabulous  adventures;  according  to  Fadre  Joaquin  Martinez de 
Ziiftiga  (writing  of  about  1800). 

"  In  this  loa  they  celebrated  the  naval  expeditions  of  the  General 
(the  Spaniard  Alava),  the  honors  and  titles  with  which  the  King  had 
decorated  him,  and  gave  him  their  thanks,  in  recognition  of  the  favor 
done  them  in  visiting  their  pueblo,  they  being  only  poor  wretches. 
This  loa  was  in  verse,  composed  rhetorically  in  diffuse  style  conform- 
ing to  the  Asiatic  taste.  Therein  they  did  not  fail  to  relate  the  ex- 
peditions of  Ulysses,  the  voyages  of  Aristotle,  the  unfortunate  death 

'  He  gives  dates  from  1529  to  15S0;  these  were  ante-conquest,  /.  e.  before  the 
pacification  of  the  islands.  Others  are  dated  between  i  jS8  and  18S2.  All  were 
given  in  Manila. 


282  youmal  of  Ammcan  Folk-Lore. 

of  Pliny,  and  other  passages  of  ancient  history,  which  they  love  to 
introduce  into  their  relations.  All  these  passages  were  full  of  fables 
having  marvellous  qualities ;  indeed,  the  more  extraordinary  the 
story,  the  greater  their  approbation  ;  of  Aristotle  they  said,  that  not 
being  able  to  comprehend  the  profundity  of  the  sea,  he  threw  him- 
self in  and  was  drowned ;  of  Pliny,  that  he  cast  himself  into  Vesu- 
vius in  order  to  understand  the  fire  which  burned  within  the  volcano ; 
in  this  manner  they  mingle  other  fictions  with  history." 

Continuing  in  this  description,  and  going  into  detail  concerning 
peculiarities  of  the  loos,  de  Ziiftiga  says  of  the  tragedies  :  "  If  these 
do  not  possess  plenty  of  personages  having  high  rank  and  abundance 
of  miracles,  with  ferocious  wild  beasts,  the  people  do  not  like  the 
plays  and  refuse  their  attention."  This  corresponds  with  statements 
'Of  other  writers,  and  gives  a  clear  idea  of  the  character  of  the  Moro- 
.lioro  plays.  It  is  little  over  a  year  ago  that  I  saw  the  most  recent 
specimen  of  this  class,  the  so-called  opera  Magdapio,  in  the  Zorilla 
Theatre  of  Manila.  It  was  typical  in  every  respect,  perfectly  iUus- 
itrating  the  problems  presented  by  intertribal  wars. 

•In  this  piece,  called  '*  Magdapio,  or  Fidelity  Rewarded,"  by  Pedro 
A.  Paterno  (score  by  Carluen),  Magdapio  is  a  young  woman  who  in- 
■  habits  a  certain  mountain  of  the  Itas,  which  is  split  apart  by  the  god 
'Lindol  ^e  earthquake),  thus  letting  out  Magdapio,  and  exhibiting 
the  riches  contained  within.  The  prince  of  the  Itas  seeks  and  ob- 
tains her  hand  in  marriage,  and  the  people  acquire  the  vast  wealth 
of  the. deft  mountain.  After  the  marriage  has  been  celebrated  with 
great  pomp,  a  flight  of  arrows  interferes  with  the  proceedings,  an 
army  of  foreign  invaders,  the  heathen  Malays,  rush  in,  the  prince  is 
killed,  and  Magdapio  captured.  Bay,  king  of  the  Malays,  asks  her 
to  marry  him.  The  girl  courageously  refuses,  whereupon  he  tells 
her  that  she  must  do  bo,  or  he  will  throw  the  body  of  her  dead  lover 
into  the  shark-infested  ocean.  She  refuses,  and  at  the  first  opportu- 
nity throws  herself  also  into  the  sea,  and  drifts  to  the  throne  of  the 
king  of  the  ocean.  The  latter  inquires  her  purpose,  and  she  explains. 
The  god  tells  her  that  since  she  has  been  faithful,  she  shall  be  re- 
warded by  receiving  the  name  "  Pearl  of  the  Orient  Sea,"  in  addition 
to  which,  presumably,  she  recovers  her  lover  by  order  of  the  sea-king. 
The  tribal  wars  are  clearly  shown,  even  though  to  occidental  eyes 
the  play  may  be  absurd.  The  music,  declared  to  be  "  strictly  Fili- 
pino," is  strangely  reminiscent  of  "La  Giaconda,"  "Faust,"  and 
other  well-known  operas,  with  preludes  and  intermezzos  really  origi- 
nal. The  performance  was  given  in  honor  of  Governor  Wright,  and 
the  audience  largely  American.  The  play  was  written  in  Spanish, 
and  by  a  friend  of  the  author  turned  into  Tagalog. 
Barrantes  declares  that  the  date  of  the  FUipino  theatre,  as  a  well 


Liyui^uu  oy  Google 


Th€  Drama  of  th$  FUipinas. 


283 


'organized  and  patronized  institution,  is  April  of  1750.  This  may  be 
relatively  true,  but  this  writer  admits  that  the  Jesuit  priests  in  Ma- 
nila, a  century  earlier,  gave  the  first  recorded  play  in  which  religion 
and  war  were  mingled  in  a  popular  manner.  This  piece,  called 
"  Guerras  Piraticas  de  Filipinas/*  or  Pirate  Wars  in  the  Philippines, 
was  written  by  Fray  Jerdnimo  F^ez,  and  presented  in  the  house  of 
the  Order,  "where  doubtless  figured  many  sons  of  the  country  (2.  ^, 
Spaniards  bom  in  the  islands)  and  also  pure  indm  "  (natives).  The 
date  is  given  as  July  5,  1637.  Barrantes  comments  on  it  in  his  usual 
loose  fashion :  "  Here  we  have  the  first  certain  appearance  of  the 
theatre  in  the  Philippines,  of  a  modem  date  indeed,  but  a  century 
after  the  conquest,  a  circumstance  destructive  of  the  hypothetical 
accounts  concerning  the  influence  of  China  on  the  intellectual  evolu- 
tion of  the  Fflipinos."  The  first  official  recognition  of  the  theatre 
in  the  archipelago,  Don  Vicente  declares,  is  made  in  an  order  of 
the  Royal  Ayuntamiento  of  Manila  dated  1836,^  even  though  on 
the  night  of  January  22,  1772,  an  eventful  night  for  the  government, 
the  governor-general,  Don  Simon  de  An  da,  gave  a  great  play  in  the 
royal  palace,  or  government  house,  under  his  own  auspices.  From 
this  time  forth  the  recognition  of  plays  as  a  proper  form  of  enter- 
tainment was  practically  conceded.  Respecting  the  date  of  the  first 
theatre  building,  it  is  only  known  that  it  was  early  in  the  last 
century.  By  an  order  evidently  official  it  was  called  in  1847  the 
"  Spanish  Theatre,"  and  was  located  in  the  district  known  as  61* 
nondo,  which  lies  along  the  water-front,  and  is  the  business  and  Chi- 
nese section,  bein;:^  "  extramuros."  ^  In  1852  this  building  was  de- 
stroyed by  an  earthquake,  and  rebuilt  in  1853.  About  1840  another 
theatre  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  in  Tondo,  but  seems  to  have 
been  a  building  intended  for  other  purposes,  and  remodelled.  In 
1853  and  i860  two  others  were  erected,  respectively  in  Tondo  and 
Quiapo,  both  "  extramuros  "  districts.  Since  that  time  theatres  have 
flourished. 

*  Art.  116  of  the  "Ceremonial:"  These  festivities  must  always  be  the  choice 
of  our  Ayuntamiento,  and  may  includf  artificial  fires,  masks,  tournaments,  or 
dances  in  imitation  of  tournamenLs,  uiuuiphal  cars,  dances,  comedies,  bull-baiting 
and  lMill-figU%  fights  with  reed  spears  hi  fanltatloii  of  tonrnanents,  and  per> 
lormances  K&  like  nature.  Art.  117.  This  article  determines  the  disposition -of 
scaffoldings  and  stages  which  had  been  erected  in  the  plazas  of  the  towns  for 
representr-.tion  of  the  plays;  hence  it  may  be  inferred  that  prior  to  this  time 
no  regular  playhouse,  as  such,  was  in  existence.  See  The  DevelopmtHt  of  the 
Drama^  Matthews,  chapters  on  the  Mediaeval  Drama.  Scrilmer,  1903. 

'  "  Extramuros  :  "  Literally,  without  the  walls.  The  city  of  Manila,  technically, 
is  the  small  district  included  within  the  great  wall  liet^un  by  Legazpi  in  1574.  At 
the  present  time  this  city,  or  "  Intramuros,"  is  the  least  important  part  of  tlie  town 
except  that  in  it  is  the  official  seat  of  government  and  many  of  the  lai^e  educational 
institutioBS. 


L-iyiti^ed  by  Google 


< 


284  youtnal  of  Amerkan  Falk-Lan. 

IV.  This  class,  the  latest,  and  the  most  troublesome  for  all  con-' 
earned,  contains  only  seditious  plays,  which  may  roughly  be  divided 
into  two  kinds,  as  sharply  distinct  as  if  belonging  to  different  periods. 
All  the  phys  are  directed  against  the  United  States  government, 
with  tile  object  of  rousing  the  people  to  take  definite  action  against 
the  "hated  interlopers,"  and  once  more  plunge  the  country  into  an 
insurrection.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  division  has  been  the  more 
harmful.  The  first  includes  plays  printed  in  the  newspapers,  not 
intended  to  be  produced  on  a  large  scale,  if  at  all.  The  other  con* 
tains  plays  seldom  or  never  printed,  acted  throughout  the  provinces 
of  Luzon,  Samar,  and  other  large  islands.  In  my  collection,  I  have 
been  unable  to  secure  a  complete  copy  of  any  piece  belonging  to  the 
first  category.  These  plays  appeared  in  the  native  newspapers  daily 
as  serials.  Their  verbal  form  is  strange^  for  the  dramas  frequently 
exhibited  a  mixture  of  three  languages,  incoherently  blend^,  pre* 
sumably  with  the  idea  of  producing  a  witty  effect,  and  at  the  same 
time  deceiving  the  American  secret  police. 

Of  the  other  type  an  example  is  '*  Hindi  Aco  F^tay,"  that  is  to 
say,  I  Am  Not  Dead,  written  by  Juan  M,  Cruz,  who  signed  it  with 
his  wife's  name.  The  story  is  simple.  Kardngalan  (Dignity,  re- 
presenting the  natural  wealth  and  riches  of  the  islands)  is  sought  in 
marriage  by  Macdmcam  (Covetous,  the  American  Government  in 
Manila),  and  also  by  Tdngulan  (Defence,  a  loyal,  that  is  insurgent, 
native).  Ualdng-hinaydn  (Pitiless,  native  scout  under  American 
orders).  Her  brother  has  sold  himself  to  Macimcam,  and  urges  his 
sister  to  marry  the  latter.  She  refuses,  having  pledged  herself  to 
Tdngulan.  Eventually  he  and  Macamcam  fight  a  duel  (battle  be- 
tween the  American  and  Filipino  forces),  and  Tangulan  is  left  on  the 
field,  shot  throun^h  and  mortally  wounded.  Macdmcam  sends  to 
Washington  for  his  father  Maimhot  (Avaricious,  the  United  States), 
who  comes  to  see  his  son  married,  as  it  is  by  his  wish  that  the  young 
man  has  undertaken  to  win  the  girl.  Meantime,  vague  rumors  have 
been  bruited  about  that  Tdngulan's  ghost  has  assumed  command  of 
a  large  force  of  desperate  natives,  advancing  to  destroy  the  force  of 
Macdmcam,  and  the  latter  is  much  disturbed.  However,  the  girl  is 
forced  into  the  marriage,  and  the  ceremony  is  pn  1  ceding,  when  the 
funeral  procession  of  Tdngulan  passes  the  door  of  Kardngalan's  house. 
As  the  catafalque  arrives,  Tangulan  springs  up,  bolo  in  hand,  with  the 
shout :  Hindi  aco  patay!  The  Americans  are  seized,  disarmed,  and 
the  lovers  united,  the  play  thus  ending  happily,  while  Madlmcam 
and  Maimbdt  decide  to  "wait  until  another  day  "  before  attempting 
again  to  execute  their  nefarious  plans.  The  play  is  skillfully  written, 
and  proved  a  firebrand  among  the  Filipinos.  The  piece  most  nearly 
resemblmg  the  older  drama  is  entitled  "  Luhang  Tagalog  *'  (Tagalog 


Liyiti^ed  by  Google 


The  Drama  of  llie  Filipinos,  285 


Tears),  which  is  in  reality  a  Moro-Moro  play  and  not  seditious, 
although  it  was  suppressed  because  it  stirred  up  the  people,  and 

inspired  thoughts  of  war  and  treason.  In  the  production  of  '*  Hindi 
Aco  Patay  "  and  other  plays  of  like  character,  several  decidedly  strik- 
ing bits  of  stage  business  were  introduced.  For  instance,  in  this 
and  its  companion  piece,  "  Kahapon,  Ngayon,  at  Bukas"  (Yesterday, 
Today,  and  To-morrow),  the  costumes  of  the  players  were  so  de- 
signed that  when  at  a  preconcerted  signal  they  gathered  in  the 
apparent  confusion  in  the  centre  of  the  stage,  and  as  quickly  drifted 
into  separate  groups,  the  insurgent  or  Filipino  flag,  for  an  instant, 
was  distinctly  formed  from  their  dresses,  the  stripes  and  triangle 
being  clearly  defined.  The  native  audience,  quick  to  perceive  such 
a  delicate  piece  of  insolence,  would  cheer  itself  hoarse,  while  the 
foreigners  present  were  unable  to  see  the  significance,  and  wondered 
what  the  excitement  was  about.  Occasional  attempts  are  still  made 
to  produce  similar  plays ;  even  within  a  few  months,  the  Manila 
papers  have  chronicled  the  suppression  of  a  play  in  one  of  the  pro- 
vinces near  the  capital,  declared  to  be  as  bad  as  the  others,  though 
its  effects  were  of  necessity  more  limited. 

Aftkunr  Stanley  Ri^^gs. 


.  ij  i^u-.  i.y  Google 


286 


Journal/)/  American  Folk-Lorc. 


RECORD  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkian.  Mohegan-Psquot,  In  F.  G.  Speck's  article  (Amer. 
Anthrop.,  n.  s.  vol  vL  1904,  pp.  469-476)  on  "  A  Modern  Mohegan- 
Pequot  Text,"  occur  a  few  items  of  folkloric  interest.  On  page  472 
a  derivation  iovsqud  is  cited,  —  "  from  ikwi^,  to  split,  with  infi.xecl  j." 
Ou'd'n&ks,  a  term  for  "whites"  is  said  to  be  from  (hu(fn,  "  who?" 

—  the  idea  in  the  native  mind  at  the  time  being  "  whence  did  they 
come?  who  are  they.^" —  Virginian.  Tn  the  same  periodical  (pp. 
464-468),  Mr.  W.  W.  Tooker  treats  the  •*  Derivation  of  the  Name 
Powhatan'*  This  famous  word  he  d  erives  from  Powaucitan,  "the 
hill  of  the  sorcerer  "  or  "the  hill  of  divination  "  —  the  latter  is  better 
perhaps.    This  is  an  entirely  reasonable  and  satisfactory  etymology. 

—  Pautatuck  and Scatacook.  In  the  "  Southern  Workman"  (vol.  xxxiii. 
1904,  pp.  3S5-390),  W.  C.  Curtis  writes  of  "The  Basketry  of  the 
Pautatucks  and  Scatacooks."  The  so-called  *'  Molly  Hatchetts " 
(named  after  the  last  old  Indian  of  the  Pautatucks)  are  more  than 
locally  famous,  though  not  all  of  them  can  be  said  to  be  "  samples  of 
pure  New  England  basketry."  The  decorations  and  other  markings 
of  these  old  New  England  baskets  are  not  all  of  white  origin. 

Caddoan.  Ankara.  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist "  (n.  s. 
vol.  vi.  pp.  240-243)  for  April-June,  1904,  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey  has 
a  brief  article  on  *' An  Ankara  Story-telling  Contest"  Among  these 
Indians  "  the  telling  of  tales  is  a  common  practice,  especially  during 
the  winter  nights."  During  the  intervals  of  a  ceremony  **  short  tales 
of  personal  adventure,  generally  containing  an  element  of  the  super- 
natural, are  often  recounted  by  the  men.*'  Dr.  Dorsey  gives  the 
"story-telling  contest"  between  Bull's-Neck,  EnemyVHeart,  and 
Bear's-Teeth,  occurring  while  food  was  being  prepared  for  a  feast  at 
the  lodge  of  a  chief.  These  "  true  "  stories  recall  the  "  capping  '*  « 
tales  of  similar  companies  among  civilized  peoples,  where  "  whoppers  " 
are  indulged  in,  and  the  biggest  "liar"  bears  away  the  prize. 

EsKiMOAN.  William  Thalbitzer's  well-printed  and  valuable  book, 
"  A  Phonetic  Study  of  the  Eskimo  Language,  based  on  Observations 
made  on  a  Journey  in  North  Greenland,  1900-1901  "  (Copenhagen, 
1904,  pp.  xvii.,  406),  contains  (pages  571-387)  "  North-Greenlandic 
Contributions  to  Eskimo  Folk-Lore."  These  include  8  folk-tales,  107 
"old-fashioned  songs,"  13  "children's  games  and  rigmaroles,"  decoy- 
sounds,  a  large  number  of  Eskimo  place-names  from  North  Green- 
land, with  translations  (etymology)  and  remarks,  and  a  number  of 
specimens  of  Eskimo  music  (with  melodies  of  songs)  from  North 
Greenland.  Further  consideration  of  this  new  material  is  reserved 
for  another  occasion. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


287 


Mission  Indians.  San  Luiseflo.  In  her  article  on  "Mission 
Indian  Religion,  a  Myth  in  the  Making  "  (Southern  Workman,  vol. 
xxxiii.  1904,  pp.  353-356),  Miss  C.  G.  DuBois  gives  the  English  text 
of  "  The  Myth  of  the  Foot-print,"  told  to  her  by  an  old  woman  in 
the  San  Luiseflo  language.  It  is  the  story  of  the  leaving  of  Mu-kut 
(the  Tu-chai-pa  of  the  Diegiiefios),  whose  footprint  on  the  rock  re- 
mains "  as  an  evidence  of  himself  to  his  people."  Some  interesting 
songs  accompany  the  legend.  Miss  DuBois  is  doing  good  work  in 
recording  this  fast  vanishing  lore  of  a  people  whose  younger  genera- 
tion has  altogether  forgotten  it. 

NpRTHWEST  Pacific  Coast.  To  the  "American  Anthropolo- 
gist" (n.  s.  vol.  vi.  pp.  477-485)  for  July-September,  1904,  Dr.  John 
R.  Swanton  contributes  an  article  on  "  The  Development  of  the  Clan 
System  and  of  Secret  Societies  among  the  Northwestern  Tribes,"  in 
which  he  sums  up  the  results  of  the  investigations  of  Boas,  Morice, 
and  his  own  personal  observations.  The  general  conclusions  reached 
are  that  "  it  is  safe  to  look  for  the  original  seat  of  the  clan  system 
with  maternal  descent  on  the  northwest  coast  among  the  Tlingit, 
Haida,  and  Tsimshian  "  (this  the  evidence  presented  by  Boas  and  Mo- 
rice indicates)*  and  "  a  large  portion  o£  the  Tlingit  once  lived  at  the 
mouths  of  Nass  and  Skeena  rivers  "  (Swanton).  The  origin  is  thus 
traceable  to  "a  region  where  several  different  linguistic  stocks  were 
in  close  contact."  The  characteristic  "secret  societies"  of  this 
northwestern  area  seem  to  go  back  "to  a  similar  area,  although  at  a 
different  point  on  the  coast/'  The  facts  now  in  hand  make  it  likely 
that  "the  more  important  features  of  the  secret  societies  arxise 
among  the  Heiltsuk  proper,  or  Bdlabella,  who  were  in  close  contact 
with  the  Tsimshian  of  Kittizoo  on  one  side,  and  with  the  Bdlacoola 
on  the  other."  The  entrance  into  the  secret  societies  of  influences 
from  the  eastern  Indians  is  also  somewhat  plausible.  Dr.  Swanton's 
article  shows  that  we  are  beginning  to  get  light  upon  some  of  the 
puzzling  problems  of  American  ethnology. 

SiouAN.  Crow,  In  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (n.  s. 
vol.  vi.  pp.  331-335)  for  April- June,  1904,  Mr.  S.  C.  Simms  publishes 
a  brief  preliminary  paper  on  Cultivation  of  *  medicine  tobacco '  by 
the  Crows."  The  ceremony  attending  the  planting  of  "  medicine  to- 
bacco," which  "with  slight  variation,  is  still  obser\'ed  as  in  the  days 
when  the  buffalo  were  plentiful,"  is  said  to  be  "one  of  the  oldest 
observed  by  the  Crow  Indians."  The  preparations  for  the  feast  are 
begun  in  the  latter  part  of  May  "as  soon  as  the  choke-cherry  trees 
begin  to  blossom."  In  the  ceremony  figure  buffalo  (now  beef) 
"sausages,"  personal  "medicine  charms,"  sun-smoking,  song-singing, 
—  the  marching,  halting,  smoking,  praying,  singing,  and  dancing 
occur  four  times  over,  —  foot-racing  (to  planting-ground),  etc  After 


Digitized  by  Google 


288 


yaumal  of  American  FoU^Lcfe. 


the  planting  a  sweat-lodge  is  built  and  the  men  bathe.  After  cere- 
monial incense-smoking  comes  a  great  feast.  When  the  "medicine 
tobacco  "  is  gathered  no  ceremony  seems  to  be  observed.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  the  detailed  study  will  soon  be  published.  —  Omaha,  In 
the  "Southern  Workman"  (vol.  xxxiii.  1904,  pp.  474-477)  Miss 
Alice  C.  Fletcher  writes  of  "  Indian  Names,"  with  special  reference 
to  the  Omaha  Indians.  The  rites  connected  with  the  bestowal  of 
clan  names  and  customs  connected  with  their  use  teach  us  that  "  a 
roan  cannot  live  for  himself  alone,  that  be  is  bound  to  his  kinship 
group  by  ties  he  may  not  break,  must  never  forget  or  disregard." 
This  oUigation  Is  enforced  by  usages  like  the  tabu,  etc.  Miss 
Fletcher  rightly  observes  "  the  loss  of  original  Indian  names  through 
the  substitution  of  inadequate  translation  would  be  a  loss  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  human  mind." 

TaSIoan.  Pkos.  Mr.  R  L.  Hewlett's  paper,  "Studies  on  the 
Extinct  Pueblo  of  Pecos  "  (Amer.  Anthrop^,  n.  s.  vol  vi  1904,  pp. 
426-439),  contains  a  list  of  clans,  a  partial  synonymy  of  the  term 
"  Pecos,"  notes  of  traditions  concerning  the  ruins  of  Ton-ch-un,  etc. 
The  Pecos  Indians  "still  make  pilgrimages  to  their  ancestral  home," 
the  last  was  seven  years  ago.  They  were  desirous  of  visiting  the 
old  pueblo  again  in  August,  1904,  "to  visit  and  open  their  sacred 
cave."  In  Pueblo  history  Mr.  Hewlett  recognises  four  epochs :  Pre- 
traditionary  (earliest),  epoch  of  diffusion  (a  long  period),  epoch  of 
concentration  (from  present  day  back  to  period  of  diffusion).  Each 
of  these  epochs  had  its  ethnologic,  sociologic,  linguistic,  artistic,  and 
mythologic  characters.  At  the  beginning  of  the  epoch  of  concen- 
tration the  rivalry  of  clans  "  was  naturally  a  great  stimulus  to  certain 
activities." 

Uto-Aztecan.  Mexican.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist" 
(n.  s.  vol.  vi.  1904,  pp.  486-500),  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall  discusses  "The 
Periodical  Adjustments  of  the  Ancient  Mexican  Calendar."  This 
article  is  mainly  a  critique  of  Professor  Edward  Seler's  paper  on  the 
rectifications  of  the  year  and  the  length  of  the  Venus-year,  published 
recently  in  the  "  Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologic "  (Berlin),  and  refers 
to  the  praiseworthy  labors  of  Seflor  Paso  y  Troncoso,  whose  work 
the  author  styles  important.  The  author  cites  from  Sema's  "  Man- 
ual de  los  Ministros  de  las  Indias"  in  support  of  her  view  that  the 
Mexicans  added  13  days  to  their  52-year  cycle.  She  thinks  also 
that  the  2Co-day  period  "  was  actually  employed  for  the  purpose  of 
registering  the  apparent  movements  of  the  planet  Venus."  —  Water 
symbol  In  the  same  periodical  (pp.  535-538)  Dr.  J.  Walter  Feirices 
treats  of  "  Ancient  Paeblo  and  Mexican  Water  Symbols."  The  sym- 
bolism of  simple  and  double  sphals  and  rectangular  meanders  figur- 
ing*   S'  in  a  series  of  pictures  by  a  native  artist  illustrating  the 


Ruord  of  AmtrUan  Folk'Lon. 


289 


conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortes,  is  evidently  intended  to  signify  water. 
Similar  designs  on  Hopi  pottery,  Dr.  Fcwkes  argues,  have  the  same 
meaning.  Incidentally  he  remarks  that  "the  Pueblo  culture  in  the 
southwest  was  more  uniform  in  ancient  times  than  after  these  local 
differences  had  developed  in  the  relatively  modern  period."  — Hopi. 
At  pages  581,  582  Professor  F.  W.  Hodge  has  a  note  on  "Hopi 
Pottery  fired  with  Coal,"  in  which  he  points  out  that  both  in  pre- 
historic and  probably  early  historic  times  the  pottery  of  the  Hopi 
(Moqui)  Indians  was  fired  by  means  of  coal.  The  fire  was  outdoors 
and,  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  hatchway  in  the  roof  (both 
entrance  and  8moke4iole)  making  impossible  the  use  of  coal  for 
inside  cooking  or  heating,  its  employment  was  limited  to  pottery- 
firing.  After  the  introduction  of  the  sheep  its  dried  droppings  sup- 
planted coal  No  "coal  clan"  exists  among  the  Pueblo  tribes. — 
Mexican,  In  his  paper  Ueber  Steinkisten,  Tepetlactlalli,  mit  Opfer* 
darstellungen  und  andere  Slhnliche  Monumente"  (Z.  f.  EthnoL.  vol 
xxzvL  1904,  pp.  244-290,  with  44  figs.)  discusses  the  ornamentation 
and  mythological  symbolism  of  the  Riva  Falacio,  Islas  y  Bustamente, 
Hackmack,  and  Museo  Nadonal  stone  chests,  and  the  stones  of 
Mixcouac,  Huitzuco,  etc.  Most  of  the  scenes  and  rites  represented 
upon  them  relate  to  the  offering  up  of  blood  (one's  own)  with  which 
are  associated  prayers  to  various  deities.  Among  the  deities  con- 
cerned are  the  stone^nife  god,  the  god  of  fire,  the  cave  god,  etc. 
These  costly  stone  chests  were  probably  intended  to  hold  the  ashes 
of  the  burnt  corpses  of  princes,  etc.  —  HuichoL  In  the  "  Southern 
Workman  "  (vol.  xxxiii.  pp.  280-286)  for  May,  1904,  H.  E.  Hepner 
has  an  article  on  ''The  Huichol  Indians  of  Mexico,"  based  on  recent 
writings  and  lectures  of  Dr.  Carl  Lumholtz.  — Aztecs.  To  the  same 
periodical  (pp.  528-535)  for  October,  1904,  the  same  author  contrib- 
utes an  article  on  "The  Aztecs  of  To-Day."  Clothing,  religion, 
medicine,  sculpture,  weaving,  mescal,  etc.,  are  briefly  treated.  The 
Aztecs  retain  their  old-time  skill  as  surgeons,  and  are  by  no  means 
to  be  despised  as  sculptors.  In  their  rain-prayers  the  modern  Aztecs, 
though  nominally  Christians,  honor  the  Virgin,  but  pay  little  atten- 
tion to  Jesus. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Costa  Rica.  H.  Pittier  de  Fdbrega's  paper  on  "  Numeral  Sys- 
tems of  the  Costa  Rican  Indians"  (Amer.  Anthrop.,  n.  s.  vol.  vi. 
1904,  pp.  445-458)  contains  some  things  about  methods  of  counting 
of  interest  to  the  folklorist.  The  Bribri  have  six  distinct  methods 
of  counting,  one  each  for  people,  round  objects,  small  animals,  long 
objects  and  large  animals,  trees  and  plants,  houses.  The  author 
thinks  that  ^smral,  if  not  all,  of  the  tribes  of  southern  Central 


Digitized  by  Google 


390  youmai  of  American  Folk-Lof$, 


America  counted  by  means  of  grains  of  corn,  one  grain  finally  be- 
coming the  symbol  of  unity."  The  custom  of  counting  with  seeds 
"was  transmitted  from  the  aborigines  to  the  Spanish  invaders,  but 
instead  of  corn  they  used  cacao  beans,  and  these  even  acquired 
sometimes  a  monetary  value." 

Mayan.  A  second  and  revised  edition  of  P.  Schellhas's  "Die 
Gottergestalten  der  Mayahandschriften  "  (Berhn,  1904,  pp.  40,  i  pi. 
and  65  figs.)  has  appeared.  The  first  was  published  in  1892.  A 
brief  review  of  this  work  by  E.  Forstemann  will  be  found  in  the 
"  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologic"  (vol.  xxxvi.  1904,  pp.  528-529).  So  far, 
the  pantheon  of  the  Maya  codices  consists  of  about  a  score  of  deities ; 
and  the  Maya  religion,  as  compared  with  the  ancient  Mexican,  may 
be  considered  to  represent  an  advance  and  a  simplification.  The 
"  frog  god  "  of  this  edition  is  a  new  deity.  In  a  brief  paper,  "  Ueber 
die  Lage  der  Ahaus  bd  den  Mayas"  (Z.  f.  Ethnol,  vol.  xxxvi  1904, 
pp.  1 38-141),  E.  Forstemann  discusses  the  view  of  the  equivalence 
of  akau  and  katun  as  set  forth  by  Seler,  etc  He  doubts  whether  such 
equivalence  holds  for  all  time  and  for  the  whole  Maya  region. 

• 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Ayicaran.  In  his  article  on  **  Aboriginal  Trephining  in  Bolivia  ** 
(Amer.  Anthrop.,  n.  s.  vol.  vl  1904,  pp.  Mr.  Adolph  F. 

Bandelier  gives  some  valuable  information  concerning  the  present 
method  of  trephining  the  skull  among  the  Aymard  Indians.  With 
them'  it  is  a  secret,  but  not  a  "  lost  '*  art,  being  still  performed  by  the 
medicine-men,  "and  not  infrequently,  since  fractures  of  the  skull 
occur  during  every  one  of  the  annusd  or  semiannual  engagements 
fought  between  neighboring  communities  and  in  the  drunken  brawls 
accompanying  their  festivals,"  Some  account  is  given  of  Paloma,  a 
shaman  or  medicine-man  of  "the  class  called  Kolliri,  who  practice 
Indian  medicine,  or  medical  magic,  as  a  special  vocation,  along  with 
the  common  arts  of  husbandry,"  etc.  Bandelier  thinks  that  "the 
primary  cause  of  the  invention  of  trephining  by  the  mountain  tribes 
of  Peru  and  Bolivia  .may  be  looked  for  in  the  character  of  their 
weapons,  which  are  mostly  blunt,  for  crushing  and  breaking ;  hence 
they  had  to  deal  almost  exclusively  with  fractures."  He  also  remarks 
that  "  it  is  a  source  of  surprise  to  me  that  thus  far  I  have  not  been 
able  to  find  any  mention  of  trephining  in  the  early  sources."  The 
Aymara  Indians  of  Pacajes  (northwestern  Bolivia)  "  were  among 
the  few  tribes  that,  in  their  primitive  condition,  used  bows  and 
arrows."  They  also  used  lancets  of  flint  for  bleeding.  That  trephin- 
ing was  ever  performed  as  a  punishment  for  crime  Bandelier  does  not 
believe^  Naturally*  it  may  have  had  religious  associations. 

CALCHAQuf.   In  his  article  "  Apuntes  sobre  la  arqueologfa  de  la 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  A  meriean  Folk»Lon. 


Puna  de  Atacama  "  (La  Plata,  1904,  pp.  30,  4  pi.  6  figs.)  reprinted 
from  the  "  Revista  de  Mu'seo  de  La  Plata,"  vol.  xii.,  Dr.  Juan  B.  Am- 
brose tti  treats  of  the  collection  (made  by  Gerling  in  1897-1898)  now 
in  the  Museo  de  La  Plata  from  various  places  in  the  Atacaman  Puna, 
and  other  archaeological  remains  of  this  region.  The  petroglyphs  of 
Antolagasta  de  la  Sierra,  Peilas  Blancas,  San  Baitolo,  the  two  groups 
of  ruins  at  Antofagasta,  the  graves  near  that  place,  etc.,  are  described. 
Also  the  contents  of  these  graves,  —  pottery,  "  scarifiers,"  objects  of 
wood  and  bone,  etc.  The  consideration  of  the  archaeological  data  of 
this  region  leads  the  author  to  conclude  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
the  Atacaman  Puna  were  identical  with  the  Calchaquf.  They  may 
have  formed  a  link  between  Argentine  and  Chilean  Diguitas.  —  Dr. 
Anibrosetti's  impressions  de  voyage  are  given  in  another  interesting 
pamphlet,  "  Viaje  d  la  Puna  del  Atacama  de  Saltd  a  Caurchari "  (Buenos 
Aires,  1904,  pp.  32).  At  page  32  is  a  brief  description  of  the  Indian 
well  near  Siberia  in  the  west  of  the  Salar  and  the  cunning  way  in 
which  it  has  been  concealed  from  view. 

Gran  Chaco.  The  main  part  (pages  1-75,  with  two  maps)  o£  the 
first  two  numbers  for  1904  of  the  "  Internationales  Archiv  f  iir  Ethno- 
graphie  *'  is  devoted  to  a  comprehensive  artide  by  Dr.  L.  Kersten  on 
'*Die  Indianerst&mme  des  GranChaco  bis  sum  Ansgange  des  18. 
Jahrhundefts."  In  this  history  of  the  Gran  Chaco  stocks  up  to  about 
iSoo,  the  southern  Indians,  the  Guaikurd  tribes,  the  Mataco-Ma- 
taguayo  stock,  the  Luld-Vilela  family,  the  tribes  of  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  southeastern  Chaco,  the  Zamuco,  the  Chiriguani  and  the 
Nu-arawak  tribes  are  specially  considered.  The  Gran  Chaco  is  one  d 
the  most  interestmg  environments  in  America, — its  characteristic 
peoples  are  geographically  and  ethnically  midway  between  the  tropic 
peoples  and  the  Indians  of  the  south.  Since  the  sixteenth  centuiy  the 
history  of  the  Chaco  Indians  in  general  has  been  one  of  a  constant 
repression  and  isolation  by  the  whites.  The  introduction  of  the 
horse  by  the  Spaniards  induced  in  some  of  the  tribes  {e.  g.  Abipones) 
a  fatal  e.xpansiveness.  The  horse-Indians  of  the  Chaco  long  played 
a  r61e  like  that  of  the  Prairie-tribes  of  North  America,  the  Turkish 
hordes  and  other  Asiatic  nomads.  The  introduction  of  domestic 
animals  (sheep,  goats,  cattle,  etc.)  and  their  use  by  the  Chaco  tribes 
were  much  slower.  Deep  influences  of  mission  activity  occur  in  this 
region.    The  author  recognizes  8  linguistic  stocks  in  the  Chaco: 

1.  Guaikuru  (Abipone,  Mokovf,  Toba,  Mbayd-Kadui(5o,  Payagud). 

2.  Mataco-Mataguayo  (Mataco,  Mataguayo,  Vejoz,  Nocten,  Chorotf, 
Guisnai.  Malbald,  Matard,  Tonocot^).  3.  Vilela-Lule  (Vilela,  Lule, 
Chunupi).  4.  Maskof  (Lengua,  Angait<^',  Sanapand,  Sapuquf,  Guana). 
5.  Lengua-Enimagd-Guentuse  (extinct).  6.  Samucu  (Zamuco-Samucu, 
Chamacoco,  Tumanahd,  More).    7.  Chiriguano  (of  Tupi  family). 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


yaumal  of  Anmkan  Folk-Lon. 


8.  Guand-Chan6  (Chan6,  Kinikinau,  Ter^no,  Guand),  of  Nu-Arawak 
lineage.  This  monograph  contains  many  useful  data  for  orientation 
in  South  American  ethnology. 

GuAiKURUAN.  Dr.  R.  Lehmann-Nitsche's  "Etudes  anthropolo- 
giques  sur  les  IndiensTakshik  (GroupeGuaicuru)  du  Chaco  Argentin" 
(La  Plata,  1904,  pp.  53,  with  9  pi.),  reprinted  from  the  "Revista  del 
Museo  de  La  Plata,"  vol.  xi.,  though  concerned  almost  entirely  with 
physical  anthropology,  contains  (pp.  15,  22,  23,  25,  26,  28,  32,  35,  38), 
notes  on  face-tattooing,  etc.  Among  these  Indians  the  tattooing  is  . 
done  by  old  women  with  thorns  and  nibbed-in  ashes.  The  Abipone 
tattooing,  as  described  by  Dobrizhoffer,  resembles  in  sevend  points 
that  <tf  the  Takshik.  Very  few  o£  the  men  are  tattooed.  The  author 
mentions  a  woman  (one  of  his  subjects)  named  Naimraind  "who  has 
among  her  Takshik  fellow-countrymen  the  reputation  of  an  artist 
With  a  bit  of  charcoal  she  ornamented  the  walls  of  the  house  where 
her  people  stopped  with  designs  very  similar  to  facetettooings*  She 
also  drew  on  paper  for  the  author." 

JxvARAN.  In  the  "  Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Buenos  Aires 
(vol  IX.  1903,  pp.  ^19-523)*  J^i^n  B.  Ambrosetti  publishes  an 
interesting  description  of  a  "Cabeza  humana  preparada  segdn  el 
procedimiento  de  los  Indios  Jivaros,  del  Ecuador.*'  Hie  head  in 
question  is  not  that  of  an  Indian,  but  of  a  ^inOf  or  Christian  peon. 
It  is  also  not  a  trophy  of  war,  but  a  trade-specimen,  made  (after  the 
ancient  fashion)  for  commercial  purposes.  This  is  one  more  in- 
stance in  which  the  zeal  of  collectors  may  be  said  to  have  kept  alive 
an  old  custom,  or  rather  stimulated  a  new  traffic.  The  government 
of  Ecuador  bad,  at  one  time,  to  prohibit  the  sale  and  export  of  these 
"prepared  heads."   Two  real  Jivaro  heads  are  in  the  Museum. 

Rio  Negro  and  Uapes  Country.  In  the  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnol- 
ope  "  (vol.  xxxvi.  1904,  pp.  293-299)  a  brief  report  is  given  of  Dr. 
Theodor  Koch's  "  I'orschungsreise  nach  Siidamerika."  Dr.  Koch 
went  from  Mandos  up  the  Rio  Negro  to  San  Felippe  in  the  region 
where  V^enezuela,  Columbia,  and  Brazil  meet  at  the  extreme  north- 
west corner  of  the  last.  In  Trinidade,  where  Dr.  Koch  had  to  re^ 
main  nearly  two  weeks,  the  "holy  festivals  "  be^an,  which  were,  "  in 
spite  of  the  mantle  of  Christianity,  a  real  heathen  comedy  of  the 
Caboclo  people  so  badly  corrupted  by  the  Cachaqa."  The  Kobeua 
of  the  rivers  Querary  and  Cudurary  still  retain  many  of  their  old 
customs  and  usages  among  their  mask-dances,  etc.  They  are  said  to 
drink  in  cachiri  the  pulverized  bones  of  their  ancestors.  Other 
tribes  of  this  region  {e.  g.  the  Arapaso)  have  also  mask-dances.  Be- 
sides many  vocabularies,  several  hundred  photographs  of  types, 
scenes,  and  landscapes.  Dr.  Koch  collected  over  500  ethnologic 
specimens  (pottery,  gourds,  basketry,  etc.).   Among  these  were 


Digitized  by  Gdogle 


Ruord  of  Ameruan  Folk-Lor$* 


*'  more  than  30  masks  of  the  Kob^ua  of  a  most  original  character 
and  painted  with  figures  of  animals  and  spirits."  In  the  Maku  Dr. 
Koch  claims  to  have  discovered  a  new  linguistic  stock. 

Patagonian.  Hesketh  Pritchard's  "Through  the  Heart  of  Pata- 
gonia "  (London,  1902,  pp.  346),  embodying  the  account  of  an  expe- 
'  dition  sent  out  by  Mr.  Pearson,  proprietor  of  the  London  "Daily 
E.xpress,"  in  search  of  the  giant  .sloth,  contains  some  notes  on  the 
Tehuelche.  Of  these  interesting  Indians,  but  five  "  camps  **  are  said 
still  to  remain  in  Patagonia,  but  they  keep  much  of  their  old  life  and 
andent  customa.  Among  these  are  artificial  flattening  of  the  oc- 
ciput in  infants,  and  the  curious  practice  of  putting  a  new-born  boy 
inside  the  body  of  a  mare  just  kOled,  —  this  is  done  with  the  bdidf 
that  it  will  make  him  a  good  horseman. 

Peruvian.  To  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (n.  s.  vol  vi 
pp.  197-239)  for  April-June,  1904,  Adolph  F.  Bandelier  contributes 
a  valuable  article  on  '*  Aboriginal  Myths  and  Traditions  Concerning 
the  Island  of  Titicaca,  Bolivia."  The  author  cites  from  the  old 
chroniclers  (Juan  de  Betansos,  Cieza  de  Leon,  Agustin  de  Zirate, 
Father  Cristdval  de  Molina,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Joseph  de  Acosta, 
Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomdra,  Antonio  de  Herrera,  Anello  Oliva, 
Bernab^  Cobo,  etc.)  evidence  of  traditions  to  the  effect  that  "  at  a 
very  remote  period  there  existed  some  relation  between  the  Island 
of  Titicaca  and  natural  phenomena  of  such  importance  as  to  leave 
a  lasting  impression  on  the  memory  of  the  aborigines."  Also  "in 
connection  with  extraordinary  occurrences  in  nature  it  is  somet-imes 
mentioned  that  the  Inca  had  their  origin  on  Titicaca  island."  In 
course  of  time  and  through  tribal  shiftings  in  the  remote  past,  "Titi- 
caca island,  for  some  reason  not  yet  ascertained,  has  secured  a  foot- 
hold in  the  myths  and  traditions  of  the  people,"  On  pages  198-199 
are  given  some  fragments  of  modern  legends  about  Titicaca.  Of 
one  story  from  Copacavana  Bandelier  suggests  "it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  legend  of  the  foundation  of  Rome  had  been  related  by 
priests  to  Indians  whom  they  educated,  as  has  been  the  case  all  over 
Spanish  America."  Farther  on  he  remarks:  "The  deep  impression 
rapidly  made  by  biblical  tales  on  the  imagination  of  the  Indians, 
through  teachings  of  the  Catholic  Church,  is  perceivable  in  many  of 
the  traditions  reported  by  Molina."  The  paintings  on  cloth  and  on 
boards  (the  latter  in  a  sun-shrine  near  Cuzco)  are  deserving  of  further 
investigation.  The  paintings  on  cloth  were  said  to  illustrate,  among 
other  things,  "the  fables  of  the  creations  of  Viracocha." — In  his 
paper  '*  On  the  Relative  Antiquity  of  Ancient  Peruvian  Burials " 
(Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist,  vol.  xac.  1904*  PP-  217-226),  Mr.  A.  F. 
Banddier  cites  documentary  and  archaeological  evidence  to  show  that 
not  only  did  the  primitive  custom  of  burying  the  dead  survive  long 


294 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


after  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  but  the  Indians  often  exhumed 
those  of  their  fellows  who  had  been  interred  with  Christian  rites 
and  reburied  them  in  the  old  way.  The  periodical  renewal  of  the 
doth  over  the  bodies  and  the  vessels  buried  with  them  lasted,  like 
the  artificial  deformation  of  the  skull,  tiU  well  into  the  seventeenth 
century.  These  facts  make  difficult  the  determination  of  dates, 
since  many  burials  are  not  really  conquistorial,  although  the  manner 
of  sepulture  is. 

GENERAL. 

Ahericanists.  Another  mteresting  account  of  the  New  York 
meeting  (see  this  Journal,  vol  xv.  pp.  296-299)  has  been  published 
by  Dr.  Juan  B.  Ambrosetti,  who  represented  the  Argentine  govern- 
ment and  the  University  of  Buenos  Aires.    Dr.  Ambrosetti's  report 

makes  a  pamphlet  of  42  pages,  — "  Congreso  de  Americanistas 
Nueva  York  (1903),  XIII.  Sesion.  Informe  del  Delegado  dela  Uni- 
versidad  de  Buenos  Aires,"  —  having  previously  appeared  in  the 
Revbta  de  la  Universidad  de  Buenos  Aires  for  1904.  It  contains 
a  good  r6sum6  of  the  principal  papers  read. 

Asiax-American.  In  his  "The  Mythology  of  the  Koryak" 
(Amer.  Anthrop.,  n.  s.  vol.  vi.  1904,  pp.  413-425),  Mr.  Waldemar 
Jochelson  treats  of  a  people  who  "are  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
Asiatic  tribes  which  stand  nearest  to  the  American  Indian,"  and 
discusses  particularly  "  the  similarities  in  the  beliefs  and  myths  of 
the  Koryak  and  the  American  tribes."  According  to  the  author,  "in 
our  investigations  of  all  the  features  of  the  Koryak  life  we  meet  with 
three  elements,  —  the  Indian,  Eskimo,  and  Mongol-Turk,  the  first 
generally  predominating."  This  holds  especially  of  religious  con- 
cepts, for  "the  Koryak  view  of  nature  coincides  in  many  points 
with  that  of  the  Indians  of  the  north  Pacific  coast."  Of  122  episodes 
occurring  over  and  over  again  in  Koryak  myths,  101  arc  found  in 
Indian  myths  of  the  Pacific  coast,  22  in  Mongolian-Turk  myths,  34 
in  Eskimo  myths.  Jochelson's  general  conclusion  is  that  "  the  Kor- 
yak of  Asia  and  the  North  American  Indians,  though  at  present 
separated  from  each  other  by  an  enormous  stretch  of  sea,  had,  at  a 
more  or  less  remote  time*  a  continuous  and  dose  intercourse  and 
exchange  of  ideas."  The  reindeer  domestication  of  the  Koryak 
(with  which  go  some  religious  ceremonies  and  customs)  is  "  a  cul- 
tural acquisition  of  Asiatic  (Mongolian-Turk)  origin."  The  raven- 
mythology  distinctly  suggests  American  affinities.  The  Eskimo 
elements  in  Koryak  mythology  are  comparatively  few.  Mr.  Jochel- 
son's forthcoming  monograph  on  the  Koryak,  to  be  published  by  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  will  be  awaited  by  ethnolo- 
gists and  students  of  folk-lore  with  great  interest 


Digitized  by  Google 


Rieard  of  American  Foik-Larw.  295 

Basketry,  etc.  In  the  "  Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologic  "  (vol  xxxvi. 
1904,  pp.  490-512,  with  40  figs.),  Max  Schmidt  discusses  with  some 
detail  the  "Ableitung  siidamerikanischer  Geflechtmuster  aus  der 
Technik  des  Flechtens,"  with  special  reference  to  the  Bakairf,  Ka- 
rayd,  Guat6,  Nahukua,  Tukatio,  Ipurind,  Aneto,  etc.  The  general 
thesis  of  the  author  is  that  "out  of  the  technique  itself  arise  pat- 
terns, which  stimulate  the  human  mind  to  further  perfection  by 
mere  variation  and  combination,"  Also  that  "  wherever  palms  grow 
and  their  leaves  are  med  by  men  for  making  textile  utensils,  an 
mdq[>endent  point  of  origin  for  patterns  and  the  ornamentation  de> 
rived  from  them  is  furnished.'*  The  development  of  the  pattern  and 
omament^vftf/lf^of  the  leaf  of  the  palm  is  a  very  interesting  feature  of 
South  American  textile  art.  Schmidt  calls  attention  to  the  rarity 
of  *' coiled  basketry"  in  South  America,  and  to  the  rarity  in  North 
America  of  the  type  discussed  in  his  paper. 

A.F,CaHdlCC 


Digitized  by  Google 


296 


yitmfna/  of  American  Folk'Lore. 


RECORD  OF  NEGRO  FOLK-LORE. 

Africa  and  America.  R^n^  Basset's  "Contes  populaires 
d'Afrique"  (Paris,  1903),  which  is  a  collection  of  folk-tales  from  all 
regions  of  the  Dark  Continent,  contains  a  section  "Contes  des  N^- 
gres  des  Colonies,"  in  which  are  included  stories  from  the  island  of 
Mauritius,  Brazil,  the  West  Indies,  and  Louisiana,  the  last  from  Pro- 
fessor Alc^e  Fortier's  "  Louisiana  Folk-Tales "  (Amcr.  P'olk-Lore 
Soc,  1895).  A  review  of  this  book  by  A.  Werner  (Folk-Lore,  1904, 
vol.  XV.  pp.  125-126)  finds  it  "exceedingly  interesting  as  an  intro- 
duction to  the  subject  of  Aii  ican  folk-lore,"  —  the  number  of  stories 
•  amounts  in  all  to  one  hundred  and  seventy. 

Jamaica.  In  "  Folk  Lore  "  (vol.  xv.  pp.  87-94,  206-213)  for  March 
and  June,  1904,  are  published  two  instalments  of  "  Folk-Lore  of  the 
Negroes  ot  Jamaica,"  being  "  papers  written  in  1896  by  colored  stu- 
dents at  Mico  College,  Jamaica,  preparing  to  become  teachers.  The 
material  of  these  two  sections  consists  of  an  interesting  and  valuable 
list  of  ** signs,  omens,  myths,  and  superstitions"  covering  the  follow- 
ing rubrics:  The  dead,  signs  of  death,  the  "duppy,**  *' rolling  calf," 
letter  from  God,  kill  the  thief,  find  out  the  thief,  love,  marriage,  mis- 
cellaneous ;  superstitions  relating  to  the  body,  the  house,  outdoors, 
dreams,  etc  The  *'duppy"  is  defined  thus:  "After  a  person  has 
been  dead  for  three  days  it  is  believed  that  a  cloud  of  smoke  will 
rise  out  of  the  grave,  which  becomes  the  duffy**  The  diif^  "  is  a 
curious  being,  capable  of  assuming  various  forms  of  men  and  other 
animals,"  and  it  "can  do  many  things  similar  to  a  living  person." 
Among  the  various  kinds  of  "duppies  "  are :  Three-foot  horse,  roll- 
ing calf,  long-bubby  Susan,  whooping  boy  (who  rides  the  three-foot 
horse),  mermaid,  etc  The  "rolling  calf"  has  its  origin  thus: 
"  When  a  man  dies,  and  is  too  wicked  for  heaven  or  hell,  he  turns 
into  this  kind  of  duppy,  'the  rolling  calf,'  and  goes  about  with  a 
chain  round  his  neck,  which  Satan  gives  him  to  warn  people."  The 
"rolling  calf"  is  afraid  of  the  moon,  and,  with  its  eyes  fixed  upon 
that  luminary,  it  may  be  heard  saying  on  moonlight  nights  :  "  Do 
me  ^oode  mun  no  go  f.il  dun  pa  me,  no  go  wak  unda  me,  a  de  holy 
night.  If  you  fal  dun  pa  me  a  me  nancy  me  kin."  Among  the 
most  malignant  ghosts  are  reckoned  those  of  Chinese  and  coolies. 
Wakes  and  "ninth  nights"  are  very  common,  even  with  fairly  intel- 
ligent persons.  Among  conjure-matcrials  figure  rosemary,  "  Guinea 
yam,"  "pain-cocoa,"  or  " dum-cane,"  wangra,  mamy, and  other  plants. 

Negro  and  Indian.  From  E.  W.  Nelson's  "A  Winter  Expedi- 
tion into  Southwestern  Mexico"  (Nat.  Geog.  Mag.,  1904,  vol.  xv.  pp. 
341-356)  we  learn  that  in  parts  of  the  state  of  Guerrero  the  n^roes 


Digitized  by  Google 


Rieord  of  American  Folk'Lor^,  297 

have  crowded  out  the  Indians.  South  of  Acapulco  can  now  be  seen 
the  round  hut,  such  as  the  ancestors  of  the  negroes  built  in  Africa 
centuries  ago.  At  Papayo  the  palm-nut  gatherers  are  women,  half* 
negro  and  half-Indian. 

Tales,  etc.  Miss  Culbertson's  "  At  the  Big  House,  where  Aunt 
Nancy  and  Aunt  'Phrony  held  forth  on  the  Animal  P'olks"  (In- 
dianapolis, 1904),  is  reviewed  in  this  Journal  (vol.  vii.  pp.  212,  213) 
by  Professor  Edwards,  who  gives  the  book  high  praise. 

A.  F,  C 


298 


Jaumal  of  Ameriam  Folk-Lore* 


LOCAL  MEETINGS  AND  OTHER  NOTICES 

Boston.  — The  following  report  of  meetings  held  during  the  year  1903- 
1904,  and  since  the  last  printed  account,  is  supplied  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Branch. 

Detmier  8,  1903.  Tlie  fizst  regolar  meetiDg  of  the  season  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Otto  R  Cole^  55  Boylston  Street,  Professor  Put- 
nam in  the  chair.  Mr.  Alfred  M.  Tozzer,  of  Harvard  University,  gave  an 
account  of  the  "  Sand  Paintings  of  the  Navahos,"  reciting  ceremonies  which 
had  come  under  his  own  observation.  The  address  was  illustrated  with 
colored  reproductions  of  the  symbolic  paintings. 

January  26,  1904.  The  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  A.  R.  Willard,  40  Commonwealth  Avenue.  In  the  absence  of 
Professor  Putnam,  Dr.  W.  C.  Farabee  introduced  Dr.  W.  H,  Drummond, 
of  Montreal,  who  read  a  number  of  his  well-known  poems  descriptive  of 
French-Canadian  dialect  and  character.  A  second  pnper  was  read  by  Mr. 
J.  Macintosh  Bdl,  recently  employed  by  the  Canadian  government  as  direc- 
tor of  explorations  in  the  Arctic  north.  The  speaker  gave  an  account  of 
Ojibway  life  and  folk-lore  as  observed  in  the  course  of  his  expedition. 

March  1.  The  meetinf^  was  held  in  the  small  hall  of  the  Pierce  Building. 
Mr.  William  Wells  Newell  treated  the  "  Diffusion  of  Folk-Tales,  as  Illustra- 
ted by  a  Negro  Legend  of  the  Ignis  Fatuus."  He  showed  that  in  spite  of 
the  wide-spread  belief,  no  veritable  phenomenon  of  nature  lay  at  the  basis 
of  the  tradition.  He  read  a  witty  Maryland  legend,  in  negro  dialect,  un- 
dertaking to  eiplain  the  origin  of  Jack-my-lAutem,"  and  explained  its 
relations  as  a  variant  of  an  ancient  European  myth,  connected  with  the 
folk-tale  of  the  Three  Wishes." 

AfarcA  35.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
G.  Preston,  1063  Beacon  Street.  In  the  absence  of  Professor  Putnam,  Dr. 
W.  C.  Farabee  took  the  chair.  The  speaker  of  the  evening  was  Dr.  William 
A.  Neilson,  of  Harvard  University,  his  subject  being  "Burns  and  Scottish 
Folk-Song,"  He  gave  a  learned  account  of  the  origin  and  development  of 
.  many  of  the  lyrics.  The  address  was  illustrated  by  music,  many  of  the 
songs  being  admirably  presented  by  Miss  Hewins  of  Boston. 

JFHday,  April  29.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  Hotel  Brunswick,  by  in- 
vitation of  Mrs.  Munroe  Ayer  and  l%r.  William  Wells  Newell.  Mr.  Harlan 
Ingersoll  Smith,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York, 
gave  an  illustrated  lecture,  his  title  being  "Five  American  Nations,  —  tiie 
Children  of  the  Snow,  Forest,  Mist,  Desert,  and  Plains."  Mr.  Smith,  whose 
numerous  lantern  slides  were  of  remarkable  ezoellence,  described  in  an  en* 
tertaining  manner  the  various  peoples. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  before  the  paper.  The  President,  Profes- 
sor F.  W.  Putnam,  made  a  brief  address.  Reports  were  presented  from  the 
Secretary  and  Treasurer.  The  latter  announced  a  small  balance  in  the 
treasury.  The  Secretary  reported  but  one  death  and  three  resignations 
during  the  year,  about  a  dosen  new  members  having  been  added. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Local  Meetings  and  Oiker  NoHces. 


299 


Officers  were  elected  as  follows :  President,  Professor  F.  W.  Putnam ; 
First  Vice-President,  Mr.  W.  W.  Newell ;  Second  Vice-President,  Dr.  W.  C. 
Farabee;  Treasurer,  Mr.  Eliot  W.  Remick ;  Secretary,  Miss  Helen  Leah 
Reed;  Council,  Mrs.  H.  E.  RaymoDd,  Miss  C.  A.  Benneson,  Mrs.  Lee 
Hoffman,  Dr.  J.  H.  Woods. 

Hdm  Leak  Rud^  Sec'y. 

CAMiniDGS.  Mvemher  27, 1903.  The  montlily  meeting  vas  held  at  the 

house  of  Miss  Cook,  7 1  Appleton  Street.  Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon,  of  Harvard 
University,  was  tiie  speaker  of  the  evening,  his  subject  being  die  "  Two 
Types  of  the  American  Creation  Myth." 

December  24.  This  meeting  was  held  at  the  Peabody  Museum,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Boston  Branch.  Dr.  Livingston  Farrand,  of  New  York, 
gave  a  paper  entitled  "The  Significance  of  Mythology  and  Tradition." 

January  27,  1904.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Miss  Hopkinson, 
33  Craigie  Street.  Mr.  J.  Macintosh  Bell,  who  in  1902  and  1903  had  con- 
ducted explorations  for  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey,  gave  an  account 
of  **  The  Ojibway  People." 

March  i.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Dr.  K  L.  Robinson, 
Clement  Circle.  Dr.  W.  A.  Neilson,  of  Harvard  University,  gave  a  paper  on 
"Bums  and  Scottish  Folk-Song."  Musical  illustration  of  the  popular  songs 
was  supplied  by  Miss  Hewins,  Mrs.  Minton  Warren,  and  Mrs.  Osborne. 

March  29.  The  meeting  took  place  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Yerxa,  37  Lan- 
caster Street.  Professor  George  H.  Moore,  of  Harvard  University,  treated 
of  recent  essays  in  the  mythological  field,  bis  subject  being  "Pan-Babel  in 
Comparative  Mythology." 

April  14.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Chas.  Peabody,  1 9  7  Brattle  • 
Street.  Miss  Emily  Hallowell,  of  West  Medford,  Mass.,  illustrated  Songs 
of  Alabama  negroes,"  collected  by  herself  at  Calhoun  University,  Calhoun, 
Alabama. 

May  II.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Miss  Batchelder,  2S 
Quincy  Street.  Professor  F.  N.  Robinson,  of  Harvard  Univernty»  treated 
•*  Folk-Lore  of  Ireland  in  the  Celtic  Revival." 

November  22.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Miss  Batchelder,  28  Quincy 
Street.  Dr.  George  A.  Clease,  of  Harvard  University,  treated  o£  "Greek 
Religion  in  the  Light  of  Recent  Discoveries  in  Crete." 

Dmmbtr  13.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Miss  Bumstead, 
13  Berkeley  Street  Dr.  A.  W.  Ryder,  of  Harvard  University,  gave  a  paper 
including  translations  of  "Sanskrit  Fables  and  Epigrams." 

Omstanee  G.  Mexaitder,  Sec'y. 

CiNCIN.VATi.    October  19.    Dr.  A.  G.  Drury  gave  n  pnperon  '^L^ends 

of  the  Apple,"  including  the  story  of  the  forbidden  fruit. 

Noreviber  16.  Dr.  H.  H.  Fich  treated  of  "The  Dance  of  Death,"  show- 
ing conceptions  of  Old  German  artists  and  writers,  and  the  manner  in  which 
death  was  conceived  as  luring  mortals. 

Harry  Ettard,  Sec  y. 


Digiu^Lo  Ly  Google 


300  yaumal  of  Ammcan  Folk'Lare* 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY  (1904). 

President:  George  Lyman  Kittredge,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Kt^i  VUe-Praident :  Kemeth  McKmde,  New  Haven,  CoDn. 

Second  Vice-President:  Marshall  H.  Saville,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Council :  jFranz  Boas,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Roland  li.  Dixon,  Cambridge,  Mass. ;  |George 
A.  Dorsey,  Chicago,  111.;  ^Charles  L.  Edwards,  Hartford,  Conn.;  |Livingston  Farraod, 
New  Yorle,  N.  Y. ;  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Alfred  L.  Krodier,  Bericdey, 
CaL;  James  Mooncy»  Waihington,  D.  C;  t Frederic  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass.; 
Frederick  Starr,  Chicago,  111.;  Anne  W.  Whitney, Baltimore, Md.;  tHe&iy  Wood,  Balti- 
more, Md. ;  Jamra  H.  Woods,  Boston,  Mass. 

Ptrm4uti$$t  SttrHuy:  Wiffiam  WeUi  Newdl,  Cambridge.  Maaa. 

Treasurer  :  John  H.  Hinton,  41  West  32d  Street,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
t  As  Presidents  of  Local  Branches.  %  As  Past  Presidents  of  the  Society  (within  &ve  years). 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

(for  the  year  1904.) 

HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

Juan  G.  Ambrosetti,  Buenos  Ayres,  Aigen-  Angelo  de  Gubcmatis,  Rome,  Italy 
tine  Republic.  Edwin  Sidney  liartland,  Gloucester,  England. 

John  BatdMlor,  Sqpporo,  Japan.  Friadridi  S.  Kranast  Vienna,  Avstik. 

Francisco  Ado^ho  Coelho,  Lbbon,  Portu*  Kaarlc  Krohn,  Helsingfors,  Finland, 
gal.  Giuseppe  Pitr^,  raiermo,  Sicily. 

James  George  Frazer,  Cambridge,  England.  Paul  S^billot,  Paris,  France. 

Henri  Gaidoi^  Paris,  France.  Edwaid  Bomalt  T^lor,  Oxfon^  Bugbnd. 

George  Laurence  Gomne^  London,  England. 

LIFE  MEMBER^. 


Eugene  F.  Bibs,  CbdmuA^  Ohio. 

Hiram  Ednmnd  Deats,  Flemington,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Henry  Draper,  New  Yorkt  N.  V. 
Willard  Fiske,  Florence,  Italy. 
Joseph  E.  GBIIngham,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
John  H.  Hinton,  New  Yoifc,  N.  Y. 

ANNUAL 
John  Abercrembf,  EdDnborgh,  Scodand. 

I.  Adler,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Constance  G.  Alexander,  Cambri4ge, 
Mass. 

Mis.  Monroe  Ayisr,  Boston,  Mass. 

Irving  Babbitt,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Frsnds  Noyes  Bslch,  Boston,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Mary  M.  Barclay,  Milwudtee^  Wis. 

Phillips  Barry,  Boston,  Mass. 

Miss  Mary  £.  Batchdder,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

WflUam  Beer,  New  Orleans  La. 

Robert  Bell,  Ottawa,  Ont. 

George  W.  Benedict,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Miss  Cora  Agnes  Benneson,  Cambridge, 


Mn.  T.  W.  Bemwl,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mit.  Ftany  D.  BefgeBt  Napk«,  Italy. 


Henry  Charles  Lea,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Frederick  W.  Lehaaann,  St  Loob,  Mo. 

J.  F.  Loubal,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge,  M 
Maty  A.  Owen,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 


MEMBERS. 
H.  E.  Bieily,  Tsllahaasee^  Fla. 

Charles  J.  Billson,  Leicester,  England. 
Francis  Blake,  .Auburnd.ile,  M.iss. 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Boardman,  Boston,  Mass. 
nana  Boaa,  New  Yoifc,  N.  Y. 
Reginald  P.  Polton,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  John  G.  lk>urke,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Charles  P.  Bowditch,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  P.  BracRey,  Wariiingeen,  D.  C. 
H.  C.  G.  Brandt,  Clinton.  N.  Y. 
Louis  Hotchkiss  Brittin,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
Miss  Abbie  Farwell  Brown,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Jeannie  P.  Brown,  Cambridge,  Maaa. 
Philip  Grcely  Brown,  Portland,  Me. 
Mrs.  W.  Wallace  Brown,  Calais,  Me. 
Mil.  WaUer  Btdlock,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Miss  Ethel  Q.  Bumstead,  Cambridgs^  Mtas. 
Lewis  D.  Bwdick,  Oilocd.  N.  Y. 


« 


Digitizeo  by  v^oogle 


Members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society, 


301 


Edward  S.  Burgess,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
MiM  Maiy  Arthur  Bumham,  Philadelpliia, 

MiM  Aaqr  Bnrrage,  BostaOi  Mam* 
David  BoBlindl,  Boston,  Matt. 

John  Caldwell,  Edgewood  Park,  Pa. 
Alexander  Frands  Chamberlain,  Worcester, 

Mass. 

Miss  Mary  Chapman,  Springfield,  Mass. 
Miss  Ellen  Chase,  Brookline,  Mass. 
George  H.  Chaee,  Cambridge,  Mais. 
Hcli  Chatclain,  Angola,  Africa- 
Clarence  H.  Clark,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mrs.  Otto  B.  Cdc,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Katherine  I.  Cook,  Cambri4ge^  Maas. 
Thomas  F.  Crane,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Sarah  H.  Crocker,  Boston,  Mass. 
Stewart  Cidin,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Roland  G.  Cnitiii,  Philaidelphia, 

WUliamG.  Davies,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Charles  F.  Daymond,  New  Yoric,  N.  Y. 

Mn.  John  Deane,  Boston,  Mass. 

James  Deans,  Victoria,  B.  C. 

Robert  W.  De  Forest,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

E.  W.  Deming,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

George  E.  Dimodc,  Eliiabeth,  N.  J. 

Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Richard  E.  Dodge,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

George  A.  Doney,  Chicago^  DL 

Miss  Constance  G.  DnBois,  Waterboiy, 

Conn. 

Charles  B.  Dudley,  Altoona,  Pa. 
R.  T.  Dmrel^  Loalsville*  Kj. 
Mis.  H.  H.  Dwigbt,  Boston,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Jennie  T.  Early,  Covington,  Ky. 
Charles  L.  Edwards,  Hartford.  Conn. 
Carl  Eikemeycr,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 
L.  H.  Elwell,  Amherst,  Mass. 
Dana  Estes,  Boston,  Mass. 

William  Curtis  Farabee,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Livingston  Farrand,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Ernest  F.  Fenollosa,  Boston,  Mass. 

Merritt  Lyndon  Fernald,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
J.  Walter  Fewkes,  Washington,  1>.  C. 
Franklin  Darracott  Field,  Jamaica  Plain, 
Mass. 

Miss  Emma  J.  Fltz,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  William  Fitz,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Kent  C.  Foils,  Cindnnali,  O. 
Alcfe  Fortier,  New  Oiksns,  La. 

Alfred  C.  Garrett,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Albert  S.  Gatschet,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Frank  Butler  Gay,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Arpad  G.  Gerster,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
F.  A.  Colder,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Miss  Bessie  C.  Gray,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  John  C.  Gray,  Boston,  Mass. 
Byron  Griffing,  Shelter  Island  Heights, 
N.Y. 

George  Bird  Grinncll,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Eulailie  Osgood  Grover,  Highland  Park,  DL 

Stansbury  Hagar,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  H.  Hall,  Boston,  Mass. 
William  Fenwick  Harris,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Charles  C.  Harrison,  PhOaddphla,  Fa. 
Mrs.  Edward  Haskell,  Boston,  Mass. 

C.  W.  Haskins,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
H.  W.  Haynes,  Boston,  Mass. 

D.  C.  Henning,  PottsvUte,  Pa. 

Mrs.  Esther  Herrman,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Miss  Leonora  F..  Herron,  Hampton,  Va. 

Edgar  L.  Hewitt,  Las  Yegas,  New  Mexico. 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Henry  L,  H chart.  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Frederick  Webb  Hodge,  Washington, 
D.C. 

Richard  Hodgson,  Boston,  Mass. 
Robert  Hoe.  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Lee  Hoftman,  Portland,  Or. 
Miss  Am^  B.  Hollenbadc,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

William  H.  Holmes,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Miss  Leslie  W.  Hopkinson,  Cambridge, 
Mass. 

Walter  Hough,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Prentiss  C.  Hoyt,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
C.  F.  W.  Hubbard,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
J.  F.  Huckel,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
John  W.  N.  Hudson,  Chicago,  IlL 
Henry  M.  Hurd,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Percy  A.  Hntchison,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Henry  Minos  Huxley,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Clarence  M.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

A.  Jacobi,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  /\.  J.  James,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Miss  Isabel  L.  Johnson,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  J.  Jones,  Philadelphia,  Fa. 
Miss  Marion  Judd,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mary  C.  Judd,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Robert  Junghanns,  Bayamon,  Porto  Rico. 

Mrs.  Josephine  >T.  Kendig,  Philadelphia,  Ft. 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Kennedy,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  G.  Kennedy,  Roxbury,  Mass. 


302 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Miss  Louise  Kennedy,  Concord,  Mass. 
Landreth  U.  King,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  Lyman  Kittredge,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Kari  Knortz,  Evansville,  lad. 
Henry  E.  Krehbiel,  New  \  ork,  X.  Y. 
Alfred  L.  Kroeber,  Berkeley,  CaL 

A  dele  Lathrop,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Robert  M.  Lawrence,  Boston,  Mass. 
Walter  Learned,  New  London,  Conn. 
Mia*  Margaret  C.  Leavitt,  Cambridge 
Mass. 

Mrs.  William  LeBrun,  Boston,  Mass. 
Frederick  W.  Lehman,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Edward  Lindaey,  Warren,  Pa. 

Charles  A.  Loveland,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Charles  F.  Lummis,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
Benj.  bmith  Lyman,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Ednmid  R.  O.  von  Mach,  Cambridge.  Mass. 
Kemieth  McKenzie,  New  i^laven.  Conn. 
Mrs.  John  L.  McNeil,  Denver,  Colo. 
Mrs.  W.  Kingsmfll  Marrs,  SazonviUe,  lifass. 
Arthur  R.  Marsh,  Cambridge,  Mas<;. 
Mrs.  Alexander  Martin,  Boston,  Mass. 
Artemas  Martin,  Washington,  D.C. 
Albert  Matthews,  Boston,  Mass. 
Washington  Matthews,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Miss  Frances  H.  Mead,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
William  F.  Merrill,  New  HaveOf  Coon. 
J.  Meyer,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Garret  S.  Miller,  I'ctcrboro,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Ada  B.  Millican,  Sacaton,  Ariz. 
James  Mooney,  Washington,  D.  C. 
I^wis  F.  Mott,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Hugo  Miinsterbeig,  Cambri40e,  Mass. 

W.  A.  NeOson,  New  York.  N.  Y. 

William  Nelson,  Paterson,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Zelu  Nuttall,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

D.  J.  0*Coane]],  WaaUqgton,  D.  C. 
C.  Lorin  Owen,  Chicago^  lU. 

Charles  Palache,  Cambridge,  .Mass. 
Dr.  Sarah  G.  Palmer,  Boston,  Mass. 

J.  W.  Paid,  Tr.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Charles  Peabody,  Cambridge.  Mass. 
Miss  Josephine  Preston   Peabody,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 
Harold  Peircc,  Havcrford.  Pa. 
George  H.  Pepper.  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Thomas  Saigent  Perry,  Boston,  Maat. 
Perry  B.  Pierce,  Washington,  D.  C 
Dr.  C.  Augusta  Pope,  Boston,  Masi> 
Dr.  Emily  F.  Pope,  Boston,  Mass. 
Murry  A.  Potter,  Boston,  Bfasi. 


J.  Dyneley  Prince,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
T.  Mitchell  Prudden,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Ethel  Pnffer,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

W.  H.  Pulsifer.  Washington,  D.  C. 
Frederic  Ward  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass* 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Benjamin  L.  Rand,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Mrs.  H.  E.  Raymond,  Boston,  Mass. 

John  Reade,  Montreal,  P.  Q. 

Miss  Helen  Leah  Reed,  Boston,  Mass. 

Eliot  Rcmick,  Boston,  Mass. 

Everett  W.  Ricker,  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass. 

R.  Hudson  Riley,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

D.  M.  Rbrdan,  Tncaon,  Aria. 
Benjamin  L.  Robinson,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Frederick  N.  Robinson,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Stephen  Salisbury,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Marshall  H.  Saville,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Charles  Schafier,  Philadelphia,  Fa. 
W.  H.  Scholield,  Cambri<4ei  Maia. 
James  P.  Scott,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

E.  M.  Scuddcr,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  W.  £.  Scudder,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
John  K.  Shaw,  Baltimore,  Md. 

J.  B.  Shea,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

K.  Rcuel  Smith,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Harlan  L  Smith,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  J.  E  Smith,  Boston,  Mass. 

Herbert  Wier  Smyth,  Cambridge^  Masa. 

Mrs.  K.  C.  Stanwood.  Boston,  MaS8» 

Frederick  Starr,  Chicago,  111. 

Simon  Gerberi^  Stein,  Mnscatfaie^  la. 

Roland  Steiner,  Grovetown,  Ga. 

Mrs.  J  P.  Sutherland,  I>()ston,  Mass. 

Brandrelh  Symonds,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Benj.imin  Thaw,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Miss  Edith  Thrxyer,  Cambridge,  MaS8> 
S.  V.  R.  Thayer,  Boston,  Mass. 
A.  H.  Thompson,  Topeka,  Kan. 
Crawford  Howell  Tov.  Cambridge,  MaM. 
A.  M.  Tozscr,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Henry  H.  Vatt,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

D.  Wagstaffe,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
H.  Newell  Wardle,  Philadelphia.  Pa. 
La&gdon  Warner,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Samuel  D.  Warren,  lioston.  Mass. 
W.  Seward  Webb,  Lake  Champlain,  Vt. 
Frederick  Webber,  Washington,  D.  C. 
D.ivid  Webster,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Hollis  Webster.  Cambridge.  Mn<;s. 
Mrs.Waltcr  Wcsselhoeft,  Cambridge,  Mass 
George  N.  Whipple,  Boston,  Haas. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  303 


Miss  Anne  Weston  Whitney,  BaltiinoretMd« 
Mn.  AahtOB  WiUard,  Boctoo,  Hut. 
Miss  Constance  B.  WOliston,  Cambridge, 

Mass. 

*  James  G.  Wilson,  Baltimore,  Md. 
W.  J.  Wlntefflbcrg,  Washington,  Out 


Henry  Woo4r  Baltimore,  Md. 
Horatio  C.  Wood,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
J.  H.  Woods,  Boston,  Mass. 
C.  H.  C.  Wright.  Cambridge,  Mass. 

MIn  Sarah  D.  Yem,  Caafacidgeb  Mast. 


LIST  OF  LIBRARIES  OR  SOCIETIES,  BEING  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY,  OR  SUBSCRIBERS  TO  THE 
JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE,  IN  THE  YEAR  1904. 

American  Geographical  Society,  New  Yofk,  N.  T. 

Amherst  College  Library,  Amherst,  Mass. 

Andrew  Carnegie  Library,  Carnegie,  Pa. 

Adienenm  Libniy,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Boston  Athenxum,  Boston,  Mass* 

Bufialo  Library,  Buffalo.  N  V. 

Carnegie  Free  Library,  Nashville,  Teon. 

Carnegie  Library,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

City  Library,  Manchester,  N.  H, 

College  I.ibran,',  Wellesley,  Mass. 

College  Library,  .Marietta,  Ohio. 

Columbia  College  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Forbea  Library,  Northampton,  Mass. 

Free  Library  of  Philadelphia,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Free  Public  Library,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Free  Public  Library,  New  Bedford,  Mats. 

Free  Public  Library,  Sacramento,  CaL 

Free  Public  Library,  San  Francisco,  CaL 

Free  Public  Library,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Free  PaUic  Library,  Liverpool,  England. 

Hackley  Public  Library,  Muskegon,  Mich. 

Historical  Society  of  Penrisylvania,  Philadelphia,  Fa* 

Howard  Memorial  Library,  New  Orleans,  La. 

Iowa  State  Library,  Des  Moinee,  Iowa. 

John  Crcrar  Librnrv,  Chicnpo.  Til. 

Johns  Hopkins  University  Library,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Kansas  State  Historical  Society,  Topeka,  Kans. 

Library  of  Chicago  Universitj,  Cliicago,  IIL 

Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Library  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Library  of  UniTersity  fA  California,  Berkeley,  CaL 

lilnary  of  Hanrafd  Univenity,  Camteidgei  MMai 

Library  of  Parliament,  Ottawa,  Ont. 

Library  of  Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Library  of  THnity  College,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Library  of  University  of  California,  Berkeley,  Cal. 

Library  of  University  of  Illinois,  University  Station,  Ulbtna,  JXL 

Library  of  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence,  Kana. 

Manadinsetts  Stale  Ubraiy,  Boetoo,  Maaa. 

Mechanics  Libraiy*  Altoona,  Pa. 

Mercantile  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Newberry  Library,  Chicago,  IIL 

HewtoB  Fkee  Ubnij',  Newton,  Matii 

Mew  Ywk  Stale  LBNnuy,  Albnny,  N.  Y. 


304  Joumal  of  Americam  Folk-Lon. 


Peabody  Intdtote,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Philadelphia  Library.  Philadilplik, 

Public  Library,  Boston,  Mass. 

Public  Library,  Cambridge,  Mast. 

Public  Library,  Chicago^  HL 

Public  Library,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Pulilic  l  ibrary,  I>ctroit,  Mich. 

Public  Library,  Lvanston,  111. 

Pnblic  Library,  Indianapolii,  Ind. 

Public  Library,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y, 

Public  Library,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Public  Library,  Cleveland,  O. 

Poblie  Librmiy,  XaiMM*  City,  liow 

Public  Library,  Los  Angeles,  CiL 

Public  Library,  Maiden,  Mass. 

Public  Library,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Public  Library»  New  London,  Conn. 

Public  Library.  New  Vorit,  N.  Y. 

Public  Library,  Peoria,  111. 

Public  Library,  Portland,  Me. 

Public  Library,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Public  Library',  Rockford,  111. 

Public  Library,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Pdslic  libnuryi  St  Pni,  lOmi. 

Public  Llbraiy,  Seattle.  Wash. 

Public  Library,  Toronto,  Ont. 

Public  Library*  Omaha,  Neb. 

Reynoldt  Libraiy*  Rocbeater,  K.  Y. 

State  Historical  Library.  Madison.  Wis. 

Sute  Historical  Society  Libraiy,  St  Paul*  Miait 

State  Library,  Augusta,  Me. 

Stale  Ubraiy,  Hanlabiirg,  Pa. 

State  Library,  Lansing,  Mich. 

Steele  Memorial  Library,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

University  of  Nebraska  Library,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

University  of  Pennqrlvania,  ndtadelphlat  Fa. 

University  of  Washington,  Seattle,  Waab. 

Watkinson  Library,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Yale  Unlvenity  Library,  New  Haven,  Conn. 


SUBSCRIBERS.  TO  THE  PUBLICATION  FUND,  1904. 


Mfi.  Ifaiy  M.  Barday.  BiHinuikee,  Wit. 

Eugene  F.  Bliss.  Cincinnati,  O. 
John  Caldwell,  Edgewood  Park,  Pa. 
Clarence  H.  Clark,  Philadelphia;  Pa. 
Charles  F.  Daymond,  New  York.  N.  Y, 
George  F.  Dimock,  Elizabeth.  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Anna  Palmer  Draper,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Edwtn  Sidney  Hartiand,  Glottoeater,  Eng- 
land. 

Miia  Amelia  B.  UoUenback,  Brooklyn,  N. Y. 


Clarence  M.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Miss  Louise  Kennedy,  Concord,  Masa. 
Walter  Learned,  New  London,  Conn. 
Frederick  W.  Lehman,  St  Louis,  Mo. 
Edward  Undsey,  Warren,  Pa. 
William  W.  Newell.  Cambridge,  Blaat. 
Harold  Pierce,  Haverford,  Pa. 
J.  B.  Shea,  Pittsburg,  Fk. 
E.  Reuel  Smith,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Braodreth  Syaonda,  New  Yo(]c»  N.  Y. 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XVII. 


American  Folk-Lore  Society : 

Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting,  80-S2;  Re- 
port of  CoQodl,  80;  TicaravBi^  Rqiort, 
80^  8t  i  officen  dected  for  1904, 81 ;  hon> 
orary  memben  elected,  82;  papers  pre- 
lented,  82;  officers,  300;  honorary,  life, 
and  anmal  members,  300;  Ubrmriea  and 
•odeties  subscribing,  304;  sabacribeis  to 
publication  fund,  305. 

Animals  in  folk-lore  and  myth  : 

Ajao,  30;  ant,  31,  107,  198,  240;  ant- 
tatert  75;  bear,  4*  7*  9k  66»  169, 181, 194, 
236;  beaver,  122;  bee,  61;  beetle,  203; 
blackbird,  230 ;  blue  jay.  61  ;  buffalo,  69, 
189,  195;  bug,  233;  buzzard,  62,65,  77, 

sa6k  ejo;  canaiy,  ai9;  cariboo,  3,  13; 
cat,  28,  29,  313;  chSckei^  11 1,  121 ;  chip- 
munk, 61:  dvet,  122;  cockroach,  29; 
colt,  265;  cow,  28,  29,  31,  u6,  129; 
coyote,  8, 61, 83, 1 54, 1 87, 2 1 9, 23a  j  cmie, 
64;  cricket^  38;  crow,  186, 225;  daer,38, 
69,  185,  207,  223,  225;  dog,  3,  9,  II,  29, 
30,  39,  108,  109,  116,  210.  213,  236,  237; 
dove,  61;  dragon-fly,  198;  duck,  62,64; 
eagles  115,  aao;  etephaat,  31 ;  elk,  180, 
195;  fish,  no,  115,122,123;  fish-worms, 
118,  185,  186;  field-mouse,  109, 131 ;  flea, 
233;  fly»  *3S»  340;  fowl,  86,  148;  fox,  6, 
39*  ^  77t  <99$  ^6^  37>  tij,  33s, 
834t  365:  gnat,  28, 31  s  goat,  29;  goose, 
5,6,  67;  gopher,  217:  grasshopper,  41; 
gaanaoo,  73;  guinea-hen,  77 ;  halibut,  67 ; 
ban,  116^  333;  hawk,  114,  236;  hen, 
366;  hoise^  39, 46,  52,  109,  III,  116,117, 
X18,  200;  hound,  116;  humming-bird, 
186 :  killer-whale,  67 ;  kingfisher,  61 ; 
leauning,  9;  lizard,  26,  233;  lion,  214; 
kMO,  4,  62;  louse,  114,  133;  faampfidi, 
I  28;  martin,  62;  mole,  119,  147,  225; 
mocking-bird,  30 ;  monkey,  28,  30  ;  mos- 
quito, 30,  61,  65;  mouse,  26,  117,  119; 
nn8k'Oac,9;  amiakiat,  180;  nanilial.4i  6; 
opossum,  30;  orioie^  30$  oatrich,  74; 
otter,  66;  owl,  4,  195,  232;  parrot,  28; 
partridge,  30;  pig,  29,  108,  113,  121; 
pigeon,  31;  plover,  180;  pony,  195; 
poicqpiiie^69;  poipoi8e,67;  qoaOi  SW{ 


rabbit,  8,  61,  63,  77,  213,  223,  225;  rac- 
coon, 61,  231  i  rat,  29,  30,37,  229;  rat- 
tleinake,63,  331;  iaveii,48, 671  red-biid, 
69;  reindeer,  8;  robin,  40;  salmon,  3; 
sapacuni,  75;  saracura,  75;  seal,  3; 
shark,  66 ;  sheep,  200;  snake,  64,  73,75, 
131, 147,  204,  226^  337,  t  snow-bird, 
195 ;  **  anow'tailt**  66 ;  song-sparrow,  66 ; 
spider,  12,  198;  squirrel,  9;  stag,  30; 
stickleback,  67;  swallow,  61,  115;  swan, 
5;  tadpole,  67;  tiger,  29,  75;  turtle,  69; 
tafde'dova,  118;  vampire^  41;  venniB, 
213;  viper,  116;  walrus,  3,  7:  wasp,  29, 
75;  waterfowl,  64;  water-monsler,  6, 
159;   whale,   128;  wolf,  9,  lio;  wol- 

veriiii^  61  i  woo^pedter,  339;  wood- 
wonn,66;  woiaii,97>io8,  iio^  116, 134, 
tja. 

Bibfiognplikal  Notea,  85-88,  3t3-2i& 

See  Recent  Articles  of  a  Comparative 
Nature,  Record  of  American  Folk  Lore, 
Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore,  Record  of 
Philippine  Folk-Lore. 

Boaa,  F^nuis,  The  FoIk<Loie  of  the  Eskimo, 
1-13 :  F^kimo  habitat  and  culture,  i ;  cre- 
ation legends,  2-6 ;  absence  of  point  of 
view  of  relation  of  thing  created  to  human 
Hfe  Asdngoishea  Esldrao  from  Indian 
myths,  5 ;  animal  stories,  6-8 ;  animal  tale 
really  foreign  to  ancient  Eskimo  culture 
(borrowed  from  Indians  ?),  8 ;  hero-tales 
andtaleaol  BMMialera,  8-10 ;  historic  facta 
in  folk-lore,  9;  fabakms  tribes,  10  ;  talea 
of  quarrels  and  war,  10 ;  tale??  of  shamans, 
10;  sexual  element  not  prominent,  12; 
condosions,  13;  hero-tales  most  charae 
tflriatic  part  of  E8kiau>  folk>lore^  13. 

Boas,  Franz,  Some  Traits  of  Primitive 
Culture,  243-251:  Generaliack  of  differ- 
entiation of  mental  activities  a  trait  of 
primitive  cnltvre,  343;  vestiges  of  similar 
forma  of  Uionght  in  civilization,  343* 
breaches  of  social  etiquette,  244 :  dissen- 
sion from  accepted  religious  tenets,  245 ; 
anolioB affect  of  nawidea  dictates  oppo* 
iWoii,  345;  fbodsvendont,  345 ;  stylaa  of 


^  ij  i^uo  Ly  Google 


Index. 


306 

dress,  246;  automatic  activities,  246; 
manlagB  taboos,  347;  cooacioM  and  im* 
conscious  fodois,  248;  avoidances,  249: 

bad  form,  249 ;  aisociatirm  between 
groups  of  ideas  apparently  unrelated, 
250:  ritual,  250;  symbofism  of  decorative 
art,  250;  relation  between  social  organ- 
ization and  religion,  251 ;  historical  mod- 
ification of  associations,  252 ;  no  single 
Ifaitt  of  origin  and  dav«la]mMmC  of  insti- 
totioas  like  totemiam,  r^gioas  systems, 
etc.,  252;  associations  of  primitive  mind 
are  heterogeneous  and  ours  homoge- 
neous, 253;  conservatism  of  primitive 
GBltnre  and  changaaUBly  of  many  fea> 
tures  of  civilization,  253;  emotional  re- 
sistance of  primitive  man,  353;  gradual 
subbtitution  of  intellectual  for  emotional 
associations  mailnchangs  fram  priaitive 
culture  to  civilization,  254. 

Books  Reviewed,  85-88,  2\i: 

Hoffmann-Krayer,  E.,  Fragebogen 
veber  VbUcsmadiiin  in  der  Scbweiz 
(A.  F.  C),  8s;  Wtitrbach,  Dr.  W.. 
Die  Werke  Maistre  Fran9ois  Villons 
(A.  F.  C),  85;  Andrews,  J.  B.,  Les  fon- 
taines  des  g^nies  (A.  F.  C),  86 ;  Krauss, 
Dr.  F.  S.,  Die  VoDcdraade  in  den 
Jahren  1897-1902  (J.  Mooney),  87  ;  Nu- 
sic,  B.  Gj.,  Um  Hohen  Preis  (James 
Mooney),  87 ;  Culin,  S..  A  Trooper's 
Kamtiv«  (A.  F.  C),  88;  Colbertson, 
ABn6V.,AttiieBlgHo«M<C  L.  E.),  sia. 

Brown,  Carleton,  F.,  "  The  T,ong  Hidden 
Friend,"  by  John  George  llohman,  with 
Introduction  and  Notes,  89-152 :  Intro- 
duction (Mstorieal  and  comparathrcih  by 
Professor  Brown,  89-100;  preftweb  '02- 
104  ;  testimonials,  105-107  ;  "means  and 
arts,"  list  of  remedies  Nos.  1-187,  107- 
142 ;  table  of  ooMents,  143-144 :  notes,  by 
Frafessor  Btomi,  144-151. 

Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.,  Race-character 
and  Local  Color  in  Proverbs,  28-31:  Ap- 
pearanoss  are  decdtfnl,  nig^t  eqnaHsas, 

is  thy  sen'ant  a  dog?  much  cry,  little 
wool,  barking  dogs  do  not  bite,  half  a  loaf 
is  better  than  no  bread,  when  the  devil 
was  side,  etc,  s8;  lay  bjr  somediing  for 
a  rainy  day,  the  young  birds  twitter  as 
the  old  birds  sing,  the  first  step  counts, 
might  is  right,  the  race  is  not  always  to  the 
swift,  Uiejr  also  serve  1A0  only  stand  and 
trait,  it  never  tains  bat  it  povii»  dieie  is 


a  tide  in  the  affairs  fA  men,  etc^  it 's  an  ill 
irind  Uovps  no  one  any  good,  to  some 
fortune  comes  without  asking,  Rome 
was  n't  built  in  a  day,  how  could  I  help 
it  ?  locking  the  stable  after  the  horse  is 
stolen,  you  must  get  up  early  to  catch  mc^ 
when  the  cat  ^  amy,  the  mice  will  play, 
29;  it's  easy  to  kirk  a  dead  lion,  there  is 
something  to  be  said  on  both  sides,  one 
hand  helps  the  other,  one  cannot  serve 
two  masteia,  neither  fish,  flesh,  nor  good 
red  herring,  nothing  new  under  the  sun, 
there  are  more  things  in  heaven  and 
earth,  etc,  to  throw  a  sprat  to  catch  a 
mackerel,  the  fos  said  tliat  tiie  grapes 
were  sour,  a  good  excnae  is  never  want- 
ing, learn  by  experience,  men  despise 
what  they  do  not  understand,  shoemaker. 
Stick  to  tity  last,  killing  the  goose  tliat 
1aiddieg6ldenegg,3o;  enoa|^isasgood 
as  a  feast,  to  put  the  cart  before  the  horse, 
penny-wise,  pound  foolish,  no  rose  but 
has  its  thorn,  physidan,  heal  thyself,  a 
Urd  in  the  hand,  etc.,  people  in  g^ass 
hotises  should  n't  throw  stones,  cut  your 
suit  according  to  your  cloth,  to  kick  away 
the  ladder  by  which  one  rose,  31. 
Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.,  Proverbs  in  the 
Making:  Some  Scientific  Commonplaces, 
I  if)i-T7o,  268-278:  Introductory,  161  ; 
absence  of  discipline  —  a  gentle  wit, 
161 ;  agriculture,  — changes  of  praown' 
datton,  i6s;  duld-play — crowds,  163; 
crowds  —  even  among  savages,  164 ;  even 
the  great  man  —  for  the  animal,  165 ;  for* 
tunately  —  ignorance,  166;  ignorance— 
in  woman,  167;  it  addeth — love  of 
parents,  168;  man  —  mother-love,  169; 
movement — no  white  child,  170;  one 
can  understand  —  play,  26^  \  playing 
boys — science,  069;  edenoe — die  ani- 
mals, 370 ;  the  aristocracy  of  btdEgence 
—  the  crowd-state.  271;  the  curse  of 
superstition  —  the  happiness  of  individ- 
uals, 272 :  the  hearth —themineiy,  273 ; 
the  object  of  nature  —  there  are  things, 
274;  the  rebellion  of  delinquents — the 
savage,  275;  the  savage  —  this  awe  of 
nature,  276;  this  is  the  century— what 
education  is,  977 ;  wliat  fnnction  to  — 
zooculture,  278. 
Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.,  In  Memoriam  : 
Frank  Russell,  208,  209:  Sketch  of  life 
and  activities,  ao8 ;  folk-lore  publications, 
909. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Index. 


307 


Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.  See  Record  of 
American  Folk-Lore,  Record  of  Negro 
Folk*Lofe»  R«cord  of  FUIipptaift  Folk< 
Lore,  Notes  of  Recent  Articles,  etc. 

Chamberlain,  Isabel  C  See  Record  of 
Ameiican  Folk-Lore. 

Clavd,  Bl,  Heme  of  Folk^Lore  from  Ba> 
hama  Negroes,  316-38:  Hagi  and  lias> 
ging,  36  ;  miscellaneOTXS  superstitions,  37 ; 
West  Indians,"  38 ;  Indian^  38. 

Dizon,  Roland  B.,  Some  Shamans  <tf  Cal- 
ifornia, 23--?  :  Becoming  a  shaman 
among  the  Shasta,  23  \  "  pains,"  23  ; 
among  Achomawi  and  Hat  Creek  In- 
dians, 24;  the  **  Qaqn,**  25 ;  among  the 
northern  Makfai,  a6 ;  different  ^pei  of 
shamanism,  27. 

DaBois,  Constance  Goddard,  The  Story  of 
the  Chanp :  A  MyUk  of  tiie  IH^iaeHos, 
•17-043 :  Elder  sister  and  younger  sist  r, 
217;  twin  boys  bom,  218;  "thej'  had  no 
father,"  220 ;  hoys  become  banters  and 
doen  of  great  deedsi  mother  oppoaea 
them,  aait  etc.;  story  of  the  eai^Ies,  125; 

cnntinuntinn  of  ?tor>'  of  Chanp,  229  ; 
younger  and  elder  sister,  230 ;  the  men 
ster  frog,  233 ;  brothers  return  to  their 
irives,  256 ;  the  death  of  the  Chanps, 
237;  the  son  of  Cbaup  and  his  deeds, 
239;  Chaup  flies  with  his  grandmother 
to  the  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  where 
he  is  now,  242. 

Eighth  Memoir  of  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society,  83,  189-196: 

Stedar  dement  in  reli^on  of  Pawnee, 
189-190;  origin-myth,  190-192;  li^fe> 
ning-myth,  192;  boy^ieroea,  193-195; 
love^tory,  195,  196. 

flanand,  UvingpMoo,  The  Significance  of 
Mytliology  and  Tradition,  14-22 :  Rela 
tion  of  folk-lore  to  other  branches  of 
science,  14 ;  essential  uniformity  of  reac- 
tion nnder  simihr  oonAtlona  of  enrlion- 
ment,  15;  dissemination*  16;  lack  of 
method,  18  ;  collection,  19;  value  of  my- 
thology and  tradition  for  ethnology,  gen- 
eial  and  special,  19;  totennam,  20:  re- 
ligion, 20;  psychology,  ai ;  radal  pqrcho- 
logy,  2\  ;  position  of  m)'thology,  etc,  in 
scheme  of  scientific  knowledge,  22. 

Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American 
Fo1k>Lore  Socie^,  80-^2;  meeting  of  ' 


Council,  80;  Annual  Report  of  Council, 
80;  Treasurer's  Report,  80,  81  j  memo- 
rial of  Fkanlt  RnaseH,  81;  nomination 
and  election  of  officers,  81 ;  election  of 
honorary  member,  82  ;  papers  read,  82 ; 
I^esidential  Address,  82;  Committees  of 
Conncil  for  1904, 82. 

Hohman,  John  Geoige*  See  Brown,  Carie* 

ton  F. 

Indian  Tribea:  Achomawi,24;  Apache, 

64,  198;  Arapaho,  62-64;  Arawak,72; 
Ankara,  286;  Aymara,  290;  Aztecs,  289; 
Bakaih,  295;  Beavers,  180;  BellabeUa, 
287;  Bbdtfoot,  4;  BotocndOk  75,  204; 
Bribri,  2S9;  Caingangs,  1 14;  Calchaqm, 
73-74,  290;  Carib,  72,  202;  Cherokee, 
4i  197:  Cheyenne,  4, 197;  Chinook,  198; 
Comanche,  aoi ;  Cree^  61 ;  Ciow,  69, 200^ 
287 ;  Darien,  7 1 ;  Eddmo^  1-13. 286 ;  Flat- 
head, 169;  Gran  Chaco,  29T :  Guat6, 
295;  Guayani,  74;  Gaaykun^,  74,  292; 
H^da,6,  287  :  HatCredc,  24:  Heiltsuk, 
287;  Hcqsi,  289;  Hnicho],  289;  Hnpa, 
35;  Karok,  32;  Karayn,  204;  Kiowa, 
197;  Klamath,  34,  199;  Kob^ua,  292; 
KwandEn,  67;  Laguna,  199;  Lenguas, 
204;  Long  Island,  198;  Maidv,  25; 
Kakn,  292 ;  Maskoi,  74 ;  Matlaltancan, 
190;  Maya,  70,  202,  290;  Mayo,  200 ; 
Mexican,  288 ;  Micmac,  16 ;  Mission,  185- 
188,  287;  llohegan-Pequot,  183,  198, 
2S6 ;  Navaho,  4, 198 ;  0}ibwn,  61 ;  Omaha, 
288;  Op:ita,  201  ;  Paiute,  34;  Pautatuck, 
286;  Pawnee,  64,  83,  189-196;  Pecos, 
288 ;  San  Loiaefio,  287  ;  Sanlteauz,  61 ; 
Scataoook,  64, 286;  Shasta,a3, 34 ;  Tak- 
shik.  292;  Tapuya,74;  Tehuelche,  ::o3 ; 
Terraba,  302;  Tcil'oc'uk,  67;  Tlingit, 
64-67,  204,  287  ;  Toba,  74 ;  Tolowa,  32; 
Ta'et8%«ttt,  7:  Taimshian,  6^  28,  287; 
Tupi,  74  ;  Virginian,  286 ;  Wichita,  153- 
160;  Yaqai,200;  Ynrok,  32. 

Kroeber,  A.  L.,  AGhoet-Dance  fai  Catt> 

fomia,  32-35 :  bfonnation  from  Karok 
Indians,  32  ;  from  Yurok  Indians,  32,  33 ; 
dance,  33 ;  prophets  "  and  their  dreams, 
33;  whendanoe  took  place,  34;  territo- 
rial limits^  34;  pecaliaritiet  of  danceb 
35< 

Local  Meetings  and  other  Notices,  298- 
300;  Boston  Bnadi,  298;  Cambrittge 


Digitized  by  Google 


308 


Index, 


Branch,  299:  Cincinnati  Branch,  299, 
300- 

Mooney,  James,  The  Indian  Navel  Cord, 
197 :  Cherokee,  Kiowa,  Cheyenne;  chil- 
dfeii* 

Newell,  William  Wells,  The  Ignis  Fatuus, 
its  Character  and  Legendary  Origin,  39- 
60 ;  Jack-o'>my-lantem,  a  Maryland  negro 
legend,  39-48 ;  other  aegio  lore  of  this 
sort,  41  ;  universality  of  the  (fWArySiiSHta, 
42,  43  ;  names  of  the  ismis fatuus,  44-46; 
ghostly  and  goblin  accompaniments,  46- 
49;  oomparadTe  histoiy  of  die  legend, 
49-64 ;  English  vezsbns,  49,  50 ;  Gaelic, 
51 ;  Welsh,  51;  Norwegian,  52;  German, 
52;  Italian,  53,54;  Irish,  55;  Gascon, 
55;  SpuUh,  56;  medbeval,  56-5S;  Ut- 
erary  forms,  57,  58 ;  variations,  59 ;  diffu- 
sion of  folk-tales,  60 ;  recenqr  (tf  loniit 
in  which  Devil  appears,  60. 

Newell,  William  Wells.  See  Eighth  Me- 
moir, etc. 

Notes  and  Queries.  84,  85,  210,  211  :  Folk- 
lore at  German  universities,  Folk-lore 
museums,  resumption  of  an  old  cult, 
tchooHaigoD,  84;  "ivhito  peril,"  85; 
albino-robin,  arrow-makiii^  £idbo-faces, 
legal  folk  lore  of  children,  210;  radium 
and  mysticism,  rhos-poisoning,  spelling 
cxeida«b  tabooa  of  ta]»idfing^  ait. 

Notee  on  Recent  Articles  of  a  Comparathre 
Nature  in  Folk-Lore  and  Other  Periodi- 
cals, 313-216:  Art  and  magic,  cat,  con- 
jnriiig  vermin,  <«  Death  of  Cain,"  dog, 
ai3;  foods,  fimaial  Htea,  gander,  «Oal- 
liver's  Travels,"  higher  and  lower  races, 
jargon  of  criminals,  "  King's  Daughter," 
*'l4on  and  Man,"  214;  nudity,  number- 
lore,  piieata,  proverba,  apirit4ore,  to- 
temism,  215;  "Ungratefol  Son,"  wells, 
women,  words  used  to  domestic  animals, 
216. 

Flienomena  of  nature,  etc..  In  mytiioloKy 
and  folk-lore  :  Cardinal  points,  157,  219, 
230;  clouds,  191  ;  cold,  259;  deluge,  62, 
64,  75, 180,  203,  256;  dawn,  29;  daylight, 
5;  "Dipper,"  183;  earth,  185;  evening 
star,  190  ;  fire,  24,  3^  39-60,  77,  125-127  ; 
hail,  220;  haze,  62;  heat,  239;  ice,  180; 
ignu/aiuus,  39-64,266;  Indian  summer, 
63;  U^tning,  66^  I9>«  192*  i94» 
meteor,  185 ;  mist,  178 ;  moon,  3, 63, 1 1^, 


185,  190;  morning  star,  65,  190;  night, 
185;  Orion,  4;  rain,  191,  201;  rainbow, 
67$  fock,t8s;  aea,3;  shadow, 67;  Skj, 
4,  5,  II;  shooting-star,  211;  smoke,  28; 
star,  4,  63,  65,  180,  182,  186,  190;  storm, 
227  ;  summer,  69 ;  snn,  3,  61,  63,  69.  87, 
115, 190^  30t(  aauise,ii3;  thmider,  158, 

191,  194;  water,  35,  a6^  S17,  358;  wind, 

192,  257;  winter,  65. 

Plants,  etc,  in  mythology  and  folk  lore  : 
Acacia,  256;  acom,  33,  117,  186;  apple, 
52 ;  arbutus,  65 ;  anesment,  15;  asli,65; 
assafojtida,  126;  aspen,  61  ;  bay,  146; 
berme,  37;  birch,  6i,  117;  bissibet,  119; 
cheny,  11 1,  115;  clove,  120;  com,  65, 
114;  camin,  136;  firs-weed,  66;  "fivo- 
fingcr,"  110,  126:  gingle,  118;  guinea 
com,  37;  hone)'Suckle,  66;  hound's 
tongue,  109 ;  lichen,  62 ;  maple,  61 ;  moss, 
lao;  mnllMeiTy,  115;  oats,  118;  orange* 
37;  palm,  75;  papaja,  39;  pear,  5s; 
pimpernel,  1 20 ;  plantain,  112;  pnmpkin, 
118;  raspberry,  146;  rhns,  211 ;  rose,  61, 
133;  nie,  121 ;  salmonberry,  67;  straw* 
t>erry,  67;  tree^  23,  39,  108,  219;  ver- 
vain, IIO;  violet,  66;  waterlily,  199; 
willow,  62  i  wood-bine,  66 ;  wormwood* 
126. 

Record  of  American  Folk-Lore,  61-76, 
198-204,  286-295;  ^'orth  America:  Al- 
gonkian,  61-64,  198,  2S6;  Athapascan, 
64, 198;  Caddoan,  64,  s86}  Chinookan, 
198;  Costa  Rican,  2S9 ;  E^lmoan,  286; 
Iroquoian,  65,  66;  Keresan,  199;  Kolos- 
chan,  66, 67;  Lutnamian,  199 ;  Mateatlzin- 
can,  199:  Ifission  Indians,  287;  Noith' 
west  Pacific  Coast,  287 ;  Otomian,  199; 
Salishan,  67-69,  i  jS;  Siouan,  69,  200, 
287 ;  Sonoran  tribes,  200,  201 ;  Tafloan, 
388;  Tamcan,  201;  Uto-Aztecan,  201, 
288,289;Zapotecan,30i.  Central  Amefw 
ica :  Mayan,  70,  202,  290 ;  Chibchan,  202; 
Costa  Rican,  289;  Darien,  71.  West 
Indies:  Amulets,  202;  Caribs,  72,  202. 
Soatili  America,  Aymaian,  390;  Caldia^ 
quian,  73,  74,  290;  Gran  Chaco,  291; 
Guaycuruan,  74,  292  ;  Jivaran,  292  ;  Para- 
guay and  Matto  Grosso,  74*;  Paraguayan 
Chaoo,  303-304;  Fatagonian,  293 ;  Peru- 
vian, 293 ;  Rio  Negro  and  Uap^s  country, 
292  ;  Tapuyan,  74,  75.  General :  Ameri- 
canists, 76,  294:  Asian-American,  294; 
baaketry,  295 ;  bibliographical,  75 ; "  Com- 
pamtive  FldMogj,*'  304;  booses,  75; 


Index. 


309 


lip-mutilatioii,  204:  suggestion  and  hyp- 
notism, 76. 

Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore,  77-79,  205; 
Africa  and  America,  77,  205,  296;  Ala- 
bama folk-lore,  77  ;  education,  77  ;  fear 
of  fire,  77;  g^KMits,  78:  halhiciii>tii>n», 
78;  hypnotism  and  suggestion,  78;  In- 
dian "medicineman"  and  negro  "con- 
jure aaan,"*7S;  Jamaica  folk-lore,  296; 
ICaioons,  205;  music,  305;  namc^  79; 
negro  and  ladbn,  196;  aacrifioes,  79; 
tales,  297. 

Record  of  Philippine  Folk-Lore,  206,  207  : 
Education,  general,  Guam,  missions, 
national  chnrdi,  ao6;  negiitos,  number- 
lore,  tree-dwellers,  207. 

Riggs,  Arthur  Stanley,  The  Drama  of  the 
Filipinos,  279-285;  classification,  279; 
praUstofk,  s8os  nlii^toas  (1529-%  280^ 
281 ;  Moro-Moro  (1750-1876),  Aw,  281- 
283 ;  Magdapio,"  282 ;  '*  Guerras  Pira- 
ticas,"  283;  theatres,  283;  seditious 
plays,  2S4.  285;  "Hindi  Aco  FUtay,** 
•384;  '*Kah^n,  NgayoDi  at  Aikaa,** 
385. 

Simma,  &  Tkiditions  of  Uie  Sarcee  In- 
diana, 180-183 1  Oiigb  mytfi,  deluge 
legend,  180 ;  bear  children  and  origin  of 
the  stars  of  the  •*  dipper." 


Tooker,  William  W.,  Algonquian  Namea 
of  some  Monntaina  and  HUla,  171-179 : 

Introductory,  171  ;  general  terms  for 
mountain  and  hill,  172;  Monadnock,  172, 
173;  Katahdin,  174;  Weequadnock, 
Weepnting,  Haannotton,  Sliattsny,  174 : 
Manhattan,  Massachusetts,  Wadiuaett, 
Wachogue,  Watch tung,  175:  Kearsarge, 
Taconic,  176;  Woonsocket,  176;  Neu- 
takonkannt,  179 ;  Snckamnltaanck,  Che- 
imitiV«iii^i,^  179. 

Wake,  C.  Staniland,  Traits  of  an  ancient 
Egyptian  Foik'Tale,  compared  witli  those 
of  Aboiig^  American  Tales,  255-264 ; 

Eg)-pt5an  stor>-  of  Two  Brothers,  255 ; 
Bata  and  his  sister  in  law,  who  tempts 
him,  as  Potiphar's  wif  e  did  Joseph,  255, 
356;  misadventarea  of  Bata  throagh  die 
agency  of  his  own  wife,  256-260 ;  hiding 
the  soul,  257 ;  restoration  of  soul,  258 ; 
comparison  with  Arapaho  legends,  257- 
259;  explanation  of  cfrin^Iences,  860- 
262;  Celtic  analogue  of  "The  Battle  of 
the  Birds,"  263;  Eros  and  Fsyche,  mytlia 
of  Sun  and  Dawn,  264. 
Wintemberg.  W.  J.,  FIrendi  Canadian  Folk< 
Tales,  265-267 ;  Tranaformation  into  ani- 
mals, 265;  tho  evil  eye,  265,  266;  **JaiCk 
with  his  Lantern,"  266, 267. 


Vol.  XVII.       JANUARY  —  MARCH,  1904.        No.  LXIV. 


THE 

^         JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 

EDITOR 

ALEXANDER  FRANCIS  CHAMBERLAIN 

CONTENTS 

I  Ai.g 

1.  The  Folk-Lore  of  the  Eskimo.   Frans  Boas   i 

2.  The  Significance  op  Mythology  and  Traditiow.   Livingston  Farrand  .  14 

3.  Some  Shamans  of  California.    Roland  B.  Dixon   23 

4.  Race-Character  and  Local  Color  in  Proverbs.  Alexander  F.  Chamberlain  28 

5.  A  Ghost-Dance  in  California.    A.  L.  Kroeber   32 

6.  Items  of  Folk-Lore  fro.m  Bahama  Negroes.   M.  Clavel   36 

7.  The  Ignis  Fatu us,  its  Character  and  Legendary  Origin.    IVilliam  Wells 
Newell   39 

8.  Record  of  American  Folk-Lore.   A.  F.  C.  and  /.  C.  C.   6r 

q.  Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore.   A.  F  C.           .   .    77 

10.  Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  A.merican  Folk-Lore  Society    .   .  80 

11.  Eighth  Me.moir  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society   83 

12.  Notes  and  Queries   .   .      .  84 

13.  Bibliographical  Notes   85 


BOSTON  A\n  XKW  YORK 

jBubIi9()cD  for  Cftc  aimcncan  fo\k^JLotc  ^octetp  bp 

HOTTCTTTON.  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
I  iX:  DAVID  NUTT,  270.  271  STRAND 

LEIPZIG:   OTTO  IIARRASSOWITZ.  QUEKSTKASSE.  14 

'     .  nght,  loo-i,  by  Thk  AOTKtCAH  Folk-Lokb  Soctktv 

i  NUMBERS.  $1.00  ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTION. 

Ectered  «t  the  Po«t  OflSct  it  Bottop  m  iccon<UlMa  mAttw 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  (Quarterly:  Ed- 
itor, Alexander  F.  Chamberlain  ;  Associate  Editor,  William  W.  Newell), 
issued  by  The  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  is  designed  for  the  collection 
and  publication  of  the  folk-lore  and  mythology  of  the  American  Continent. 

The  subscription  price  is  Three  Dollars  per  annum.  A  limited  number  of 
copies  of  the  completed  volumes  (Vols.  L-XVL,  1 888-1 903)  remain  on  hand, 
and  may  be  procured  of  the  publishers,  on  payment  of  the  annual  fee  for 
each  volume.  A  cover,  suitable  for  binding,  is  prepared,  and  will  be  for- 
warded by  the  publishers,  through  the  mail,  on  receipt  of  30  cents  a  vol- 
ume. 

The  American  Folk-Lore  Society  was  organized  January  4,  1888.  The 
Society  holds  annual  meetings,  at  which  reports  are  received  and  papers 
read.  The  membership  fee  is  three  dollars,  payable  on  the  ist  of  January 
in  each  year.  Members  are  entitled  to  receive  the  Journal  of  American 
Folk-Lore.  Subscribers  to  the  Journal,  or  other  persons  interested  in  the 
objects  of  the  Society,  are  eligible  to  membership,  and  are  requested  to 
address  the  Permanent  Secretary  to  that  end. 


OFHCERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY  (1904). 

President  —  George  Lyman  Kittredge,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

First  Vice-President  —  Kenneth  McKenzie,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Second  Vice-President  —  Marshall  H.  Saville,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Council  —  JFranz  Boas,  New  York,  N.  Y.  ;  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge, 
Mass. ;  JGeorge  A.  Dorsey,  Chicago,  III ;  JCharles  L.  Edwards,  Hartford, 
Conn. ;  ^Livingston  Farrand,  New  York,  N.  Y.  ;  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  ;  Alfred  L.  Kroeber,  Berkeley,  Cal. ;  James  Mooney,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  t  Frederic  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  Frederick  Starr, 
Chicago,  111.  ;  Anne  W.  Whitney,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  fHenry  Wood,  Baltimore, 
Md.  ;  James  H.  Woods,  Boston,  Mass. 

Permanent  Secretary  —  William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Treasurer — John  H.  Hinton,  41  West  32d  Street,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

t  As  Presidents  of  Local  Branches. 

X  As  Past  Presidents  of  the  Society  (within  five  years). 


Address  of  Editor  : 

ALEXANDER  F.  CHAMBERLAIN, 
Worcester,  Mass. 


RECEiVLL  . 
SEP  t./^f^ 


AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY 


VOL.  VIII.  1904 

TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SKIDI  PAWNEE.  Collected 
and  Annotated  by  George  A.  Dorsey,  Curator,  Department  of  An- 
thropology, Field  Columbian  Museum.  With  Introduction,  Notes, 
and  Illustrations.  Boston  and  New  York  :  Published  for  the  Amer- 
ican Folk-Lore  Society  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.    Pp.  xxvi,  366. 

This  gathering  of  traditions  was  begun  in  1899,  under  a  special 
grant  made  by  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  and  completed  with 
funds  provided  by  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington.  The 
Trustees  of  both  Institutions  have  kindly  consented  to  the  publica- 
tion in  its  present  fonn. 

The  tales  are  ninety  in  number,  classified  under  six  categories, 
namely:  "  Cosmogonic,"  "  Boy  Heroes,"  "  Medicine,"  "Animal  Tales," 
"  People  Marry  or  Become  Animals,"  and  "  Miscellaneous."  Neces- 
sary explanations  are  given  in  Notes,  while  an  Introduction  notices 
the  mode  of  life,  habitations,  and  ceremonial  religion  of  the  Pawnee. 
The  language  of  the  tales  follows  the  form  employed  by  the  Indian 
interpreters,  save  as  respects  correction  of  grammatical  errors. 

Price,  $6.00,  net ;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  So- 
ciety, 1*5.00,  net. 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

Vol.  I.  FOLK-TALES  OF  ANGOLA 
Fifty  Tales  with  Ki-mbundu  text,  literal  English  Translation,  Introduction, 
and  Notes.    Collected  and  edited  by  Heli  Chatelain,  late  U.  S.  Com- 
mercial Agent  at  Loanda,    1894.    Pp.  xii.,  315.    (With  two  Maps.) 

Vol.  II.   LOUISIANA  FOLK-TALES. 
In  French  Dialect  and  English  Translation.     Collected  and  edited  by 
Alcee  Fortier,  D.  Lit.,  Professor  of  Romance  Languages  in  Tulane 
University  of  Louisiana.    1895.    Pp.  xi.,  122. 

Vol.  III.    BAHAMA  SONGS  AND  STORIES. 
A  Contribution  to  Folk-Lore,  by  Charles  L.  Edwards,  Professor  of  Bio- 
logy in  the  University  of  Cincinnati.    With  Music,  Introduction,  Appen- 
dix, and  Notes.    Six  Illustrations.    1895.    Pp.  xiii.,  iii. 

Vol.  IV.    CURRENT  SUPERSTITIONS. 
Collected  from  the  Oral  Tradition  of  English-Speaking  Folk.    Edited  by 
Fa.nny  D.  Bergen.    With  Notes,  and  an  Introduction  by  William 
Wells  Newell.    1896.    Pp.  vi.,  161. 

Vol.  V.    NAVAHO  LEGENDS. 
Collected  and  translated  by  Washington  Matthews,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Major 
U.  S.  Army,  E.x-President  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  etc.  With 
Introduction,  Notes,  Illustrations,  Texts,-  Interlinear  Translations,  and 
Melodies.    1897.    Pp.  viii.,  299. 

Vol.  VI.  TRADITIONS  OF  THE  THOMPSON  RIVER  INDIANS 

OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. 

Collected  by  James  Teit.    With  Introduction  by  Franz  Boas,  and  Notes. 

1898.  Pp.  X.,  137. 

Vol.  VII.    ANIMAL  AND  PLANT  LORE. 
Collected  from  the  Oral  Tradition  of  English-Speaking  Folk.  •  Edited  and 
annotated  by  Fanny  D.  Bergen.    With  Introduction  by  J.  V.  Bergen. 

1899.  Pp.  180. 

Vol.  Vin.    TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SKIDI  PAWNEE 
Collected  and  Edited  by  George  A.  Dorse v,  Ph.  D.,  Curator,  Department 
of  Anthropology,  Field  Columbian  Museum.    With  Introduction,  Notes, 
and  Illustrations.    1904-    Pp.  about  xx.,  320.    {Now  in  the  press') 

Prices  of  each  volume  of  the  Memoirs :  Vols.  I.,  II.,  III.,  IV.,  VI.,  VIL, 
$3.50,  net;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  $3.00,  net. 
Vols,  v.,  VIII.,  56.00,  net ;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society, 
,^5.00,  net. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY, 
Boston  and  New  York. 


Vol.  XVII.        JULY  —  SEPTHMBER,  1904.       No.  LXVI. 


THE 

r  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 

EDITOR 

ALEXANDER  FRANCIS  CHAMBERLAIN 

CONTENTS 

u  Wichita  Tales,  III.   George  A.  Dor sey  153 

2.  Proverbs  in  the  Making:  Some  Scientific  Commonplaces.  AltxantUr 

F.  Chamberlain  i6l 

3.  Algonquias  Names  of  Some  Mountains  and  Hills.  William  Wallace  Tooker  171 

4.  Traditions  of  the  Sarcee  Indians.   5".  C.  Simms  180 

5.  Some  Mohegan-Pequot  Lege.vds,   Frank  G.  Speck  183 

6.  Mythology  of  the  Mission  Indians,    Constance  Goddard Du  Bois  .    .   .  .185 

7.  Eighth  Memoir  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  189 

8.  The  Indian  Navel  Cord.    James  Moonty  197 

9.  Record  of  American  Folk-Lore.    A.  F.  C.  and  /.  C.  C,  198 

10.  Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore.   A.  F.  C.  205 

11.  Record  of  Philippine  Folk-Lore.   A.F.C.  206 

12.  In  Me.mokiam  :  Frank  Russell.    Alexander  F.  Chamberlain  208 

13.  Notes  and  Queries  210 

14.  Bibliographical  Notes   212 

Books. —  NotM  of  Recent  Articles  oi  a  CoiDparative  Nature. 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

^ubli^iieti  for  Cfje  5Cnimcan  folh^Horc  ^ocictp  Iip 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
LONDON:  DAVID  NUTT,  270,  271  STRAND 
LEIPZIG:  OTTO  HARRASSOWITZ,  QUERSTRASSE,  14 

Copyright,  1904,  by  Thi  Amchicam  Fclk-Loh  SocnTY 
I  NUMBERS.  $1.00  ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTION, 

Xirtercd  at  the  Pott  Office  at  Bottos  aa  tecoDd^laaa  oaatter 


7 

J 

/ 


BvTBS  AimiCAN  FOLB^jORS  flOCIETT. 

AU  rigktf  rtwrvtd. 


Digitized  by  Google 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

Vol.  XVIU.— JANUARY-MARCH,  1905.— No.  LXVIIL 


DISENCHANTMENT  BY  DECAPITATION.i 
•J  t 

Decapitation  as  a  means  of  disenchantment  occurs  in  two  Middle 
English  romances  which  deserve  a  closer  study  than  they  have  yet 
received,  —  Tfu  Carl  of  Carlisle  ^  and  The  Turk  and  Gawain^  In 
The  Carl  of  Carlisle^  which  belongs  to  the  same  group  as  the  Old 
French  Chevalier  it  V Esp^e,^  the  decapitation  is  the  last  act  in  a  com- 
plicated process  of  unspelling.  The  bespelled  person  is  a  cruel  giant 
who  puts  to  death  every  stranger  who  seeks  harborage  in  his  castle. 
Gawain,  with  Kay  and  Bishop  Baldwin,  having  lost  his  way,  is  forced 
to  seek  the  Carl's  hospitality,  though  the  Bishop  is  well  aware  that 
he  belongs  to  the  class  of  personages  known  to  modem  scholars 
as  *'  Difficult  Hosts."  Gawain's  courtesy,  however,  enables  him  to 
become  master  of  the  situation.  The  savage  host  makes  several  ex- 
traordinary requests,  but  Gawain  yields  cheerful  acquiescence  to  them 
all.  Next  morning  the  Carl  bids  Gawain  take  a  sword  and  strike  off 
his  head.  To  this  also  Gawain  assents,  though  not  without  express- 
ing considerable  reluctance.  As  soon  as  his  h6ad  was  off»  the  Carl; 
we  are  told,  "stood  up  a  man  of  the  height  of  Sir  Gawain/'  and* 
thanked  the  knight  ford^vering  him  from  the  ^'lalse  witchcraft"' 
under  which  he  had  labored  for  forty  years.  It  was  this  enchantment 
which  liad  mfde  him  act  so  muzderously ;  lie  bad  IdUed  guests  enoughs 
to  make  five  cartloads  of  bones. 

In  Tkg  Turk  and  Gawain,  the  hero  vidts  the  Isle  of  Man  under  the 
guidance  of  a  "  Turk,"  that  is,  a  dwarf.  The  island  is  mhabited  by 
giants.  The  King  of  Man  requires  the  performance  of  various  diffi- 
cult feats,  all  of  which  are  accomplished  by  the  Turk.   Finally  the 

1  Address  by  the  Retiring  President,  at  the  Sixteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Aznerican  Folk-Lore  Society,  Philadelphia,  December  30, 1904. 

*  Madden,  Syr  Gawaytu^  pp.  187  fi.,  256  ff.;  Hales  and  Fnnivall,  Bishop 
Pin/s  FoUo  Mamueript,  iil.  375  ff. 

*  Madden,  pp.  243  ff. ;  Hales  and  Fumivall,  i.  88  ff. 

*  Edited  by  Mdon,  Nouveau  ReciuU  dt  FoUiauxtt  ComUs,  l8s3i  i*  la?  ff.*  and 
bj  £.  C  Armstrong,  Baltimore,  1900. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


2 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lon. 


heathen  king  is  slain.  Then  the  Turk  bade  Gawain  strike  off  his 
head ;  and  when  this  was  done,  he  "  stood  up  8  stalwart  knight,"  sang 
TV  Dcum,  and  thanked  Gawain  heartily. 

On  another  occasion  I  hope  to  discuss  these  romances  fully.  For 
the  present,  I  will,  with  your  permission,  confine  myself  to  the  single 
incident  of  UnspelUng  Decapitation,  which  is  common  to  them  both. 
In  the  Carl,  the  bespelled  person  is  a  cruel  monster  until  he  is  re- 
leased from  enchantment ;  in  the  Turk,  he  takes  the  role  of  Helpful 
Attendant,  performing  superhuman  tasks  as  a  substitute  for  the  hero. 
In  both,  he  urges  the  reluctant  Gawain  to  cut  off  his  head,^  and  this 
is  the  final  act  in  a  somewhat  complicated  process  of  disenchantment. 
The  efficacy  of  decapitation  in  undoing  a  spell  is  a  widespread  pop- 
ular  belief,  and  many  of  the  tales  in  which  it  occurs  are  otherwise 
parallel  either  to  The  Carl  of  Carlisle  or  to  The  Turk  and  Ga  wain.  In 
what  follows,  there  is,  of  course,  no  attempt  at  exhaustiveness.  My 
purpose  has  been  to  illustrate  the  belief  by  means  of  typical  examples, 
and  to  bring  out  its  significance  as  an  aiticle  of  the  popular  creed. 

We  may  begin  witli  the  Decapitation  of  Hdpful  Animals. 

In  a  Gaelic  tale  a  serviceable  steed  bids  the  hero  "take  a  swoid 
and  .  .  .  take  the  head  off  me."  The  hero  objecting,  the  horse 
replies :  "  In  me  there  is  a  young  girl  under  spells,  and  the  spells 
will  not  be  off  me  till  the  head  is  taken  off  me."  In  the  same  story 
a  serviceable  raven  makes  a  sunihr  request:  '*A  young  lad  under 
spells  am  1,  and  they  will  not  be  off  me  till  the  head  comes  off  mc" 
The  pair  are  transformed  and  make  a  fine  couple.'  This  is  an  instruc- 
tive example  because  it  is  outspoken.  Usually,  however,  and  more 
properly,  the  animal  does  not  tell  the  hero  or  heroine  why  the  be- 
heading is  to  be  performed.  So,  for  instance,  in  a  Swedish  tale,  Den 
umlerbare  Hasten,  the  horse  simply  asks  the  hero  to  strike  off  his 
head,  and  when  this  is  done  he  recovers  his  proper  shapes  that  of  a 
prince,  the  brother  of  the  heroine.* 

>  There  is  ao  beheadiDg  in  the  PorUiigton  version  of  the  Cari  (edited  bgr 
Madden),  but  this  text  has  omitted  tlie  SMi^  of  disencluintnent  altogether,  to 

the  manifest  injury  of  the  romance. 

•  The  Rider  of  Grianai^f  J.  F.  Campbell,  Popular  Tales  of  the  West  Highlands ^ 
aOb  58,  iiL  16-18 ;  ci  Cartin,  ffn^TeUes  ef  Ineiamd,  pp.  354-5.  See  also  Tit 
Bladk  Hantt  froin  Campbell's  mannacript  coUectioDa,  Jacobs,  Ma^  Ceitk  FeUry 
TaU$<t  pp.  57  ff.,  and,  on  the  supposed  Indian  provenience,  Hartland,  Folk-Lore, 
V.  331-2.  Cf.  Leskien  u.  Bnigman,  f,itauis£ki  VolksUstUr  u,  MUrekett,  p.  386,  and 
Wollner's  notes,  pp.  537-43. 

*  Eva  Wigstnnn,  Sagar  «dl  Afventyr  uppieck$tadt  i  Shine,  p.  74,  in  Nyar* 
Bidre^  Hii  KMmuebm,  etc.,  voU  v.  In  the  Nonvefian  baltad  of  Asmmmd 
Fregde^avar,  the  hero>  who  has  rescued  the  Icing's  daughter  from  the  land  of  the 
trolls  by  the  aid  of  a  magic  horse,  strikes  off  the  horse's  head :  "  de^^  vart  ein 
kristen  mann,"  namely,  the  queen's  youngest  brother,  Adalbert,  son  of  the  En- 
glish king  (Landstad,  Norske  Folkeviser,  no.  i,  ats.  62-63,  p.  31).   Cf.  Cnrtin, 


Digitized  by  Google 


DisenckanttiufU  by  DecapiiaUon,  3 

In  the  Lettish  epic  Negdrkeku  Widwtub}  tiie  hero  Widewut  is 
much  helped  by  a  werewolf  (wii^Xate),  who,  among  other  services, 
replaces  the  heads  of  the  hero's  two  companions  and  brings  the  dead 
men  to  life  by  means  of  a  magic  elixir.  The  wolf  then  insists  on 
being  beheaded  in  his  turn,  and,  when  his  request  is  granted,  is 
transformed  into  a  handsome  youth. 

The  serviceable  cat  becomes  a  princess  on  being  decapitated  in 
Mme.  d'Aulnoy's  La  CkatU  Sianekg,  and  in  the  Norwegian /Tmt^^r 
(Sir  Peter).*  In  Perrault's  L0  Ckta  BotU  there  is  no  beheading  and 
no  disenchantment,  but, 'instead,  a  delicious  specimen  of  French  wit : 
"  Le  Chat  devint  grand  Seigneur,  et  ne  courut  plus  apr6s  les  souris, 
que  pour  se  divertir."  ^  In  a  Tyrolese  story  the  hero,  at  the  cat's 
request,  takes  the  animal  by  the  hind  legs  and  dashes  her  against 
the  hearth  till  he  sees  her  no  more.  Immediately  she  reappears  as 
a  beautiful  maiden,  whom  he  marries.* 

In  the  Welsh  Gypsy  tale  of  The  Black  Dog  of  the  Wild  Forest^ 
two  helpful  little  dogs,  Hear-all  and  Spring-all,  who  have  saved  the 
hero's  life,  require  him  to  cut  off  their  heads,  threatening  to  devour 
him  if  he  refuses.  As  Jack  travelled  on,  grieving,  "  he  turned  his 
head  round  at  the  back  of  his  horse,  looking;  behind  him,  and  he 
saw  two  of  the  handsomest  young  ladies  coming  as  ever  he  saw  in 
his  life."  They  are  Hear-all  and  Spring-all.^  Similarly,  three  black 
dogs  in  a  German  tale,  who  have  served  the  king  well,  are  beheaded 

Myiks  and  Folk-Tain  tf  ike  Rmssiam^  etc.,  pp^  293, 405,  in  both  of  which  the 

horse  makes  the  reason  known.  Bayard,  the  helpful  horse  in  Le  Pn'neg  gi  sm 
Cke%>al  (Cosquin,  Contes  pop.  de  Lorraine^  i.  133  ff.),  does  not  ask  to  be  disen> 
chanted,  but  simply  requests  bis  dismissal.  He  is  certainly  bespelled,  however: 
Je  tnis prince ftmi bleii qne  voot:  je  devaisrni^tediiqiM ■enrteet  h  na  prince** 
(L  137).  A  Chriftianised  Incident  of  this  eort  is  In  Venialeken,  &stmkki»dit 
Kinder  u.  Hausm&nhen^  no.  46,  p.  252 :  a  horse  says,  "  Hew  off  my  hemV*  nnd 
when  this  is  done,  a  white  dove  flies  forth  and  up  to  heaven. 

*  Put  together  by  Lautenbach-Jusmiaa,  song  17,  Jelgawi,  1891,  pp.  211  ff.;  see 
tmnmary  by  H.  Wissendoiff  de  Wissulniok,  Remu  eUs  Traditions  Populairut 
xIL  160-1. 

*  Asbjamsen  og  Moe,  Norske  Folkeevenfyr,  2d  ed.,  1853,  p.  l6a  (translated  by 
Dasent,  Popular  Tales  from  the  Norse,  2d  ed.,  1859,  p.  347)  ;  so  in  Kong  Knud 
fra  Kmlande  (variantX  p-  431,  and  in  another  version  (in  which  the  cat  becomes 
a  prince),  p.  433.  See  Lang,  Perraulfs  Popular  TaleSy  1888,  Inirod.^  p.  Izxii. 
Aabjaraien  and  Moe  dte  a  number  of  parallelB.  Cf.  the  German  mtdrdUn  of  Dtr 
Fubrkonie;  {\laXinc\i,  Dtuische  VolksmSrchen  aus  dem  Sacksenlande  in  Sieben- 
hUrgen^  3d  ed.,  1882,  p.  50).  In  Das  weisse  Katzchen  (Kuhn  u.  Schwartz, 
Norddeutsche  Sagen,  p.  334),  the  kitten's  paws  and  head  are  cut  off,  and  the 
transformation  begins  on  the  amputation  of  the  first  paw. 

*  Lang^  ed.»  at  above,  p.  35. 

*  Ziageile,  Kinder-  und  Hausminkmh  1^5^  no.  9^  p.  js ;  ed.  1870,  p.  43. 

*  Groome,  Gypsy  Folk-Tales,  pp.  267-7 t.  There  are  unspelled  green  dogs 
(which  remind  us  of  the  fancy  Jackets  in  French  romance)  in  a  tale  in  the  CeUie 
Magazine^  xiii.  279. 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


4 


yowmai  of  Amiriean  FM-Lart. 


at  their  own  request :  "  Siehe^  da  standen  nun  einmal  drei  Kfinigs- 
•ohne."  1 

In  the  West  Highland  tale  of  Mac  Iain  Direacht  the  fox,  who  has 
assisted  the  hero  materially,  remarks  as  they  come  to  a  spring  by 
the  side  of  the  road  :  "  Now,  Brian,  unless  thou  dost  strike  off  my 
head  with  one  blow  of  the  White  Glave  of  Light  into  this  spring,'*  I 
will  strike  off  thine."  Brian  complies,  and  "  in  the  wink  of  an  eye, 
what  should  rise  up  out  of  the  well,  but  the  son  of  the  King  that  was 
father  of  the  Sun  Goddess."  ' 

When  we  pass  from  Helpful  Animals  who  are  unspelled  by  decapi- 
tation to  Helpful  Servants  who  are  released  from  enchantment  by 
the  same  means,  we  approach  sensibly  nearer  to  the  situation  in 
The  Turk  and  Gawain.  Frequently  (as  in  that  poem)  the  helpful 
attendant  wears  a  monstrous  or  dwarfish  likeness  till  he  is  disen- 
chanted.* 

In  the  Welsh  Gypsy  story  of  An  Old  King  and  his  Three  Sons  in 
England^  Prince  Jack  has  been  entertained  and  helped  at  various 
stages  of  his  journey  by  three  brothers,  whose  heads,  at  their  request, 
he  cuts  off  and  throws  into  a  well  What  happens  may  be  seen 
from  the  case  of  the  eldest  of  the  three:  "  No  sooner  he  does  it,  and 
flings  his  head  in  the  well,  than  up  springs  one  of  the  finest  young 
gentlemen  you  would  wish  to  see ;  and  instead  of  the  old  house  and 
the  frightfiil*looking  place^  it  was  changed  into  a  beautiful  hall  and 
grounds."  There  is  complete  disenchantment,  it  will  be  observed, 
of  place  as  well  as  of  person.  This  oldest  brother  is  described  as  a 
frightful  creature :  He  could  scarcely  walk  from  his  toenails  curl- 
ing up  like  rams'  horns  that  had  not  been  cut  for  many  hundred 
years,  and  big  long  hair,'*  and  so  on.* 

>  Haltrich,  as  above,  pp.  107-8. 

*  The  spring  is  significant   Immersion  In  water  or  some  other  liquid  is  often 

a  means  of  dissolving  a  charm,  and  sometimes  operates  as  one  of  several  measures 
conducing  to  that  end.  See  Child,  Ballads,  i.  338,  507,  it.  505,  iii.  505,  and  add 
Laistner,  RStstl  der  SpMttx^  §  31,  i.  252ff. 

*  J.  F.  CampbeU,  no.  46^  if.  358-9b  Campbdra  aloiy  waa  derived  from  John 

Macdonald  the  tinker,  whom  Mr.  Hindes  Groome  malcea  out  to  have  been  a  Gypsy 
{Gypsy  Folk-Tales,  pp.  Iviii-lxi;  cf.  Nutt,  Folk-Lore,  x.  241-2).  It  is  reprinted, 
with  valuable  notes,  in  Groome's  Gypsy  Folk-Tales,  pp.  283-9. 

*  Cormac's  Glossary,  s.  s.prull.  Stokes,  Three  Irish  Glossaries,  pp.  36-38,  and 
0*Donovan*8  translation,  ed.  Stokes,  pp.  135-7 ;  O'Cmty,  Memners  emd  Cmsf&mt^ 
il.  89;  Nutt,  Revue  Celtique,  xii.  194-5  ;  same,  Holy  Grail,  pp.  139-41,  205-6; 
Zimmer,  Kuhn's  Ztschr.,  xxviii.  438  ;  Imtheacht  na  Tromdhaimhe,  ed.  Connellan. 
Ossianic  Society,  Transactions,  v.  114  £E.;  Life  of  S.  Ft'chin  of  Fore ^  %  37-38»  ed. 
Stokes,  Revue  Cel/igue,  xiu  MsLclnneSfFoli  and  /Zero  7fl/£'j  ,pp.9i-93(with 
Nvtt'a  note,  pp.  454, 467-8) ;  MaynaiBcr,  fvife  of  Bathes  Tale,  pp.  65  ff.,  195  IL ; 
J.  F.  Campbell,  iii.  299-300;  Curtin,  Myths  and  Folk- Lore  of  Ireland,  pp.  9^$^' » 
Mac  Dougall,  Folk  and  Hero  Tales,  pp.  35  ff. ;  Hyde,  Beside  (he  Fire,  pp.  18  ff. 

*  Groome,  In  Gipsy  Tenis,  i88o»  pp.  399-3x7  i  the  same,  Gyp*y  Folk-TaigSt 


.  J  .-  LL  i.y  Google 


5 


In  the  Irish  Mac  Cool,  Faolan,  and  the  Mountain,  an  old  forester, 
who  has  assisted  Dyeermud  and  Faolan  in  some  very  perilous  adven- 
tures, asks  Dyeermud  to  cut  off  his  head.  Dyeermud  consents  after 
the  old  man  has  told  him  that  he  is  under  enchantment  and  cannot 
be  otherwise  released.  *'  He  cut  off  his  head  with  one  blow,  and 
there  rose  up  before  him  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  years."  He 
had  been  enchanted  by  his  stepmother.' 

Sometimes  the  person  disenchanted  by  beheading  is  not  a  helpful 
animal  or  attendant,  but  the  heroine  of  the  story.  There  is  a  good 
instance  in  the  Saxon  tale  of  Sauseivind.'^  Here  a  woman  who  lives 
with  the  ogre  Sausewind  tells  him  of  three  enchanted  princesses  and 
gets  from  him  the  answer :  "  Wenn  eincr  ein  Schwert  nimmt  und 
schlagt  dir  den  Kopf  ab,  so  hist  du  die  eine  ;  dort  unten  am  Wasser 
steht  ein  Erlenbusch,  wenn  davon  der  rechte  Ast  .  .  .  abgehauen 
wird,  so  ist  das  die  zweite ;  und  dben  am  Wasser  steht  noch  ein 
Busch,  wild  davon  ebenfalls  ein  Ast  abgehauen,  so  ist  das  die  dritte; 
dann  sind  aUe  drei  wieder  beisammen."  A  visitor  a  young  man  — 
then  effects  the  disenchantment  in  the  way  prescribed.  Again,  in 
the  Saxon  tale  of  Der  ^bmrne  Hohs  (a  variant  of  a  well-known  mii9^ 
cM),*  Hans  serves  a  mouse,  the  mistress  o£  an  enchanted  casUe, 
for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year,  the  mouse  bids  him 
beat  her  till  she  is  covered  with  blood  {l^hOrilnsH^.  He  does  so. 
Immediately  the  castle  is  disenchanted  and  full  of  life;  the  mouse 
becomes  a  crown-princess  and  marries  Han&  In  a  variant/  a  cat 
takes  the  place  of  the  mouse,  and  Hans  has  to  cut  wood  during  his 
three  years  of  service^  make  a  huge  fire^  and  finally  throw  the  cat 
into  the  flames. 

Sometimes  the  disenchanted  person  is  a  prince,  and  the  maiden 
who  releases  him  wins  him  as  a  husband.  Thus  in  a  West  Highland 
tale*  which  is  a  variant  of  the  well-known  Frog  Prince^  the  frog,  for 
whom  the  girl  has  made  a  bed  beside  her  own,  finally  says :  " '  There 

>M»»  55t  PP<  320-33 ;  see  alto  Jmtmat  ^  thi  Gypty  Lorg  Soeieiyt  1891,  iii.  iio-aa 
Fxom  the  first  of  these  publications  ^  tale  was  reproduced,  with  changes  and 
COinineDts  of  which  Mr.  Hindes  Groome  complains  {Gy^.Fdk'TaliSt  p.  232]^  by 
Jacobs,  Afore  English  Fairy-Tales,  pp.  132-45,  232-3. 

*  Curtin,  Hero-Tales,  pp.  510-11. 

*  Schambacb  u.  MQUer,  NUdtnMMsdU  Sagm  m.  MSrckm,  pp.  s6o  ff. 

*  The  aame,  pp.  268  ff. 

*  The  same,  p.  368.  This  story  has  great  similarities  to  the  Swedish  mSrchen 
of  Den  Fdrirollade  Grodan  (Hylt^n-Cavallius  and  Stephens,  Svenska  Folk-Sagor 
och  Afventyr^  no.  15,  i.  251  ff.),  translated  by  Thorpe,  Yule-Tide  Stories ^  pp.  226  ff. 
(71«  Endiemied  TmuI),  Io  Afanasie^  voL  v.  no.  38  (Ralaton,  Russian  FM- 
TeUeSf  p.  134),  a  helpful  bull-calf  tells  the  hero  to  kill  Um  and  bum  his  carcass ; 
from  the  ashes  there  spring;  a  horse,  a  dog,  and  an  treei  all  thice  of  which 
play  an  important  part  in  the  next  act  of  the  drama. 

*  J.  F.  GtmpbeU,  no.  33,  ii.  130  ff. 


Digitized  by  Google 


6  yimmal  of  Ameriean  FM-Lore. 

is  an  old  rusted  glave  behind  thy  bed,  with  which  thou  hadst  better 
take  off  my  head,  then  be  holding  me  longer  in  torture.'  She  took 
the  glave  and  cut  the  head  off  him.  When  the  steel  touched  him, 
he  grew  a  handsome  youth ;  and  he  gave  many  thanks  to  the  young 
wifci  who  had  been  the  means  of  putting  off  him  the  spells,  under 
which  he  had  endured  for  a  long  time."  In  an  Annandale  version 
of  THm  Frog  Prince,  the  frog  aiks  the  girl  to  cut  off  his  head  with 
an  asm.*  In  Grimm's  version  and  some  others,  the  frog  is  dashed 
against  the  wall  by  the  girl  in  anger  at  its  request  to  be  taken  into 
her  bed,  and  the  transformation  follows.* 

The  Fng  Prime  is  particulariy  interesting,  since  it  combines»  in 
some  of  its  versions,  disenchantment  by  personal  contact  with  disen- 
chantment by  decapitation  or  by  some  other  method  of  killing  the 
magical  body.  In  some  forms  of  the  great  dass  of  "  animal-spouse  *' 
tales,  the  mysterious  husband  is  a  man  by  night  and  an  animal  (frog, 
serpent,  wolf,  etc)  by  day,  and  lays  aside  his  beast-skin  when  he 
assumes  human  shape.*  This  gives  us  a  dear  insight  into  the  real 
meaning  of  disenchantment  by  beheading.  We  shall  return  to  the 
point  later. 

Especially  important  for  the  illustration  of  Tk$  Carl  of  Carlisle  are 
the  instances  in  which  the  bespelled  person  who  is  released  by 
decapitation  is  a  cruel  and  murderous  demon  or  monster  until  he  is 

1  R.  Chambers,  Popular  Rhymes  of  Scotiamd^  1S43,  p.  53  (ed.  of  [1870^  pp.  8S- 

89),  from  C  K  Sluirpe,  who  learned  it  from  a  nurse  about  1784 

'  See  K.  Kohler,  Orient  u.  Occident,  ii.  330  ;  Landau,  Ztschr.f.  vergl.  Littera- 
turgeschichte,  i.  17.  There  is  an  English  version  from  Holderness  in  Jones 
and  Krq;}f ,  F^Tales  ef  the  Magyars^  Folk-Lore  Society,  pp.  404-5,  in  wbidi, 
as  in  a  version  of  The  Frog  Prince  given  by  F.  Pfaff  in  his  Marchen  aus  Loben^ 
feld  {AUmannia,  xxvi.  87,  88),  the  frog  is  taken  into  bed.  but  there  is  neither 
smashing  nor  decapitation.  In  Haltrich,  Deutsche  V'olksmdrchen  aus  dent  Sach- 
senlande  in  Siebenbiirgen,  3d  ed.,  18S2,  p.  37,  a  little  creature,  apparently  a  dwarf 
or  elf,  who  has  baea  changed  into  a  toad  b^  endiantmen^  resmnea  his  proper 
abape  when  the  toad  ia  amaahed  to  piecea.  Cf.  Laistner,  RHisel  der  S^himr, 

i.  59. 

•  On  the  Frog  Prince  or  Princess,  and  on  the  burning  of  the  frog  for  other) 
skin  or  of  the  whole  frog  to  effect  the  transformation  or  to  ensure  its  perma- 
nence, see  Benfey,  Pamtsehettantrot  i.  EinL  §  92,  pp.  266-9  (where  there  am 
many  referenoea).  There  Is  aone  good  autteital  in  De  Gubematia,  ZeShgieat 
Mythotegyt  ii-  37^  ff.  See  also  Der  Prinz  mit  der  Sckweinshaut,  K6hler, 
KUinere  Schriften,  i.  315  ff.  A  Zulu  story  of  a  prince  in  serpent  form  (Callaway, 
Nursery  Tales  of  the  Zulus,  i.  321  ff.)  is  a  fine  example  of  confusion  between  a 
person  who  really  has  the  shape  of  a  serpent  and  one  who  is  disguised  by  being 
dad  or  indoaed  in  a  aerpent*8  akin.  The  nanator  cannot  keq»  ti^  cUatinction  In 
mind  at  all.  For  one  shape  by  day.  another  by  night,  see  Child,  Ballads,  i.  290, 
?v,  454,  V.  289;  Maynadier,  The  Wife  of  Bath's  Tale,  1901,  pp.  20I  ff . ;  Kroeber, 
Cheyenne  Tales,  no.  18,  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  xiii.  181.  Many  refer- 
ences  for  the  transformation  of  animal  spouses  are  collected  by  S.  Prato,  BuUetiu 
de  FoOUortt  i.  316-15. 


DisinekauimeHi  by  DuapUaUm. 


7 


relieved  from  enchantment.  This  comes  out  clearly  in  the  first 
adventure  of  Art  and  Balor  Beimenach}  The  princess  of  Greece  will 
not  marry  Art  unless  he  brings  her  the  head  of  the  Gruagach  of  the 
Bungling  Leaps.  Art  fights  the  monster  thrice.  The  first  time  he 
beheads  him,  but  the  body  goes  down  through  the  earth,  the  head 
follows,  and  the  next  day  the  gruagach  is  whole  and  twice  as  strong 
as  before.  The  second  day  Art  seizes  the  head  before  it  has  time 
to  sink  into  the  earth  and  starts  off  with  it  toward  the  king's  castle. 
On  the  way  he  meets  three  men  with  a  headless  body.  Art  foolishly 
allows  them  to  apply  the  gniagach's  head  to  the  trunk,  and  on  the 
instant  men,  head,  and  body  go  down  through  the  earth.  The  third 
day  a  raven  carries  off  the  head.  Instructed  and  helped  by  a  friendly 
old  man,  Art  recovers  the  head,  which  he  carries  to  the  castle  of  the 
king  of  Greece.  The  princess  consents  to  marry  him,  but  he  refuses 
her.  Acting  on  the  old  man's  instructions,  Art  carries  the  head 
hack  to  Aim.  "The  old  man  threw  the  head  on  a  hody  which  was 
lying  in  the  cahin;  the  head  and  the  body  became  one^  and  just  like 
the  old  man."  The  old  man  says :  "The  gruagach  was  my  brother, 
and  for  the  last  three  hundred  years  he  was  under  the  enchantment 
o£  .  .  .  the  only  daughter  of  the  King  of  Greece.  The  princess  is 
oldt  although  young  in  appearance ;  my  brother  would  have  killed 
me  as  quiddy  as  he  wotdd  you ;  and  he  was  to  be  enchanted  till 
you  should  come  and  cut  the  head  off  him,  and  show  it  to  the 
princess,  and  not  marry  her,  and  I  should  do  as  I  have  done.  My 
brother  and  I  will  stay  here,  take  care  of  our  forests,  and  be  friends 
to  you."  a 

The  Highland  tale  of  The  Widow  and  her  Daughters  ^  is  another 
case  in  point.  It  is  a  Blue  Beard  story,  curiously  modified  by  the 
motif  of  unspelUng  decapitation.  A  great  gray  horse  (who  is  also 
called  a  king,  and  who  apparently  is  a  man  by  night)  ^  abducts  a 
widow's  three  daughters  one  after  another.  He  decapitates  the  first 
two  for  entering  a  forbidden  chamber.  The  third  escapes  by  a  ruse 
and  reaches  her  mother's  house.  Her  lover  pursues  "  in  a  wild 
rage."  "  When  he  reached  the  door  he  drove  it  in  before  him.  She 
was  standing  beliind  the  door,  and  she  took  bis  bead  off  with  the  bar. 

>  Cartin,  Hero-Tales^  pp^  31s  & 

■  The  same,  p.  323. 

•  J.  F.  Campbell,  Popular  Tales  of  the  IVest  Highlands,  no.  41,  ii.  265  ff.  See 
Campbell's  references,  ii.  275.  Kohler,  Oruni  and  Occident^  ii.  679  {KUinere 
Sekrifieth  i*  356-7X  and  yahrb.  f.  rom,  UH,^  vii.  151  ff.  (KUinere  Sckriften^ 

i.  312  ff.X  adds  little  that  helps  tis  here.    See  also  Laistner,  Ratsel  der  Sphinx^ 

ii.  loi.  In  Die  singende  Rose  (Zinq^erle,  Kinder  u.  Hausmdrchen,  2d  ed.,  i?^70, 
no.  30,  p.  154),  an  old  gjaybcard  makes  the  princess  strike  off  his  head;  a  key 
comes  out  of  it,  which  opens  all  the  doors  and  chests  in  the  castle. 

*  TWj  nay  be  aaid  to  be  implied,  though  it  is  BoiAeie  stated. 


Digitized  by  Google 


8 


yammai  of  Ameriean  Folk'Lan. 


Then  he  grew  a  king's  son,  as  precious  as  ever  came,"  and  they  were 

married.^ 

The  very  formidable  giant  called  the  Bare-Stripping  Hangman,  in 
the  Gaelic  tale  of  that  name,'  turns  out  to  be  under  spells,  from  which 
he  is  released  when  the  egg  which  contains  his  life  has  been  crushed, 
and  when  his  hands  and  feet  have  been  cut  o£f  and  cast  into  a  fire. 
"  As  soon  as  the  hair  of  the  head  was  singed  and  the  skin  of  the  feet 
burnt,  the  very  handsomest  young  man  they  ever  beheld  sprang  out 
of  the  fire.  "  He  is  the  king's  younger  brother,  "who  was  stolen  in 
his  childhood."  This  is  also  an  instructive  example.  The  Bare* 
Stripping  Hangman  belongs  to  the  class  of  giants  who  have  no  soul 
in  their  body, — Koahchd  the  Deathless,  corpssans-dme,  Punchkin, 
and  the  rest,* — and  should  be  destroyed,  not  disenchanted.  By  the 
addition  of  the  disenchantment  the  monster  is  made  into  a 
bespelled  mortal.* 

The  idea  that  fierce  or  destructive  creatures  need  only  to  be  sub- 
dued or  disenchanted  to  make  them  kindly,  or  even  to  win  them  to 
marriage,  is  fsmiliar  enough  from  the  story  of  Brynhildr.  An  instruc- 
tive instance  from  North  America  is  the  Dakota  legend  of  two  can- 
nibalistic wives  ^0  wish  to  kill  their  husbands,  but  become  harmless 
when  freed  from  the  spclL  The  phrase  is,  "  He  made  them  good."  * 
There  is  a  very  interesting  parallel  in  the  wild  Armenian  tale  of 
Zoolvisia^  which  also  shows  the  confusion  between  an  immortal  won 
as  a  bride  and  a  mortal  released  from  spells.* 

^  Id  a  variant  reported  by  Campbell  (ii.  274-5),  transformation  is  missing. 
Here  tiie  giil  beheids  the  i^ant  (n^  It  preidously  calted  a  hone)  with  a  ewoid 
and  holds  it  on  the  spinal  marrow  till  this  cools,  in  order  that  the  head  may  not  go 

on  again.  This  is  clearly  the  proper  ending.  It  is  instructive  for  our  present  pur- 
pose to  observe  how  the  idea  that  beheading  releases  from  enchantment  has  affected 
the  catastrophe  in  the  other  version. 

*  Mac  Doiigall,  FdkmtdHtn  TaUs,  ppu  76 ft 

*  See  Coequia,  C^nUtpop*  de  Zmraau,  i.  173  ft;  Hartland,  Legend  of  Perseus, 
Index,  under  external  soul ;  Ralston,  Russian  Folk-Tales,  pp.  84  ff. ;  Curtin,  Russian 
Myths  and  Folk-Tales,  pp.  165  ff. ;  J.  W.  Wolf,  Deutsche  Mdrchen  u.  Sa(^en,  pp. 
87*^  \  Randf  Legends  of  the  Aficmacs^  p.  245  ;  Kobler,  Orient  u.  Occident,  ii.  100- 
103  (JCUinere  Sehrifim,  L  15S-61) ;  Frazer,  GMtm  Bough,  i^,  ii.  296  ff.,  2d  ed., 
1900,  Hi.  35t  ft;  Seklemian,  Tkt  GMm  MaUm  euui  &tkir  Fdk  Totes  and 
Fairy  Stories  told  in  Armenia,  Qeveland  and  New  Yorlc,  1898,  p.  133;  Friis, 
Lappiske  Eventyr  ot^  Folkesagn,  pp.  46,  51. 

*  Cf.  a  similar  confusion  in  Maspons  y  Labrds,  Lo  Rondallayre,  Quentos  popu- 
lars  Catalans,  no.  27,  ii.  104-IO. 

*  S.  R.  Ki^  DoMa  MyihSt  in  Couir»uHout  to  Nbrtlk  Amerieou  EOuotogy^ 
ix.  141-2. 

*  A  king's  son  and  his  companions  follow  an  antelope  into  a  forest,  where  they 
find  a  tent  by  a  fountain.  Within  is  a  table  spread  with  delicious  viands.  The 
prince  does  not  eat  or  drink,  like  his  companions,  but  explores  the  neighborhood 
and  is  dMcked  to  find,  aot  for  from  the  tent»  a  lieap  of  hnman  ■kdetoni.  The 


^  ij  i^uo  Ly  Google 


DisenekoHimmU  by  Duapitaium, 


9 


A  few  other  examples  of  disenchantment  by  decapitation  may  be 
cited  to  show  how  readily  this  feature  attaches  itself  to  almost  any 
jkind  of  tale  of  supernatural  creature. 

In  a  German  taleagirl  hears  night  after  night  a  voice  calling  on  her 
to  rise.  At  last  she  gets  out  of  bed  and  sees  a  woman,  who  asks  her 
to  come  and  free  her.  The  girl  follows  through  a  long  subterranean 
passage,  entering  at  length  a  brilliantly  lighted  hall.  Here  sit  three 
black  men  at  a  table,  writing,  and  on  the  table  lie  two  bright  swords. 
"  Take  one  of  these  swords,"  says  the  woman,  *'  and  cut  off  my  head  : 
so  bin  ich  crlosi."  i  lie  girl  is  about  to  obey,  when  her  brother,  who 
has  followed  her,  interferes.  The  woman  seizes  the  girl  angrily  and 
throws  her  violently  to  the  floor,  so  violently  that  she  becomes  a  heap 
of  ashes.  Then  there  is  a  loud  ncMse,  and  palace  and  all  disappear.^ 

A  cowherd  is  besought  by  a  White  Lady  to  strike  off  her  head, 
'since  he  alone,  she  says,  can  release  her.  He  alleges,  in  excuse^ 
that  he  has  no  axe.  She  fetches  one  with  a  stiver  handle,  but  he 
•  runs  away.  In  another  form  of  the  same  story,  the  White  Lady 
brings  with  her  a  block,  a  broad-axe,  and  a  bunch  of  keys.  She  tells 
the  herd  that  she  is  under  a  baa  (^tferwamcki^  and  begs  him  to  cut 
her  head  off  before  noon,  in  order  to  release  her.  She  promises  hun 
great  treasures.  He  ddays  too  long,  and  she  vanishes,  declaring* 
that  not  for  another  hundred  years  will  one  be  bom  who  can  set  her 
free.*  This  is  an  ordinary  legend  of  a  White  Lady,  the  only  pe> 
culiarity  consisting  in  the  manner  of  disenchantment :  kissing  is  far 
more  common.^  In  another  version  the  White  Lady  conducts  the 
peasant  into  a  hill  and  gives  him  treasure,  which,  however,  disappears 
when  twelve  o'clock  strikes  and  the  blow  has  not  been  dealt.^ 

Disenchantment  by  beheading  is,  by  a  singular  confusion,  intro- 
duced into  a  Swabian  version  of  the  widespread  story  of  the  Thank' 
fid  Dead  Man.   A  bird  flies  to  Karl's  window  with  a  dagger  in  its  * 

food  aad  water  arc  poisooed,  and  all  his  oompaniona  die.  Soon  horsemen  approach  • 

and  pillage  the  dead  men,  the  prince  looking  on  from  a  place  of  concealment. 
The  robber  leader  turns  out  to  be  a  beautiful  virago,  Zoolvisia,  with  whom  he  falls 
in  love.  She  it  was  who  had  enticed  hunters  to  the  spot  in  the  form  of  an  antelope. 
The  youth  visits  Zoolvisia's  castie  and  manages  to  deprive  her  of  the  talisman  on 
iHiich  her  power  depends.  **  Yott  have  omcoiae  me,"  says  Zoolvisia ;  *^  yen  a«s 
brave  and  a  real  hero  worthy  of  me.  No  one  except  you  has  ever  heaid  ny  voice 
and  lived.  Now  my  talisman  is  broken,  and  I  have  become  a  mere  woman.'* 
Thereupon  she  accepts  the  prince  as  her  husl^and.  Seklemian,  T/ic'  Gohkn  MaidtH 
ami  other  Folk  laUs  and  Fairy  Stories  told  in  Armenia^  189^^*  PP'  59  tf- 

*  Knhn,  MSrkitehs  Sagtn  m,  AfSnckim^  no.  94,  pp.  99-100. 

s  Scbambach  u.  Muller,  Niedersdchsische  Sagen  u.  M&rtkm^  no.  10(5,  pp.  77-78w 

•  See  examples  in  Child,  Ballads^  \.  307  ff.,  338,  note,  ii.  502,  504,  iii.  504,  iv.  454, 
v.  214,  290  ;  Schofieid,  Studies  oh  dU  Libtaus  Discomu^  in  Studies  and  Notts, 
tv.  199  ff. 

«  Sthaabach  u.  MliUer*  aa  107,  p.  79. 


Digitized  by  Google 


lO 


yaurmal  of  Ameriam  Folk-Lore* 


beak  and  tells  him  to  cut  off  its  head.  The  bird  has  assisted  him, 
and  Karl  is  unwilling,  but  at  last  he  obeys.  The  head  of  the  bird 
falls  into  the  room ;  the  trunk  flies  away,  and  there  stands  before 
Karl  the  spirit  of  the  merchant  whose  corpse  he  had  ransomed.* 

So  far,  we  have  confined  our  attention,  in  the  main,  to  decapitation 
as  a  means  of  un spelling,  but  we  have  compared  a  few  stories  in 
which  some  other  forms  of  violent  death  have  the  same  effect.  Be- 
heading, then,  is  only  a  special  means  of  putting  to  death  :  the  main 
point  is  to  kill  the  enchanted  body.  Thus  in  the  Irish  Mac  Cool^ 
Faolam,  amd  th£  MmtUaiit,  Faolan  pierces  a  man  with  his  sword  in 
the  darkness.  "  The  man  fell  dead ;  and  then,  instead  of  the  old  man 
that  he  seemed  at  first*  he  rose  up  a  fresh  young  man  of  twen^'- 
two  years."  He  was  Faolan's  uncle,  and  could  not  be  freed  from 
enchantment  till  pierced  with  a  particular  sword,  which  Faolan 
carried' 

Transformation  from  a  dwarf  to  a  man,  as  in  TMe  Turk  and 
Gawain,  occurs  in  an  Austrian  taUv  -Oer  eti&sU  Zwer^,  A  laborer 
gives  a  dwarf  such  a  stroke  in  the  head  that  he  falls  dead ;  but  he 
immediately  becomes  a  beautiful  youth  and  thanks  the  laborer  for 
his  "Erlosung."* 

The  KatkdsarUsdgara  tells  of  a  VidySdhara  who  has  been  com- 
pelled by  a  curse  to  take  the  form  of  a  camel  He  is  to  be  restored 
only  when  he  is  killed  in  that  form  by  a  certain  king,  —  which  hap- 
pens.^ So,  in  the  same  collection,  a  Yaksha  is  doomed  by  a  curse  to 
be  a  lion  till  he  is  killed  by  a  certain  king  with  an  arrow.  This  hap-  . 
pens,  and  he  regains  bis  human  form.* 

The  following  is  perhaps  merely  an  anecdote  of  condign  punish- 
ment after  death,  not  an  instance  of  disenchantment.  A  St^uji  in  the 
VVatthenthal  saw  a  red  bullock,  which  advanced  in  a  threatening 
way.  He  caught  him  by  the  horns  and  forced  him  over  the  brink 
of  a  ravine.  The  bullock  fell  and  was  dashed  to  pieces.  Up  came 
the  spirit  of  another  Senn,  and  thanked  him  for  his  release.  He  had 
masqueraded  in  this  shape  as  a  punishment  for  once  having  thrown 
a  peasant's  bullock  into  this  chasm.* 

1  E.  Mder,  D§uUehe  VotkimUrehtu  mts  S^iwtAen^  no.  42,  p.  1 51.  Cf.  Simrock, 

Dergute  Gerhard  u.  die  dankbaren  Todten,  Bonn,  1856,  p.  57.  On  the  Thank- 
ful Dead,  see  Ilinpe.  Hcrrig'-s  Archiv,  Ixxxi.  141  fi.,  and  Kittrtdg^  •S'/m/Iv/  «md 
Notes  in  Fhilolo^  and  Literature,  viii.  250.  n. 

'  Curtin,  Hero-TaUs^  pp.  495-6.  The  incident  is  really  out  of  place  in  this 
tale,  wbicht  at  tbb  point,  is  a  caae  of  the  attempt  to  lemticitale  dead  warrion  (the 
"Hilda-saga"). 

•  Vernaleken,  Osierreichische  Kinder  If.  HouswUirtktm^  p.  171. 

*  Bk.  xii.  ch.  69,  Tawney,  ii.  141-2. 

•  Pi.  i.  ch.  6,  Tawney,  i.  37. 

*  Von  Alpenbeig,  Dniit^  A^ttm^m,  no.  98,  pp.  96-97. 


L-iyui^uO  by  Google 


Disenekanimeni  by  DecapHaium, 


II 


Often  a  wound  that  is  not  sufficient  to  cause  death  is  enough  to 
effect  a  disenchantment,  so  as  to  make  the  person  who  suffers  it  re- 
turn tu  his  proper  shape.  Indeed,  the  mere  drawing  of  blood  may  be 
all  that  is  required.  So  in  a  story  from  Annam,  a  farmer,  while  cut- 
ting grass,  accidentally  amputates  the  tail  of  a  serpent.  The  snake 
immediately  becomes  a  fine  young  man.^  Again,  in  a  story  from 
Brittany,  a  beautiful  woman  has  been  changed  into  a  turtle.  Two 
men  are  fighting  for  her  hand.  Throwing  herself  between  them  to 
end  the  combat,  she  is  wounded,  and,  as  soon  as  her  blood  flows,  her 
metamorphosis  is  at  an  end.*  In  a  legend  of  Auvergne  a  wicked 
baron  is  condemned  for  his  crimes  to  wander  as  a  hup-gareu  till  a 
Christian  shall  make  his  blood  flow.  Wounded  by  a  woodcutter,  he 
resumes  his  human  form  and  dies  instantly.*  In  a  Lapland  tale  a 
lad  draws  blood  from  the  hand  of  one  of  two  fiairy  maidens  who  are 
dancuig  about  him.  Instantly  the  boatload  of  persons  among  whom 
the  women  have  come  vanishes,  boat  and  all.  Only  the  maiden 
remains^  "  Now  you  must  take  me  to  wife^"  says  she» since  you 
have  drawn  blood  upon  me."  * 

In  a  Gypsy  story  from  Transylvania,  two  wild  geese,  on  being 
shot,  fall  to  the  ground  as  two  beautiful  maidens.^  In  a  Maori 
legend,  the  god  Maui,  in  pigeon-form,  is  hit  with  a  stone,  and  he 
immediately  turns  into  a  man.*  A  precisely  similar  incident  is  found 
in  the  Irish  Wooing  of  Etner :  Derbforgaill,  daughter  of  the  King  of 
Lochlann,  wishing  for  the  love  of  Cuchulinn,  takes  the  form  of  a  bird 
and  flies  to  Ulster,  along  with  one  of  her  maids,  who  is  also  in  bird- 
likeness.  Cuchulinn  wounds  her  with  a  stone  from  a  sling.  Immedi- 
ately both  resume  their  mortal  shape.  The  rest  of  the  saga  does  not 
now  concern  us.^   In  the  Latin      Rebus  Hibemiae  Admirandis,  as 

'  Landes,  ConUs  et  Ldgendes  AnnamiUs^  pp.  12-13.  In  a  Tyrolese  story,  a 
bfkle  accidentally  steps  on  her  snake-husband's  tail  and  crashes  It,  whereupon  he 
becomes  a  handsome  prince :  Schneller,  AfSardUm  u,  Sagen  aus  WMUekt^^  no. 
35,  p.  65  (see  Crane,  Italian  Popular  Tales,  pp.  324-5,  with  the  references). 

•  S^lIIot,  Contts  populaires  de  la  Haute-Bretagne,  [i.]  13-14. 

•  Antoinette  Bon,  Revue  des  Trad.  Pop.^  v.  217-18  (reproduced  by  Sdbillot, 
LUt,  Oral*  de  P Auvergne,  p.  231). 

•  Friis,  Lappiske  Eventyr  og  Folkesagm^  no.  7,  pp.  24-25,  cf.  p.  39, 

•  \''on  WHislocki,  .\firrch^ri  u.  Sa  -en  der  tran^ylvatiischen  Zigeuner,  no.  14,  p.  33. 
In  a  Lithuanian  tale,  St.  Georu;!:  (I iirgis)A'nQd  with  hunting,  sit.sdown  on  a  stone; 
out  comes  a  black  serpent  and  creeps  toward.^  him  ;  he  shoots  her  down  and  she 
iomediatdy  becomes  a  beautifiil  maid,  whom  he  marries ;  Vednenstedt,  My^em^ 
Sagen  urtJ  Li\^<-nden  dir  Zamaittmt  i.  2£9-9o.  Veckcnstedt^s  collection  is  db- 
crerHted  (see  Ka^lowici,  MiiuHm^  V.  121  ff.),  but  this  incident  must  be  aabfttan>  • 
tially  correct. 

•  Builer,  Forty  Years  in  New  Zealand,  London,  1878,  p.  185. 

•  To^mmre  £m£re,  tnmahted  by  Kuno  Meyer,  ArdUe^legkai  Review,  i.  304 
(fame,  mrfsed,  in  Hotl,  CueJMUmt  p^  82).  CI  Zfanmer,  Hanpt^i  Ztsekr^  vaoL 


Digiu^Lu  Ly  Google 


12 


Jowmal  of  Ammean  Folh-Lan. 


well  as  in  xXiQ  Mirabilia  in  Todd's  Irish  Nennius}  there  is  an  account 
of  a  man  who  threw  a  stone  and  brought  down  a  swan.  Running  to 
pick  up  the  bird,  he  found  it  was  a  woman.  She  told  him  that  she 
was  thought  to  have  died,  but  that  really  she  was  carried  off  in  the 
flesh  by  demons.  He  restored  her  to  her  astonished  relatives.  In 
a  German  stoiy,  Hans  cuts  and  slashes  among  a  lot  of  animals  with 
a  sword,  whereupon  th^  are  disenchanted  and  become  mortals.^ 

We  have  already  seen  that  decapitation,  etc.,  must  have  been 
regarded  as  a  slaying  of  the  enchanted  body  (the  beast  or  bird  form) 
and  therefore  as  the  release  of  the  human  shapes  so  that  the  article 
of  the  primitive  creed  which  we  are  studying  has  its  dose  association 
with  the  belief  in  swan-maidens  and  werewolves  and  their  feather- 
garment  or  beast-skin.  The  real  (human)  body  was  thought  of  as 
clad  in  the  enchanted  body  or  covered  by  it.  This  comes  out  with 
perfect  clearness  in  those  stories  in  which  the  enchanted  animal  is 
to  be  opened  or  sldnned,  and  in  which,  when  this  is  done,  the  real 
person  emerges  from  the  skin  or  belly. 

Thus  the  Breton  Pdronic  kills  and  skins  the  enchanted  horse  at 
its  own  request.  He  is  much  surprised  "  de  voir  sortir  de  sa  peau 
un  beau  prince."  ^  In  the  same  collection,  a  black  cat,  born  of  a 
woman,  asks  to  be  placed  on  its  back  on  a  table  and  to  have  its  belly 
ripped  up  with  a  sword.  This  done,  "  il  en  sortait  aussitdt  un  beau 
prince."  * 

217-18;  Kuno  Meyer,  Revut  CelHquty  xi.  437-8;  Nutt's  note  in  Mac  Innes,  Folk 
and  Hero  Taift,  p.  477;  Hardand,  Legend  of  Pentms^  Ui.  50. 

1  An  hexameter  list  of  the  Wonders  of  Ireland,  printed  by  Thomas  Wright, 
Reliquiae  Antiquae,  ii.  1 03- 1 07.  This  is  no.  18  in  the  list  fp.  105),  and  no.  21  in 
tliat  given  in  Todd's  Irish  Nennius,  pp.  210-11.  It  does  not  occur  in  Giraldus 
Cambrensis,  Topographia  Hiberniae^  il  4  ff.  {Qpera^  RolU  Series,  v.  80  fi.),  nor 
in  the  Nofse  ^wthm  Regaie  (see  Ktmo  Mefer,  Fetk-Ltre^  v.  299  ff.).  Ckariy 
by  '  demons*  we  are  to  understand  "  fairies.*'  The  idea  that  persons  thought  to 
be  dead  have  really  been  abducted  by  the  fairies  is  common  in  Ireland  and  else- 
where. It  underlies  the  beautiful  Middle  English  romance  of  Sir  Or/eo,  which, 
as  the  present  writer  has  conjectured,  may  be  based  on  a  combination  of  the  Irish 
tale  of  the  IVo&lmg  of  Eiaim  with  the  stoiy  of  Orpheos  and  Ewydice  {Amerkem 
JoumeU  of  Philology^  vii.  176  ff.;  Studies  and  Notes,  viii.  196,  note  ;  cf.  Brand], 
Paul's  Grundriss,  ii.  630;  Bugge,  Arkiv  far  Norduk  FUolegi%ynL  108;  Hen, 
Spiehnannsbuch,  2d  ed.,  pp.  361-2). 

'  Vemaleken,  Osterreichische  Kinder  u.  Hausmdrcken^  no.  54,  p.  316. 

*  Lnzel,  CoiUes  popuUdres  de  Basee-Breiagne,  IL  66-67 1  c£.  the  modem  Irish 
Story  of  Conn-€da,  translated  by  N.  O'Keamey,  Cambrian  Journal,  ii.  loi  ff., 
185;  (reprinted  in  Folk-Lore  Record^  ii.  188-90^  and  by  Yeats, /rwl  Fedryemd 
Folk  Tales,  pp.  306  ff.)- 

*  The  same,  iii.  166.  So  also  in  Le  Chat  et  Us  deux  SorcOres  0ii.  131X  which 
is  in  effect  another  version  of  Le  Choi  Noir,  Something  similar  may  onee  liave 
stood  in  The  Red  Pony  (Larminie,  West  Irish  Folk-Tedtt^  8I5X  wliere  the  dis- 
enchantment (p.  218)  b  confused  and  distorted. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Disenchantment  by  Decapitation, 


13 


A  Catalan  story  has  this  feature  in  a  singularly  complicated  form. 
A  wolf  who  has  guided  the  cast-off  daughter  of  a  king  to  his  palace, 
gives  her  elaborate  directions  for  his  own  disenchantment.  Accord- 
ingly the  girl  builds  a  fire ;  kills  the  wolf ;  rips  him  up  ;  catches  the 
dove  that  emerges  ;  puts  the  dead  wolf  in  the  fire ;  extracts  an  egg 
from  inside  the  dove;  breaks  it, — and  there  emerges  a  beautiful 
prince,  who  marries  the  girl.^ 

A  queer  variation  of  the  skinning  process  occurs  in  a  Swedish  talc, 
Kidet  ock  Kungcn.  A  kid  has  become  the  trusted  counsellor  of  a 
king.  One  day  he  bids  the  king  behead  him,  turn  his  skin  inside 
out,  and  force  it  on  the  flayed  body  again.  It  was  a  hard  job ;  but 
when  it  was  finished,  there  stood  a  handsome  prince  whom  the  king 
greeted  as  his  son.^  Still  more  elaborate  are  the  directions  given 
by  a  helpful  ass  (a  prince  under  enchantment)  in  a  F^eroe  story : 
"You  must  chop  off  my  head  and  tail,  skin  me,  cut  off  my  legs,  put 
the  head  where  the  tail  was  and  the  tail  in  the  neck,  turn  my  hoofs 
up  toward  my  legs,  and  sew  my  hide  together  about  me  with  the  hair 
inside."'  Here  the  symbolism  of  reversing  a  spell  is  carried  out  in 
a  grotesquely  thoroughgoing  fashion.  Compare,  for  a  part  of  the 
process,  the  well-known  trick  of  turning  one's  coat  inside  out  for 
luck  in  gaming,  or  to  prevent  being  led  astray  by  Robin  Goodfellow 
or  other  errant  sprites.*  Turning  a  somersault  is  a  regular  prelimt* 
naiy  to  transformation  in  Gypsy  stories.*  In  a  legend  d  Derbyshire, 
a  certain  treasure  chest  in  an  underground  passage  "  can  only  be 
fetched  away  by  a  white  horse,  who  must  have  his  feet  shod  the 
wrong  way  about,  and  who  must  approach  the  box  with  his  tail 
foremost."* 

In  the  remarkable  Zulu  tale  ol  Umambot  a  prince  bom  in  the  form 

*  Maspons  y  Labrds,  Lo  Rondallayre^  ii.  104,  110.  This  will  be  nt  once  recog- 
nixed  as  a  variant  of  the  folk-tale  best  known  as  Beauty  and  the  beast.  There 
is  slao  %  focbidden  duunber,  or  cnpbowd,  as  in  Blu€  Btard.  The  dabocate 
<Urectioiis  lor  Ubentiog  the  prince  are  property  dlrectkms  for  putting  an  effectual 
end  to  a  monster  with  a  *' separable  lonl  **  like  Koshchei.  Here,  theii»  as  in  Th* 
Bare-Stripping  Hangman,  we  have  a  composite  Tsce  p.  8,  aboveV 

*  Eva  Wigstrdm,  Sagen  ock  Afvintyr  upptecknade  i  Skane^  p.  xo  (Nyare 
Bi^b^t  vol  T.). 

*  Jakobsen,  Fmr9tk§  F^lkiaagm  ag^  JSvmiyr,  p.  399  (tL  pp.  401, 406^  407X 

*  There  b  a  good  instance  in  Bishop  Corbet's  Iter  Borea/e  (Drydcn,  Afiscellany 
Poems,  1716,  vi.  376;  Corbet's  Poem^.  4th  ed.,  edited  by  Gilchrist.  1807.  p.  191). 
Ct  Tyndale,  Expositiott  0/ the  First  Epistle  0/ St.  John,  Prologue  :  "  They  wander 
as  in  a  mtat,  or  (as  we  say)  led  by  Robin  Goodfellow,  that  they  cannot  come  to 
the  right  way,  no  though  they  turn  their  caps  "  {IVtrks  4f  Tymdaii  and  PHik^  ed. 
RosseU,  1831,  i).  388X 

*  See  Groome,  Gypxv  Folk-Tales^  pp.  l6b  S4, 40^  59 i  M.  KUmo,  Conies  et 
Ugendts  de  Hongrie,  1898,  p.  243. 

*  S.  O.  Addy,  Household  TeUes^  London,  1895,  p.  58. 


Digitized  by  Google 


jfoumal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


of  a  snake  asks  his  young  wife  to  anoint  him  and  to  pull  off  his  snake- 
skin,  when  he  appears  in  his  true  shape.^  The  teller  of  the  tale 
seems  partly  to  have  rationalized  it,  as  if  the  prince  wore  his  snake* 
skin  as  a  disguise.  At  all  eventSr  there  is  very  instructive  confusion 
between  a  prince  in  snake^orm  and  a  prince  concealing  his  true  form 
by  wearing  a  snake-skin,  and  the  close  psychological  connection 
between  the  idea  underlying  the  belief  we  are  discussing  and  that 
which  underlies  the  belief  in  werewolves  and  swan-maidens  comes 
out  very  clearly.  It  does  not  appear  that  Umamba  would  ever  have 
abandoned  or  been  released  from  his  snake-form  if  he  had  not  found 
a  woman  willing  to  marry  him.  Thus  Umamba  connects  itself  with 
The  Frog  Prince^  and  similar  instances  of  disenchantment.  That 
the  animal  skin  is  conceived  of  as  a  covering  to  be  stripped  off  comes 
out  clearly  in  stories  in  which  the  bridegroom  is  enveloped  in  several 
such  skins  and  the  bride  tells  him  to  take  them  off* 

In  an  Armenian  Laic,  Dragon-Child  and  Stm-Child,'^  we  have  a 
clear  case  of  an  enchanted  prince  born  in  monstrous  shape,  half  man 
and  half  dragon,  who,  when  released  from  the  spell,  issues  from  the 
dragon*skin,  which  buists.  WhUe  in  dragon  form  the  prince  had 
been  a  destructive  being,  devouring  a  maiden  every  week  0ike  St. 
George's  dragon).  His  habitation  is  a  dry  well,  and  this  asaociatea 
him  with  the  famOiar  dass  o£  water-stopping  monsters. 

It  would  be  useless,  as  well  as  wearisome^  to  multiply  examples 
further.  Enough  has  been  said  to  make  it  clear  that  both  The  Carl 
9f  CaHish  and  The  Turk  and  Gawam,  whatever  their  dates  may  be^ 
preserve^  in  the  matter  of  disenchantment,  a  naive  and  ancient  super- 
stition, which  may  fairly  claim  universal  currency. 

Gt^fgw  Lymtm  KiUrtdgt* 

*  Callaway,  Nursery  Tales^  Traditions  and  History  of  the  Zulus^  i.  327. 
This  is  ths  mentioned,  witlioat  a  reference,  by  H.  Hmson,  La  ChdUu  Trmdi- 
timulUy  Paris,  1874,  p.  130  (cited  by  Pnto,  BuUeHm  de  Folklore,  i.  334).  Cf.  the 

Roumanian-Gj'psy  tale  of  The  Snake  who  became  the  Kin^s  Son  in  law,  trans- 
lated from  Constantinescu,  Probe  de  Limba  si  Literatura  Tis^anilor  din  Romdnia, 
Bucharest,  1878,  na  3,  pp.  61  ff.,  by  Groomed  GyPsy  Folk- Tales,  pp.  21-24.  Sec 
also  Gismbattista  Basile*s  L9  Serpe,  Pomiatmtrwu,  ii.  5,  ed.  Croc^  i.  309  ft 
(Liebreeht's  tnmslation,  Der  PnUamtroney  1846,  i.  191  ff. ;  J.  E.  TayIor*s,  Tht 
Pentamerone.  2d  ed.,  1850^  pp.  155  & ;  Keightl^,  TaUt  and  Pcpmlar  FiOimUt 
1834,  pp.  185  £f.)- 
■  See  pp.  5-6,  above. 

•  Ktfhler,  Kkbm  SdM/ten,  i.  318,  note  S. 

«  Seklendan,  The  Golden  JUaidm  a$i4  otkir  Fflk  Talu  tmdFttbry  Storiu  UU 
im  Arwumia,  Gevdand  sad  New  York,  1898,  pp.  73, 74> 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  InsHiuiions  m  America,  15 

AFRICAN  INSTITUTIONS  IN  AMERICA, 
r 

1. 

The  g^eat  majority  of  slaves  brought  to  America  were  from  that 
part  of  Africa  which  extends  from  Sierra  Leone  to  the  Congo  River, 
the  Guinea  Coast  In  America,  they  were  distributed  over  aii  area 
reaching  from  Argentina  to  New  England.  About  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  slave  trade  began  to  develop  very 
rapidly,  and  the  number  of  slaves  in  America  grew  very  fast  at  the 
end  of  the  century.  The  West  Indies  formed  a  sort  of  distributing 
point  whence  slaves  were  procured  for  New  England,  Mexico,  and 
the  Spanish  Main  in  return  for  products  of  those  places.  In  1780, 
besides  the  1,500,000  whites  of  New  England,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  43,000 
o^ro  slaves ;  Massachusetts  had  lo^ooo,  Rhode  Iskuid,  5000^  Con- 
necticut, 600a  and  New  Hampshire^  4000  slaves.^ 

In  New  England  the  slaves  were  allowed  considerable  freedom,  and 
were  given  hdidays  on  certain  days  for  recreation  and  amusement 
One  ol  these  days  was  election  day,  when  the  whole  community 
took  a  holiday  and  gathered  in  the  towns  to  vote.  These  d^s  ii 
relaxation  were  made  the  occasion  for  a  pompous  and  ceremonious 
parade  by  the  negroes.  They  decked  themselves  out  in  striking  or 
fantastic  costumes,  and  on  horseback  or  on  foot  accompanied  their 
"governor"  through  the  streets.  The  parade  included  an  accom- 
paniment of  hideous  music,  and  was  followed  by  a  dinner  and  dance 
in  some  commodious  hall  hired  for  the  purpose.'  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, the  dinner  and  dance  were  not  preceded  by  the  parade.  The 
central  figure  in  these  functions  was  the  "  governor,"  who  was  a 
person  of  commanding  importance,  Just  who  this  person  was  and 
what  the  origin  of  these  customs  was,  writers  have  left  in  doubt. 
It  has  been  said  that  they  were  the  representatives  of  the  kings  of  the 
African  tribes ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  thought  that  "  the 
negroes,  having  no  voice  in  political  affairs,  naturally  enough  fell 
into  the  curious  habit  of  holding  elections  of  their  own,  after  the 
manner  of  their  white  masters  ; "  ^  and  some  have  gone  so  far  as  to 
say  that  the  election  of  a  "governor"  was  an  annual  performance 

*  Stiles,  Diary,  vol.  ii.  p.  410.  Fowler,  Hist,  of  Durham,  p.  i6r,  quoting  from  a 
letter  of  the  Governor  of  Coanecticut  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
Connectlcat  had  191,373  niiitet  and  6444  slaves  In  1774. 

*  The  best  singia  collection  of  matcflal  on  this  snbject  It  by  Senator  O.  H.  Phtt, 
on  the  Negro  Governors,  in  New  Haven  Col.  Hist.  Soc,  Pap.  vol.  vi.  The  snme 
subject  is  treated  in  Steiner,  Negro  Slavery  in  Conn. ;  F.  C.  Norton,  Conn.  Mag, 
voL  v.;  J.  D.  Sbelton,  Harp.  Man.  Mag.,  March,  1894. 

*  N.H,  Cot,  Hist,  S«e,       voL  vL  p.  318. 


Digitized  by  Google 


i6 


yaumal  of  Ameruan  Folh^Lore. 


in  imitation  of  the  annual  election  of  the  whites.  It  has  been  thought 
also  that  these  "governors  "  were  ekcted  to  preside  over  the  whole 
body  of  negroes  in  the  State,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that 
this  was  so ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  evidence  does  show  that  their 
jurisdiction  was  local  rather  than  over  the  whole  State. 

Without  going  into  the  question  of  whether  the  negroes  really  had 
these  so-called  inaugural  parades  before  the  white  people  used  them,^ 
it  may  be  said  that  these  customs  of  the  negroes  were  a  direct  sur- 
vival of  their  practices  in  Africa.  In  their  own  land  they  had  elective 
kings  or  chiefs  chosen  from  among  descendants  of  royal  blood,  and 
many  practice^  ol  a  judicial  and  social  nature  which  bear  a  strong 
resemblance  to  those  found  among  them  in  America.^  As  time  went 
on  these  customs  were  greatly  modified,  partly  by  association  with 
different  customs,  but  chiefly  through  the  mere  action  of  time  and 
the  failure  of  fresh  arrivals  from  Africa,  until  finally  the  meetings 
became  little  more  than  an  opportunity  for  a  good  time:  The  evidence 
which  has  been  preserved  contams  some  contemporary  records,  but 
the  great  mass  of  it  is  recollections  recorded  long  after  the  events 
0n  some  cases  over  sixty  years),  and  is  of  little  value  by  itsell  These 
recollections  are  interesting,  however,  and  aid  us  with  the  help  of 
more  definite  material  in  forming  a  picture  of  the  by-gone  practices, 
which  began  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  ceased 
about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth. 

A  gravestone  stood  in  the  burial  ground  of  Norwich,  bearing  the 
following  inscription :  "  In  memory  of  Boston  Trowtrow,  Governor 
of  the  African  t  ribe  in  th  is  town,  who  died  1 772,  aged  66. "  *  Another 
case  on  record  is  that  of  Cuff,  who  on  May  Ii,  1776,  at  Hartford* 
resigned  the  governorship  in  the  following  words :  "  I,  Governor 
Cuff  of  the  niegro's  in  the  province  of  Connecticut,  do  resign  my 
govern mentshipe  to  John  Anderson,  niegor  man  to  governor  Skene. 
And  I  hope  that  you  will  obey  him  as  you  have  done  me  for  this  ten 
years  past,  when  colonel  Willis'  niegor  dayed  I  was  the  next.  But 
being  weak  and  unfit  for  that  office  do  resign  the  said  government- 
shipe  to  John  Anderson."  *  The  manifesto  of  the  new  governor 
follows:  "I,  John  Anderson,  having  the  honor  to  be  appointed  gov- 
ernor over  you  I  will  do  ray  uttermost  endeavor  to  serve  you."  The 
appointment  of  a  slave  of  a  British  officer  on  parole  in  the  town  led 
to  some  uneasiness,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate. 

1  N,  H,  CoL  Hist,  Soc,  Pt^»  voL  vi.  p.  320.  Senator  Phitt  thinks  the  inaugural 
pande  of  the  whites  comneneed  about  1830  In  Connecdcut. 

*  Details  may  be  found  in  Spencer,  S^it^kgy,  Afiriemm  iSlsMr,  Table  a),  35,  a& 

*  Caulkins,  Hist.  Nor.  p.  330. 

*  Hinman,  Am.  Rev.  p.  31  et  stq.  This  abdication  is  d!;^Iicated  in  the  case  of 
King  Cseiar  at  Durham.  N»  H,  CoL  Hht*  Soe»  Pap*  voL  ri.  p.  326. 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  Institutions  in  America, 


Their  report  of  the  ejamination  of  the  persons  concerned  makes  It 
clear  that  Cuff  bad  been  advised  by  some  of  the  negroes  to  resign  to 
Anderson,  and  that  he  had  appointed  the  latter  without  an  election. 
On  the  other  hand,  Anderson  stated  that  he  had  told  the  negroes 
that  if  they  would  elect  him  governor  he  would  treat  them  to  the 
amount  of  twenty  dollars,  and  that  he  had  done  it  as  a  matter  of  sport. 
Cuff  appointed  him  because  some  of  the  negroes  declared  that  they 
would  not  have  a  Tory  for  governor. 

From  these  two  documents  it  is  probable  that  there  was  a  gov- 
ernor in  Norwich  and  Hartford  at  the  same  time,  for  Cuff  says  that 
he  has  been  governor  for  ten  years,  and  succeeded  another  man  on 
death.  In  the  next  place  it  appears  that  Cuff  resigned  on  the  very 
day  of  so-called  "  election,"  so  that  it  is  clear  that  he  did  not  know  of 
any  cause  why  there  should  be  an  election  on  that  day.  The  cause 
of  his  resignation  was  his  feebleness  and  the  desire  of  many  for  a 
younger  man,  who  co|ild  give  them  more  fun.  If  there  was  no  elec- 
tion in  1776,  there  was  none  the  year  before,  and  Cuff,  who  had  been 
elected  in  1766,  was  expected  to  hold  bis  office  until  death; 

In  Derby,  Tobias  Bassett,  the  grandson  of  an  African  prince,  was 
governor,  and  bis  son  after  him  ;^  the  latter  "was  of  the  very  finest 
physical  mould,  being  over  six  feet  tall  and  admirably  proportioned. 
He  was,  besides,  ready  of  speech  and  considered  quite  witty."  In 
Seymour,  "  Juba  served  a  number  of  years,  and  bis  sons,  Ndson  and 
Wilson,  were  likewise  honored,  Wilson  .  .  .  being  the  last  governor, 
a  few  years  before  our  late  CWSi  War."  * 

To  proceed  now  to  the  secondary  evidence:  Professor  Fowler  says 
the  negroes  "  had  their  holidays  and  amusements ;  they  would 
statedly  or  occasionally  appoint  a  king,  who  was  decorated  with  some 
of  the  emblems  of  royalty.  One  of  these  kings  the  present  writer 
recollects  to  have  seen.  He  had  the  appropriate  name  of  Caesar, 
and  held  his  court  on  the  west  side  of  the  town."*  "The  person 
they  selected  for  the  office  in  question  was  usually  one  of  much 
note  among  themselves,  of  imposing  presence,  strength,  firmness 
and  volubility,  who  was  quick  to  decide,  ready  to  command,  and  able 
to  flog.  If  he  was  inclined  to  be  a  little  arbitrary,  belonged  to  a 
master  of  distinction,  and  was  ready  to  pay  freely  for  diversions  — 
these  were  circumstances  in  his  favor.  .  .  .  The  precise  sphere  of  his 
power  we  cannot  ascertain.  Probably  it  embraced  matters  and  things 
in  general  among  the  blacks,  — morals,  manners,  and  ceremonies * 

>  Letter  of  Hon.  Ebea  D.  Bassett,     H,  Ctl  HUi,  Soc*  P«^,  vol  vL  p.  331. 

>  N.  H.  Cot.  HitL  Soc.  Pa^*  voL  vL  p.  330;  **  Quosh  held  the  office  for  maoy 

years ; "  p.  334. 

*  Hist.  Durham^  p.  161  ;  Hist.  Status  of  tht  Slaves  in  Conn.^  p.  16. 
<  Stuart,  Hartford  itt  the  Olden  Titne,  p.  38. 
voL.xvni.-->N0.68.  3 


Digitized  by  Google 


i8 


yomnal  of  American  Foik-Lan. 


"it  kept  the  blacks  in  good  order,  while  it  at  the  same  time  inno- 
cently gratified  their  fondness  for  enjoyment."  *  In  their  courts 
they  decided  cases  "generally  with  a  leaning  towards  severity/* 
whipping  being  a  common  punishment.^ 

The  last  cases  show  the  presence  of  the  element  of  heredity  in  the 
elections,  and  establish  the  probability  that  the  elections  were  not 
annual,  and  were  of  an  African  derivation.  We  have  the  names  of  five 
governors  at  Hartford,  and  the  likelihood  that  there  were  governors 
at  Huntington,  Middletown,  Wallingford,  and  Farmington,  besides 
those  mentioned  herein.*  There  is  evidence  that  the  institution  was 
present  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire ;  *  in  Rhode  Island, 
where  the  negro  population  was  densest,  it  was  closely  observed. 
Not  long  after  the  Revolution  the  negro  population  began  to  decrease^ 
owing  to  the  removal  of  slaves  to  the  South,  and  the  lack  of  fresh 
importations  caused  the  institution  to  die  out ;  indeed,  the  circum> 
stances  in  the  case  of  Cuff  show  that  it  was  even  then  on  the  wane ; 
the  customs  attendant  upon  it  lasted  longest  where  the  negro  popu- 
lation was  largest  and  communication  with  the  West  Indies  most 
direct,  namely,  in  New  Haven  and  Rhode  Island. 

The  two  attendant  circumstances  which  observers  never  failed  to 
recall  were  the  "election"  parade  and  ball.  They  could  not  have 
failed  to  impress  people  in  those  times.  "  His  parade  days  were 
marked  by  much  that  was  showy,  and  by  some  things  that  were 
ludicrous.  A  troop  of  blacks,  sometimes  an  hundred  in  number, 
marching  sometimes  two  and  two  on  foot,  sometimes  mounted  in 
true  military  style  and  dress  on  horseback,  escorted  him  through  the 
streets.  After  marching  to  their  content,  they  would  retire  to  some 
large  room  which  they  would  engage  for  the  purpose,  for  refresh- 
ments and  deliberation.  This  was  all  done  with  the  greatest  re- 
gard for  cerenKmy."*^    This  function  occurred  annually ;  but  it  was 

*  Stuart,  Hartford,  43  et  seq. 

*  Ibid.  The  following  is  quoted  by  Piatt  from  a  Rhode  Island  source,  but,  no 
reference  having  been  given,  it  is  not  possible  to  verify  it:  '*  The  jndidal  depart* 
ment  consisted  of  the  Governor,  who  sometimes  sat  in  judgment  in  cases  of  appeal. 

The  other  maen'strates  and  judges  tried  all  charges  brought  against  any  ne^ro,  by 
another,  or  by  a  white  person.  Masters  complained  to  the  covctnor  and  m.i£;i?- 
trates  of  the  delinquencies  of  their  slaves,  who  were  tried,  condemned  and  punished 
at  the  discretion  of  the  court  The  punishment  was  somettmes  quite  severe  and 
what  made  it  die  more  effectual  was  that  it  was  the  judgment  of  their  peers;  people 
of  their  own  rank  and  color  had  condemned  them,  and  not  their  masters,  by 
an  arbitrary  mandate.  The  punishment  was  by  bastinado.  .  .  .  Execution  was 
done  by  the  high  sheriff  or  his  deputy  —  and  what  made  it  more  salutary  in  re- 
straining the  immorality.  Infidelity,  petty  larceny,  or  other  delinquencies,  was  the 
•neera  and  contempt  of  dieir  equals.**       M*  C»L  Hist.  Sfc.  Pop.  vol.  in.  p.  334. 

*  Stuart,  Hartford,  pp.  39,  41,  37- 

*  N.  H.  Col.  Hist.  Sac.  Pap.  vol.  vi.  p.  321. 

*  Stuart,  Hart/ordt  p.  38 ;  Caulkins,  Norwich^  p.  ;^3o.  "  At  dinner  the  Governor 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  InstUuHons  in  America, 


19 


this  which  at  Hartford  led  people  to  suppose  that  the  election  was 
annual,  because  the  arrival  of  many  outsiders  there  on  the  annual 
election  day  made  a  fitting  occasion  for  the  parade  and  dance  over 
which  the  governor  presided. 

How  easy  it  was  to  confuse  the  election  and  the  parade  and  ball, 
can  be  seen  from  the  record  in  French's  Journal :  ^  "  The  next  day  the 
negroes,  according  to  annual  custom,  elected  a  governor  for  them- 
selves, when  John  Anderson,  Gov.  Skene's  black  man,  was  chosen ; 
at  night  he  gave  a  supper  and  ball  to  a  number  of  his  electors,  who 
were  very  merry  and  danced  till  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning." 
French  was  one  of  the  Ticuiuieioga  piisoncrb  at  Hartford,  and  his 
record  shows  that  the  gathering  and  ball  of  the  negroes  was  known 
in  the  locality  as  "  annual  election,"  although  it  is  clear  that  there 
was  neither  a  forecasted  nor  actual  election  at  tiie.time. 

Considerable  search  has  failed  to  reveal  any  very  satisfactory 
material  relating  to  these  institutions  in  the  South.  The  laws 
repressing  meetings  of  negroes  appear  to  have  been  severe.*  The 
following  account  of  an  African  "wizard"  in  Georgia  b  interesting 
and  importanti  but  the  fact  that  he  is  said  to  have  operated  **  many 
years  ago "  may  detract  somewhat  from  its  value.  An  old  Guinea 
negro,  a  horse^rainer  and  hanger-on  of  sporting  contests,  "datmed 
to  be  a  conjurer,  profes^g  to  have  derived  the  art  from  the  Indians 
after  his  arrival  in  this  country  from  Africa."  The  only  use  he  made 
of  this  valuable  accomplishment  was  '*in  controlling  riotous  gath- 
erings "  of  negroes,  and  "  in  causing  runaway  slaves  to  return,  fore- 
telling the  time  they  would  appear  and  give  themselves  up."  He 
would  get  the  master  and  overseers  to  pardon  their  erring  slaves.' 
This  shows  a  powerful  control  in  this  man  over  his  fellows,  and  one 
that  could  be  put  to  good  use  if  properly  directed.  The  basis  of 
his  power  undoubtedly  lay  in  some  combination  in  the  mores  of  the 
negroes  themselves.  Traces  of  this  individual  power  seem  to  be 
present  in  the  Gabriel  revolt  in  Virginia  in  1800,  and  in  the  Nat 
Turner  revolt  at  a  later  date.*  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the 
negroes  would  have  submitted  to  a  form  of  conjuration  derived  from 
Indians.  The  great  prosperity  of  the  South  came  after  the  period 
of  active  importation  of  slaves,  so  that  in  recent  times  there  was  not 

was  seated  at  the  head  of  the  long  table,  under  trees  or  an  nrbor,  with  the  unsuccess- 
ful candidate  nt  his  right  and  his  lady  at  his  left.  The  afternoon  was  s|)ent  in  dan- 
cing, games  of  quoits,  athletic  exercise."  Updike,  Hist.  0/ the  Episcopal  church 
im  Xkodi  IsiantL,  p.  1 78. 

1  N.  H.  Col.  Hist.  S9C.  PtiP*  voL  ri.  p.  3291.  The  reocml  is  the  same  date  as  the 
resignation  of  Cuff. 

■  Brackett,  Negroes  in  Maryland,  p.  100 ;  Gayarr^,  Louisiana^  p.  539^ 

•  yourn.  Am.  Folk-Lore^  vol.  xiv.  p.  177. 

«  CakmAtr  0/  Vifgimia  St.  Pap. ;  Dicwiy,  Swikaw^iom  Insmmetiom* 


Digitized  by  Google 


30 


yamrmai  of  Amtrkan  Folk'Lore, 


a  large  number  of  negroes  with  the  practices  of  Africa  fresh  in  their 
minds.^ 

n. 

In  Brazil  and  the  West  Indies  the  slave  trade  lasted  longer  than  it 
did  in  New  England,  especially  in  Brazil  and  Cuba,  where  the  intro- 
duction of  negroes  from  Africa  did  not  cease  until  after  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  There  is  an  abundance  of  contemporary 
evidence  showing  the  condition  of  the  negroes  in  these  colonies,  and 
the  government,  in  Cuba  at  least,  legally  recognized  and  made  use  of 
their  African  customs  as  a  part  of  the  local  police  and  as  a  means  of 
controlling  the  negro  population.  "  The  different  nations  are  marked 
out  in  the  Colonies  both  by  the'  master  and  the  slaves.  Each  tribe 
or  people  has  a  king  elected  out  of  their  number,  whom  they  rag 
out  with  much  savage  grandeur  on  the  holidays  on  which  they  are 
permitted  to  meet  At  these  courtly  festivals  (usually  held  every 
Sunday  and  feast  day)  nmnbers  of  free  and  enslaved  negroes  assem- 
ble to  do  homage  with  a  sort  of  grave  merriment ;  one  would  doubt 
whether  it  was  done  In  ridicule  or  memory  of  their  former  condition.'*  * 

The  fantastic  parades  took  place  in  all  parts  of  Cuba,  in  the  towns 
and  cities  and  on  the  plantations.  The  favorite  times  for  the  parades 
were  Carnival  and  £1  dia  de  los  reyes,  or  twelfth  day.  This  is  a 
description  of  £1  dia  de  los  reyes  at  Gumes  in  1844:  **  Almost  un- 
limited  liberty  was  given  to  the  negroes.  Each  tribe,  having  elected 
its  king  and  queen,  paraded  the  streets  with  a  flag,  having  its  name- 
and  the  words  Viva  Isabelkit  with  the  arms  of  Spain,  painted  on  it 
Their  majesties  were  dressed  in  the  extreme  of  the  fashion,  and 
were  very  ceremoniously  waited  on  by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
the  court,  one  of  the  ladies  holding  an  umbrella  over  the  head  of  the 
queen.  They  bore  their  honors  with  that  dignity  which  the  negroes 
love  so  much  to  assume." '  Three  of  these  tribes  paraded  at  Guines, 
and  an  athletic  negro  in  fantastic  dress  accompanied  the  procession, 
performing  a  wild  dance  and  all  sorts  of  contortions  *  Here  is  one  at 
Havana  in  1856:  the  negroes  were  free  by  liw  until  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  ;  they  decked  themselves  out  in  the  oddest  kinds  of  cos- 
tumes and  paraded  the  streets,  screeching  out  the  songs  of  their 
nations  to  the  music  of  rattles,  tin  pans,  and  tambourines  ;  one  had  "  a 
genuine  costume  of  a  king  of  the  Middle  Ages,  a  very  proper  red, 

^  Cf  Du  Pratz,  Louisiana,  vol.  ii.  p.  255.  The  okl  n^;roet  tended  to  break 
down  the  superstition  of  the  new  negroes. 

*  LiHers from  tk$  Havana,  during  thi  Year  1820,  p.  21.  There  Is  « tranelaHmi 
of  these  letten  in  H«ber,4^tfyip«w  CM^imdor  title  ^  LOtru  mria 

Havane,-^^.  57-60. 

*  Wurdiman,  Notes  on  Cuba,  p.  83. 

*  Ibid.  Dr.  Wiurdiman  spent  three  winters  in  Cuba,  and  his  work  seems  care- 
fui  and  aocmate. 


Digitized  by  Go 


African  InsiUuiums  in  Ameriea* 


21 


close  coat,  velvet  vest  and  a  magnificent  gilt  paper  crown.  This  negro, 
who  was  enormously  tall,  and  had  a  tolerably  good-looking  head, 
gave  his  hand  gravely  to  a  sort  of  feminine  blackamoor  who  repre- 
sented some  queen  or  other.  He  walked  with  a  deliberate,  majestic 
step,  never  laughed,  and  seemed  to  be  reflecting  deeply  on  the  gran- 
deur of  his  mission  to  this  world."* 

After  the  parade  the  negroes  proceeded  to  their  hall  These  rfr> 
unions  on  Sundays  and  festivals  were  called  Cabildos,  and  were  known 
under  the  distlncthre  name  ol  the  tribe,  Cabildo  de  Aran,  Cabildo 
de  Congo,  Cabildo  de  Lucumi.'  The  laws  gave  the  slaves  eertaia 
hours  and  parts  of  certain  days  for  amusement  and  recreation,  and 
they  gathered  in  these  halls  to  enjoy  themselves  m  their  own  way 
and  to  practice  their  customs.  One  custom  followed  upon  another, 
and  when  a  large  body  was  gathered  together  some  system  of  con- 
trol was  necessary  and  they  inevitably  fell  back  on  their  own  devices. 
**  In  the  houses  which  fm  the  rampart,  to  the  right  and  left  of  the 
main  gate  of  Havana,  the  negroes  assemble  to  dance  Sundays  and 
feast  days.  Each  different  nation  has  its  Cabildo  or  chapter ;  the  meet* 
ingisattended by afrightf ul  uproar.  Oldand young,  manand woman, 
even  the  spectators  follow  the  movements  of  the  dance.  Without, 
the  sounds  of  the  tamtam,  of  the  bamboula,  the  noise  of  the  kettles, 
animate  those  who  have  been  imable  to  find  a  place  in  the  dance 
hall.  The  mirth  of  these  poor  slaves  is  very  open  ;  there  are  few  dis- 
putes amont^  them.  A  master  readily  gives  permission  to  his  ne- 
groes to  gather  at  the  cabildo,  unless  they  are  inclined  to  be  wild."^ 

Frederika  Bremer  spent  some  time  in  Cuba  in  185 1.  She  was 
curious  to  learn  about  the  negroes,  and  she  wrote  of  them  and  the 
island  in  a  sympathetic  way.  She  visited  several  of  their  cabildos  at 
Havana.  She  learned  that  many  of  the  slaves  had  been  princes 
and  chiefs,  and  that  their  fellow  tribesmen  on  the  plantations  showed 
them  great  respect  and  obedience.*  The  cabildo  of  the  Lucumis  was 

^  Beauvallet,  Rachel  in  the  New  Worlds  p.  363  ff. ;  Marmier,  Cartas  sobre  Amer- 
ica^ vol,  ii.  pp.  39-56,  "  El  gefe  adomado  con  el  gran  penacho  de  plumas  hace  mil 
contorsiones.**  This  person  performed  the  so-called  devil's  dance:  **£!  diablito, 
d  acgre  vcstido  ridfeulameiite  a  modo  de  mannarracho  d  aiteqoia,  que  el  <fia  dc 
Reyttandaporbicalles  con  su  cabildo,  daodo  brincos  y  haciendo  piruetas,  aSgimat 
vezes  con  un  mufleco  de  la  misma  figura  y  nombre."  —  Dice,  de  Vms  CuboHM, 

•  Maddon,  Poems  by  a  Ulave;  word  "  Cabildo  "  in  Glossary. 

*  Masse,  Cuba  et  la  Havatu^  p.  369.  Cabildo.  —  "  Reunion  de  negros  y  negras 
htmUt  en  caaas  dcstfnadaa  al  efecto  losdlaa  featfvoa,  en  que  tocan  sot  atabalet 
d  tambores  y  demas  instrumentos  nacionales,  cantan  y  bailan  en  confusloia  y 
des<5rden  con  un  rnido  infern.il  y  eterno,  sin  intermision.  Reunen  fondosyfor- 
man  una  especie  de  sociedad  de  pura  diversion  y  socorro,  con  su  caja,  Capataz, 
Mayordomo,  Rey,  Retnas  (sin  jurisdiction).  Cada  Nacioa  dene  su  Cabildo:^  — 
Diet,  dg  Vuis  OaamM, 


Digitized  by  Google 


22 


ycrnmed  of  Ameruam  Folh-Lon. 


held  in  a  room  large  enough  for  one  hundred  people.  At  one  end 
there  was  a  throne  with  a  canopy  over  it,  and  on  the  wall  above  a 
large  crown  was  painted  The  throne  contained  seats  for  the  king 
and  queen,  and  in  front  thecuitoniary  dancing  went  on,  to  the  sound 
of  drums,  gourds  filled  with  stones,  and  heating  of  sticks, — all  of 
which  made  a  very  great  din.  The  cahildo  was  governed  by  one  or 
two  queens,  but  the  cabildo  elected  its  king^  who  managed  the  finan- 
cial affairs  of  the  tribe  and  had  a  secietaiy  and  master  of  ceremo- 
nies for  assistants.  Here  too  there  was  a  very  conspicuous  figure  in 
fantastic  dress,  before  whom  all  made  way,  who  with  many  contor- 
tions danced  up  to  welcome  such  visitors  as  were  allowed  to  enter. 
The  Cabildo  de  Congo  had  two  very  fine-looking  queens.^ 

In  Matanzas,  on  Sunday  afternoons,  flags  on  high  staffs  pointed 
out  the  places  about  town  where  the  negroes  gathered  to  indulge 
in  their  national  dances.  The  meetings  were  under  the  protection 
of  the  civil  authorities.  Good  order  generally  prevailed  ;  they  were 
governed  by  a  king  and  queen,  who  had  great  influence  and  could 
stop  the  vicious  habits  of  their  subjects.  "  Complaints  made  to  him 
of  the  idle  or  vicious  habits  of  any  particular  individual,  not  infre- 
quently through  his  remonstrances,  correct  the  evil."  * 

In  Cuba  the  practice  of  African  customs  undoubtedly  began  early 
*  in  the  eighteenth  century  at  least  ;  so  that  with  the  great  increase  of 
African  ne^^^roes  due  to  the  removal  of  restrictions  on  the  slave  trade 
at  the  end  of  the  century',  it  became  necessary  to  regulate  the  cabildos. 
The  number  of  the  negroes  had  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
seemed  dangerous  to  allow  them  to  gather  in  large  masses  without 
any  restraint,  and  they  used  these  meetings,  too,  for  practising  some 
forms  of  fetishism  and  mourning  for  dead  which  were  at  variance 
with  the  attempts  being  made  to  Christianize  them.  The  use  <tf 
drink  at  the  cabildos  was  another  evil  that  had  to  he  forbidden,  as  it 
seemed  beyond  the  power  of  the  chiefs. 

These  regulatbns  first  appeared  in  the  Bando  de  buen  gobiemo 
of  Captain->Genend  Luis  de  las  Casas,  in  1792.  The  frequency  of 
daborate  street  parades  was  very  much  restricted,  and  also  visits 
to  the  houses  of  the  chiefs.  The  Spanish  local  police  officers  and 
magistrates  were  ordered  to  communicate  the  prohibitions  of  the  law 
to  the  chiefs,  with  strict  orders  to  execute  them,  and  heavy  fines  were 
placed  upon  offenders.  Dances  after  the  fashion  of  Africa  were  al- 
lowed on  feast  days  only,  from  ten  to  twelve,  and  from  three  in  the 
afternoon  to  eight  at  night.* 

*  Homes  of  the  New  IVorld^  vol  iii.  pp.  183-185  ;  Davey,  Cu^,  pp.  140-142. 

*  Wurdiman,  JM*t  m  Cuka,  p.  114* 

«  Bando  de  buen  gobiemo,  1792.  Articuloi,  8,  9,  10,  36,  37,  38.  Art.  8.— 
Menos  se  pennitiri  i  los  ncgiot  de  Guin^i  qae  en  las  Casas  de  soa  Cabildos, 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


African  InsHiuiums  in  America, 


23 


The  greatest  danger  connected  with  these  gatherings  was  in  the 
presence  of  free  negroes,  and  heavier  fines  were  placed  on  infractions 
by  them.  These  regulations  sufficed  for  the  period  between  1792 
and  1820,  but  in  the  stormy  period  which  began  at  that  time  it  became 
customary  to  greatly  restrict  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  in  this  re- 
spect, although  it  is  probable  that  the  negroes  in  the  cities  always 
enjoyed  more  latitude  in  this  matter  than  their  fellows  in  the  coun- 
try. However,  in  the  legislation  of  1842  and  1843,  when  it  was  the 
purpose  of  the  government  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  slaves, 
special  attention  was  given  to  this  point,  and  masters  in  the  country 
were  required  to  allow  their  slaves  to  have  **  el  baile  conocido  con 
el  nombTe  de  tambor/'  on  feast  days  at  customary  hours,  under  the 
care  of  the  Mayoralea.^ 

In  St.  Lticia,  as  late  as  1844,  the  negroes  had  ''societies"  for 
dancing,  which  once  had  a  political  character ;  each  society  had  three 
kings  and  three  queens,  who  were  elected  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
members.  The  first  or  senior  king  and  queen  appeared  only  on 
solemn  occasions.   Any  member  guilty  of  improper  conduct  was 

leranten  altares  de  Nuestros  Santos  para  los  bailes  que  forman  al  mo  de  sa 
tierra :  cuya  prohibicion  intimaida  los  Comisarios  sin  perdida  de  tiempo  A  los 
capatices  de  cada  Nacion ;  .  .  .  "  Art.  9.  —  "  los  Comisarios  intimardn  tambien 
i.  los  capatices  de  estos  Oibildos,  que  en  lo  adelante  con  ninguno  motivo,  ni  pre- 
tezto,  condwcan,  6  pennitan  condudr  i.  dios  los  cadaveres  de  Negrostpaia  hacer 
bailes  6  Ilantos  al  use  do  SO  tiem;  **  •  .  . 

Cafiataz ;  "se  aplica  con  frequencia  y  principalmcnte  entre  la  gente  de  color 
y  vulgar  de  la  parte  occidental  i.  cualquiera  persona  que  tiene  alguna  empresa, 
establicimiento,  cuadrilla,  &c.,  que  necesita  de  subalternos."  —  Pichardo,  Dice. 
Prov.  de  Vawts  Cuhanas, 

A  noted  Cuban  lawyer  and  author  writes  as  lollowa  about  these  customs  in 
Cuba : — 

**  Ltis  reinas  y  capataces  de  los  cabildos  con  sus  plumas  y  quitasoles,  y  aquel 
aturdimiento  de  inCelices  esclavos  que  eran  menos  infelices  por  la  proteccidn  de  los 
leyes  y  la  presencia  de  otros  de  sns  sem^antes  ya  libres,  7  la  esperanza  de  serlo 
algun  dia,  ofrecfa  un  cuadro  interesante  en  consideradones.   La  mayor  parte  de 

las  casas  de  !a  Hahana  se  qucdaban  sin  servidumbre  y  sus  hahitantcs  se  resig- 
naban,  como  en  los  tiempos  de  Roma  antiqua,  k  ser  sus  propios  servidores  un 
dia  del  aflo. 

Cu^      d  origen  de  esa  coatambre  que  ha  llegado  basta  nuestros  dias?  No 

lohepodido  averiguar  como  ooncedte:  todas  las  disposidones  que  he  vistose 

han  rfducido  .1  sancionarla  como  existente :  deduzco  por  lo  tanto  que  los  negros 
que  vieron  pedir  aguin-ildo  A  la  tropa  el  dia  de  Reyes  con  pitos,  tambores  y 
cometos  la  incitaron.  Las  asociaciones  6  cabildos  negros  eran  una  concesidn  i. 
los  negros  afrlcanos  que  se  establecfui  con  oonodmiento  y  antorisaci<Sn  del 
gobierno."  Antonio  Badliller  y  Morales,  Z.<7j  Negros,  pp.  114-115.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  the  Creole  negroes,  or  those  born  in  the  ishmd,  took  no  part  in  these 
demonstrations  of  the  raw  African  negroes;  they  looked  upon  these  practices 
with  contempt,  or  had  their  own  meetings  and  other  functions. 
I  Bando  de  buen  golrierao,  184s,  Art  51.  R^baeato  de  esdavos,  1843,  Art.  23. 


.  J       Ly  Google 


24 


yaumal  of  Amnrium  Foibdjire* 


censured  at  the  meetings  by  the  king.  The  attendance  of  the  women 
was  more  regular  than  that  of  the  men.*  * 

In  Brazil  "  the  negroes  brought  their  languages  and  usages,  which 
were  found  as  original  as  on  the  coast  of  Africa."*  The  patriarchal 
feeling  remained  very  strong.  The  tribes  seemed  to  be  families, 
considering  the  prince  as  the  father ;  the  tie  never  died.  "  These 
princes  are  frequently  seen  sitting  on  a  stone  in  the  street,  surrounded 
by  a  crowd  who  come  to  them  for  judgment  At  the  comer  ol  the 
Travessa  de  S.  Antonio  is  a  stone  or  post,  for  many  years  the  throne 
of  an  African  prince  from  Angola.  .  .  .  The  natives  of  Congo  elect 
a  king  among  themselves^  to  whose  decrees  they  submit  in  a  simthur 
manner."  * 

The  coffee  carriers  are  reported  to  have  been  extremely  well  oi*gan- 
ised.  They  were  mostly  Minas  from  the  Benin  region.  They  had 
a  system  by  clubbing  together  of  buying  the  freedom  of  any  one  of 
their  numbjsr  who  was  highly  respected.  "There  is  now  a  Mina 
black  in  Rio  remarkable  for  his  height,  who  is  called  '  the  Prince/ 
being  in  fact  of  the  blood  royal  of  his  native  country.  It  is  said  his 
subjects  in  Rio  once  freed  him  by  their  toil"  * 

The  negroes  of  Jamaica  had  gatherings  of  tribes  on  the  plantations, 
each  with  its  king  and  queen  dressed  in  hideous  attire,  at  which 
dancing  was  the  most  noticeable  feature.  In  the  towns  the  proces- 
sions were  headed  by  a  tall,  athletic  man  with  hideous  headdress, 
surmounted  by  a  pair  of  ox  horns  and  boar  tusks.  He  was  called 
John  Cornu,  from  a  celebrated  African  character,  carried  a  large 
wooden  sword,  and  executed  many  evolutions  and  freaks.^ 

TIT. 

In  most  of  the  French  West  Indies  the  slave  population  was  too 
small  to  afford  good  opportunities  for  observation,  and  they  ceased 
to  receive  large  numbers  of  Africans  at  an  early  date.  The  famous 
P6re  Labat  visited  many  of  the  smaller  islands  and  Haiti  about  the 
year  1 700,  and  has  given  us  many  examples  of  African  customs  sur- 
viving in  the  islands.*   They  kept  up  their  idolatrous  religious  prac- 

1  Breen,  St.  Lucia^  p.  191  et  seq. 

«  Walsh,  Notices  of  Brazil  in  1828  (tnd  iSaQb  VoL  ti.  p.  185. 

•  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  pp.  187,  188. 

*  Kidder  and  Fletcher,  Brasil a$ui  the  Brazilians^  1857,  p.  135 ;  Ewbank,  Braxil^ 
P-  439- 

'  Phillippo,  yamaica  ;  its  Past  and PrtUHt^  p.  242.  There  is  also  a  good  aecomit 
of  an  African  funeral  as  practised  in  Jamaica.  The  person  described  above  may 
be  the  Mumbo  Jumbo  of  the  Mandingoes,  whose  duty  was  to  execute  public 
authority  in  the  hall  of  the  tribe  upon  the  female  oflEenders.  The  punishment  was 
by  whipping  in  public.  Speaoer,  Af,  Rtuts^  p.  1 1 ;  fnMB  Psrk,  voL  L  pp.  38,  39. 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  InsHiuiums  m  America,  25 

tices,  had  obiism,  sorcerers,  poisoners,  funeral  festivals,  and  showed 
great  reverence  or  fear  for  old  men.  Dancing  was  their  favorite 
exercise ;  one  of  these  dances,  called  the  Calenda,  the  father  states, 
came  from  Guinea,  and  was  accompanied  with  a  furious  racket  of 
tambours  and  bamboulas ;  it  was  thought  to  be  wtry  indecent,  and, 
because  the  negroes  were  likely  to  become  intoxicated  and  lead  to 
revolts,  the  authorities  forbade  it,  without  complete  success,  however. 
The  Congo  dance  was  less  objectionable.  The  men  exacted  a  great 
show  of  respect  from  their  families.  "  I  have  often  taken  pleasure 
in  watching  a  negro  carpenter  at  Guadaloupe  when  be  eat  his  meals. 
His  wife  and  children  gathered  around  him,  and  served  him  with  as 
much  respect  as  the  best  drilled  domestks  serve  tiidr  masters ;  and 
if  it  was  a  f^te  day  or  Sunday,  his  sons-in-law  and  daughters  did  not 
foil  to  be  present,  and  bring  him  some  small  gifts.  They  formed  a 
circle  about  him,  and  conversed  with  him  while  he  was  eating.  When 
he  had  finished,  his  pipe  was  brought  to  him,  and  then  he  bade  them 
eat  They  paid  him  their  reverences,  and  passed  into  another  room, 
where  they  all  eat  together  with  their  mother.  I  reproached  him 
sometimes  for  his  gravity,  and  dted  to  him  the  example  of  the  gov^ 
emor,  who  eat  every  day  with  his  wife ;  to  which  he  replied  that  the 
governor  was  not  the  wiser  for  it ;  that  he  supposed  the  whites  had 
their  reasons,  but  they  also  had  theirs ;  and  that  if  one  would  observe 
how  proud  and  disobedient  the  white  women  were  to  their  husbands, 
it  would  be  admitted  that  the  n^;n>es  who  kept  them  always  in  respect 
and  submission,  are  wiser  and  more  experienced  than  the  whites  in 
this  matter."  *  The  father  says  that  the  negroes  were  often  very 
eloquent,  and  that  they  all  spent  much  time  in  ridiculing  the  whites 
and  their  customs. 

A  letter  of  the  governor  of  Martinique  in  1753^  speaks  of  the 
parades  and  processions  of  the  negroes  in  the  island,  which  afforded 
means  of  amusement  and  disorder.  The  negroes  were  decked  out 
with  a  great  deal  of  ostentation,  many  were  armed  with  wooden 
weapons,  and  they  seemed  to  be  under  a  remarkable  discipline.  "  Sev- 
eral others  dressed  in  ver>'  rich  garments  represented  the  king,  the 
queen,  and  all  the  royal  family,  up  to  the  grand  officers  of  the 
crown."  The  thought  that  there  were  18,000  negroes  in  the  island, 
thus  trained  and  disciplined  and  only  needing  a  leader,  made  the 
governor  feel  uneasy,  and  he  took  the  first  chance  he  had  to  forbid 
the  processions.  But  the  slaves  then  gathered  in  secret;  and  it  was 
necessary  to  resort  to  severe  punishment  to  enforce  the  law.* 

The  most  remaricable  instances  of  the  survival  of  African  political 

*  Labat,  Voy.r  vol.  ii.  p.  54. 

*  Peytraud,  L  tsclavagtaux  Antilles  fran^tusu^j^  182. 

*  IKd.  p.  301. 


Digitized  by  Google 


36 


yaumal  of  Anuruan  Folh^Lon* 


institutions  are  to  be  found  in  Haiti.  The  new  inventions  and  pro- 
cesses introduced  into  the  making  of  sugar  by  P6re  Labat  in  the 
first  two  decades  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  made  this  industry 
very  profitable,  and  the  French  soon  turned  their  attention  to  their 
foothold  in  Haiti,  ultimately  getting  a  recognition  of  their  claims 
to  the  western  part  of  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo  from  the  king 
of  Spain.  After  the  middle  of  the  century  the  march  of  its  prosper- 
ity was  very  rapid,  negroes  were  introduced  very  fast,  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  French  Revolution  it  was  one  of  the  richest  colonial 
possessions  on  the  globe. 

Side  by  side  with  the  development  of  the  island  had  proceeded  a 
rapid  increase  in  the  number  and  wealth  of  the  people  of  mixed  blood, 
who  chiefly  occupied  the  southern  part  of  the  colony.  In  1789  the 
population  has  been  estimated  at  from  57if;o8^  to  614^9 there 
were  between  509,642 '  and  434, 529*  slaves,  27,000  to  40^000  people 
of  free  color,  and  35,000  to  40,000  whites.  The  great  mass  of  the 
mulatto  people  lived  in  the  south  and  the  adjacent  parts  of  the  west 
department,  that  is,  in  the  region  about  Port  au  Prince ;  the  moun- 
tainous north,  with  the  interlying  department  of  the  west,  had  the 
greatest  percentage  of  negro  population.  In  1805  population  was 
reported  to  be  480,000  blacks,  20,000  colored  or  mulatto,  and  1000 
whites  the  republic  of  the  south  had  261,000,  and  the  kingdom  of 
the  north  had  340,000  souls ;  *  of  the  two  higher  classes  of  popula- 
tion, including;  the  old  freemen  and  administrative,  judicial,  and 
military  officers  of  f^overnment,  and  the  soldiers,  sailors,  artisans, 
domestics,  and  laborers  in  the  town  and  ports,  the  south  had  120,000, 
but  the  north  had  only  50,000 ;  ^  the  remainder  were  cultivators  of 
the  land  held  under  a  strict  regime  to  till  the  soil. 

The  mulattoes  occupied  a  decidedly  inferior  position  in  the  colony 
compared  to  that  held  by  the  whites,  laboring  under  political  and  so- 
cial disabilities,  and,  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  when  it  be- 
came apparent  that  the  whites,  who,  for  various  reasons,  were  divided 
among  themselves,  would  not  allow  them  to  receive  the  benefits 
granted  by  the  National  Assembly,  they  revolted.  Two  weeks  later, 
August  22,  1 79 1,  the  revolts  amongst  the  blacks  at  the  north  began. 
There  was  probably  no  concerted  action  between  the  two  outbreaks ;  * 
the  mulattoes  struck  for  equality,  the  blacks  for  liberty. 

For  many  years  there  had  been  bands  of  runaway  negroes  in  the 
mountains  under  their  chiefs.   The  earliest  known  of  these  chiefs 

*  St.  Amand,  Rn'.  (f  Haiti,  vol.  i.  p.  8. 

'  Lacroix,  J/i'w.  vol.  ii.  p.  273.  Edwards,  St.  Domingo,  p.  1 54, estimates  165,000 
slaves  in  north,  193,000  in  west,  77,000  in  south,  and  241,000 mulattoes  in  south. 

*  UcR»ix,voLii.p.27&  *  MO.  ^  IM. 

*  St  Amand,  Rnr,  fTHaUi,  vol.  i.  p.  317. 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


African  JnsiUutums  $n  America, 


27 


was  Polydor  in  1724  ;  he  was  succeeded  by  Macandal,  of  whom  the 
negroes  seemed  to  stand  in  superstitious  dread  :  ^  The  great  chief  of 
these  maroons  at  the  time  of  the  revolts  was  Jean  Frangais,  and  he 
was  followed  by  another  black  called  Biassou.  One  of  their  agents 
said  to  the  French  commissioner,  "  I  am  the  subject  of  three  kings  : 
of  the  king  of  Congo,  master  of  all  the  blacks  ;  of  the  king  of  France, 
who  represents  my  father,  and  of  the  king  of  Spain,  who  represents 
my  mother.  If  I  passed  into  the  service  of  the  repahlic,  I  would 
perhaps  be  brought  to  make  war  against  my  brothers,  the  subjects  of 
these  three  kings  to  whom  I  have  promised  iidelity. "  * 

Toussaint  when  he  fled  from  bis  plantation  joined  this  band,  where 
he  was  known  as  "the  doctor  of  the  armies  of  the  king/**  and  soon 
became  aid  to  Jean  Fran^ais  and  Biassou.  Upon  the  death  or  with- 
drawal of  the  other  chiefs,  Toussaint  rose  to  the  chief  command. 
He  soon  acquired  complete  control  over  the  blacks,  not  only  in 
military  matters  but  an  absolute  dominance  over  politics  and  social 
organization;^  "the  soldiers  regarded  him  as  a  superior  being,  and 
the  cultivators  prostrated  themselves  before  him  as  before  a  divinity. 
All  his  generals  trembled  before  him  (Dessalines  did  not  dare  to 
look  in  his  face),  and  all  the  world  trembled  before  his  generals."* 
Toussaint  passed  into  the  north,  and  in  an  astonishingly  short  time 
the  whole  district  was  under  his  control,  the  negroes  began  to  return 
to  work  on  the  plantations,  and  security  was  in  sight.  The  English 
who  held  Mole  St.  Nicolas  made  some  overtures  to  Toussaint,  but 
he  quickly  gave  them  to  understand  that  he  would  be  no  dupe  of 
theirs.  A  reconciliation  was  brought  about  between  Toussaint  and 
the  French,  recognizing  the  freedom  of  the  blacks,  but  provisions 
were  made  for  confining  the  black  population  to  the  estates  and 
compelling  them  to  till  the  soil. 

The  mulattoes  of  the  south  under  Rigaud  still  refused  to  submit. 
If  the  whites  and  negroes  had  settled  their  differences,  it  left  the 
mulattoes  in  the  same  relative  situation  as  before  the  outbreak. 
There  was  no  bond  of  sincerity  uniting  the  whites  and  mulattoes, 
nor  the  mulattoes  and  the  negroes.*  There  was  a  universal  preva- 

*  Brown,  //t'si.  S/.  Dom.  vol.  i.  p.  119. 

'  Lacroix,  Mem.  tur  la  R<fv.  vol.  i.  p.  253.  This  aj^ent  appears  to  have  repre- 
sented Pierrot,  black,  under  whom  Jean  and  Biassou  acted,  cf.  p.  303.  Pierrot 
died,  1794. 

^  f^ui.  p.  301. 

*  Ibui.  pp.  310,  3!  t  ;  Brown,  St.  Dom.  vol.  ii.  p.  108. 

'  Quoted  from  Lacroix  by  Mackenzie,  Notes  on  Haiti^  vol.  i.  p.  45.  and  confimed 
by  the  latter ;  Brown,  St.  Dom.  vol.  ii.  p.  29 ;  Lacroix,  vol.  i.  p.  408. 

*  Oistonnet  des  Fosses,  St,  Dom.  p.  1 99.  Manifesto  of  Toussaint,  st  Feb.,  1 799 : 
"•Le  gdndral  Rigaud/  s*<5cria-t-il,  *refi»e  de  m*obSr  parce  que  je  sals  noir. 
MttULtresijevoisaufooddevos  Amet;  vous^det  prftts^TOussoaleveroontrenioi. 


Digitized  by  Google 


28 


y<mmalo/  Ammeam  Folh-Lan. 


lence  of  distrust.  Toussaint  was  now  a  genern]  of  the  French  army. 
Whether  Napoleon  really  intended  to  violate  liiis  agreement  has  not 
been  shown,  but  his  colonial  scheme  required  the  presence  of  a  large 
force  in  the  island  Upon  the  arrival  of  these  forces,  Toussaint  told 
his  officers  that  the  French  wore  coining  to  re^islave  them,  and  that 
resistance  to  the  last  must  be  made.*  Shortly  af tenraids  Toussaint 
was  seized  and  sent  to  France  and  imprisoned,  where  he  soon  died  from 
old  agei  mdancholy  (which  is  singularly  characteristic  of  the  prond 
spirits  of  African  chidftains  when  placed  in  captivity),  and  the  change 
to  a  severer  dimata 

Toussaint  was  succeeded  by  the  Uack,  Djsssalines,  in  i802,  who 
declared  himself  emperor.  Dessalines^  like  Toussaint  and  his  lieu- 
tenant Christophe,  was  noted  in  his  days  of  slavery  for  his  severity 
toward  his  fellow  slaves  and  for  the  discipline  which  he  exercised 
over  them.  He  had  other  characteristics  of  African  chieftains. 
"There  were  seasons  when  he  broke  through  his  natural  sullenness, 
and  showed  himself  open,  affable,  and  even  generous.  His  vanity 
was  excessive,  and  manifested  itself  in  singular  perversities.  He  was 
delighted  with  embroidery  and  ornaments.  At  times  he  appeared 
to  his  subjects  clothed  in  magnificent  decorations,  and  upon  other 
occasions  his  costume  was  plain  even  to  meanness,  A  ridiculous 
propensity  of  the  black  emperor  was  displayed  in  his  desire  to  mani- 
fest himself  to  his  subjects  as  an  accomplished  dancer.  .  .  .  His 
courage  in  the  field  was  that  of  the  headlong  fury  of  the  tiger.  The 
events  which  conducted  him  to  his  high  elevation  all  had  their  origin 
in  the  terror,  and  perhaps  confidence,  inspired  by  his  determined 
fierceness.  .  .  .  For  the  slightest  causes  both  blacks  and  mulattoes 
were  put  to  death  without  mercy  and  without  the  forms  of  trial."* 
The  population  prostrated  themselves  before  him.* 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1804,  the  blacks  and  mulattoes  united  to 
issue  the  declaration  of  independence  of  Haiti ;  the  act  was  signed 
by  Des8alines»  the  bUick  geneial-in-chief,  by  Christopbe,  his  black 
lieutenant,  by  P^n»  the  leader  of  the  mulattoes,  and  by  many  othera.* 
The  mulattoes  and  negroes  seem  to  have  agreed  that  the  expulsion 
of  the  white  man  was  neoessaiy  to  the  peace  of  the  island. 

In  1805  a  constitution  was  drawn  up  and  accepted  by  both  mulat- 
toes  and  negroes,  placing  all  power  in  the  hands  of  the  emperor. 
The  severity  with  which  Dessalines  enforced  the  laws  soon  began  to 
turn  many  against  him.   The  mulattoes  did  not.  wish  at  any  price  to 

Mais  en  quittant  le  Port-Rrfpublicain  pour  me  rendre  au  Cap,  j'y  laisse  mon  ceil  et 
mon  bras;  mon  oeil  pour  vous  surveilier  et  mon  bras  pour  vous  aUeindre.' "  Cf. 


p.  16& 
1  Lacroiz,  vol.  ii.  p.  63. 
*  Lacroiz,  voL  IL  p.  198. 


•  Brown,  vol.  ii.  pp.  158,  159. 

*  Printed  in  Mackeaaie,  voL  ii.  p. 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  InsHHUions  in  America. 


29 


submit  to  the  domination  of  the  negroes,  part  of  whom,  being  natives 
of  Africa,  had  preserved  their  savage  mores}  Dessalines  started  to 
suppress  this  revolt  of  the  mulattoes  led  by  P6tion,  but  was  killed  in 
ambush  in  October,  1806. 

A  new  constitution  was  drawn  up  in  1806,  providing  for  the  election 
of  a  president  for  life ;  the  presidency  was  offered  to  Christopiie,'^ 
the  next  of  the  great  black  chiefs  after  Dessalines,  but  the  office 
was  too  much  burdened  with  limitation  of  power  to  suit  him,  and  he 
withdrew  into  the  north,  leaving  Potion  to  set  up  his  republic.  In 
the  north  a  new  constitution  was  drafted,  establishing  the  kingdom 
of  Haiti,  and  Christophe  was  declared  the  first  king,  with  the  title  of 
Henry  I.,  i8n.  A  former  constitution  drawn  up  in  1807  had  made 
the  president  hold  for  life,  with  right  to  appoint  his  successor.  It 
was  now  declared  advisable  to  erect  an  hereditary  throne  and  provide 
for  the  reestablishmertt  of  customs,  morals,  and  religion.  The  con- 
stitution provided  for  hereditary  succession  to  the  crown  in  the  family 
of  Christophe,  through  the  direct  male  line,  in  failure  of  which  it 
fvas  to  pass  into  the  funily  of  the  prince  next  related  to  the  king^s 
family,  or  the  oldest  in  dignity.  It  provided  for  a  royal  family,  a  re* 
gency,  a  grand  council,  and  a  privy  council,  officers,  ministers,  oaths, 
etc  All  power  was  centred  in  the  hands  of  the  king.  In  the  south 
the  separation  of  powers  was  the  basis  of  the  government* 

Some  writers  have  thought  that  this  was  purely  an  act  of  gran- 
dfloquence  and  mimicry  on  the  part  of  Christophe,  but  it  is  truer 
to  say  that  in  it  he  was  actuated  by  a  clear  insight  into  the  needs 
and  peculiarities  of  the  people  with  whom  he  bad  to  deal.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  constitution  which  did  not  have  its  companion  in 
Africa,  where  the  organization  of  society  was  truly  despotic,  with 
elective<hereditary  chiefs,  royal  families,  polygamic  marriages,  coun- 
cils, and  regencies.  But,  undoubtedly,  the  form  in  which  these 
things  were  put  into  writing  was  influenced  very  much  by  the  lan- 
guage and  systems  which  were  known  in  Fnrope.  Toussaint,  Des- 
salines, and  Christophe  had  ministers  and  others  in  their  employ 
who  were  men  educated  in  France. 

But  we  have  now  to  consider  that  which  was  the  foundation  of  this 

1  Castoonet  des  Fosses,  Rio.  St,  D&mt,  vol.  i.  p.  aoi. 

•  Christophe  was  the  son  of  a  mulatto  and  a  negress,  thus  preserving  the  heredi- 
tary line  of  black  descent.  Christophe  exercised  the  same  rigid  control  over  the 
blacks  as  Toussaint  and  Dessalines,  yet  in  spite  of  his  ferocity,  the  old  chiefs 
retained  a  jtanang  toweid  him  £or  yeafs  after  Us  deadi ;  he  was  spolcen  of  in 
awe,  and  called  **  niomme"  and  **le  rai."  Mackende^  Haitit  voL  i.  p.  178;  voL 
ii.  p.  71  ;  Brown,  vol.  ii.  p.  210. 

•  Many  documents  relating  to  the  government  of  Haiti  are  collected  in  Brit,  and 
For,  State  Pap.  voL  xvi.  pp.  661  ff.   They  are  also  given  in  Mackenzie,  Notts  on 

Htm, 


Digitized  by  Google 


30 


y&umal  of  American  Folk'Lare. 


system,  which  at  once  marks  the  insight  of  Toussaint  and  Christophe, 
and  the  African  origin  of  their  government.  This  is  the  system  of 
agriculture.  This  system  was  adopted  at  the  time  of  the  reconcih- 
ation  between  the  French  and  the  blacks,  under  the  advice  of  Tous- 
saint. Some  writers  have  called  it  an  attempt  to  estabHsh  feudalism 
in  the  island,  and  the  system  does  have  a  resemblance  to  it,  but  it 
also  has  many  points  of  similarity  with  the  organization  of  society  in 
many  African  tribes.  There  was  a  division  of  the  population  into 
military  and  civil  or  laboring  classes,  the  latter  including  both  free 
and  slave  laborers.  The  territory  was  parcelled  out  to  chiefs  or 
lords,  and  the  laborers  were  bound  to  the  soil,  which  they  were  com- 
pelled to  work  under  a  rigorous  system  of  inspection  ;  for  their  sup- 
port a  part  of  die  produce  was  set  aside,  the  rest  going  to  the  chiefs, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  king  or  general  government  and  the  army. 
The  army  was  kept  under  stem  discipline,  which  made  it  possible 
to  arm  the  free  men  and  laborers ;  the  women  did  a  large  part  of 
the  agricultural  labor.  Under  Toussaint  the  administration  of  this 
labor  system  was  committed  to  Dessalines*  who  carried  it  out  with 
the  utmost  rigor,  and  it  was  afterward  followed  by  Christophe  in  the 
same  manner.  The  latter  went  so  far  as  to  import  4000  negroes 
from  Africa,  which  he  took  means  to  bind  to  his  person  and  form 
into  a  national  guard,  for  patrolling  the  country.*  These  regulations  > 
brought  back  for  a  time  a  large  part  of  the  prosperity  which  the 
island  had  enjoyed. 

The  comparison  of  their  lot  with  the  easier  and  more  indolent  life 
of  the  south  brought  dissatisfaction  into  the  ranks  of  Christopbe's 
people,  so  that  at  his  death  Boyer,  the  president  of  the  south,  was 
able  to  assert  his  sway  over  the  whole  island.  The  following  quo- 
tation is  taken  from  the  book  of  Dr.  Brown,  who  spent  the  year 
1833-34  island,  and  whose  work  shows  many  marks  of  care 

and  accuracy :  — 

"  A  distinction  is  recognized  by  law  between  the  class  of  laborers 
and  that  of  proprietors  ;  and  the  regulations  established  by  Toussaint 
and  Dessalines  for  the  prosperity  of  agriculture,  and  to  make  a  just 
division  of  its  avails,  are  still  preserved  in  the  laws  of  the  country 
under  the  denomination  of  the  code  rurale.  But  the  aristocratical 
principle  which  makes  such  invidious  distinctions,  and  enables  the 
proprietors  to  compel  the  laborer  attached  to  the  soil  of  his  planta- 
tion to  perform  a  daily  task  and  receive  one  fourth  of  the  harvest  as 
the  reward  of  his  season's  toil,  has  been  discovered  to  be  uncongenial 
with  the  institution  of  a  republic  based  upon  the  maxim  that  all  men 
are  equal.  Thus '  the  toe  of  the  peasant  comes  near  the  heel  of  the 
courtier/  and  it  is  found  Impossible  to  enforce  regulations  against 
>  Brown,  voL  H.  p.  204.  They  were  called  Uie  **  Dabomet" 


Digitized  by  Google 


African  InsHtuHons  in  America, 


31 


it  without  a  restoration  of  such  arbitrary  despotism  as  that  experi- 
enced under  the  sway  of  Christophe.  The  negroes  are  thus  permit- 
ted to  roam  at  large,  legally  independent  of  each  other,  and  invested 
with  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  beloved  indolence.  An  exception 
to  this  is  said  to  exist  within  two  districts  in  the  north  of  the  island, 
those  namely  of  Grande  Riviere  and  Port  de  Pai.  The  commanding 
generals  of  these  arrondissements  are  black  chieftains  once  attaclied 
to  the  service  of  Christophe,  and  convinced  by  the  results  which 
they  saw  acquired  by  his  rigid  severity  toward  the  lower  classes  of 
the  population,  that  no  means  are  so  effectual  as  absolute  compulsion 
to  induce  the  negroes  to  labor,  th^  still  continue  the  policy  of  their 
royal  master,  and  make  coercion  the  basis  of  their  measures  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  districts  under  their  command  Delinquent  labor- 
ers, vagrants,  and  petty  offenders  are  in  these  two  arrondissements 
seised  and  punished  by  scourging  instead  of  imprisonment ;  and  this 
severer  punishment  is  found  to  produce  much  greater  effects  than 
incarceration,  which  has  in  it  no  terrors  to  the  black.  In  consequence 
of  this  more  summary  government,  the  condition  of  things  in  these 
two  districts  is  deemed  to  a  great  eictent  better  than  that  which 
exists  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  .  .  .  Upon  these  working  days 
the  negroes  are  prohibited  from  assembling  to  amuse  themselves  by 
dancing  or  any  mode  of  festivity,  —  such  seasons  of  merriment  being 
exclusively  confined  to  the  religious  feasts  or  national  anniversaries 
established  by  the  rules  of  the  church  or  the  laws  of  the  republic 
The  dances  introduced  from  Africa  are  still  in  vogue,  and  upon 
Sundays  and  fete  days  the  monotonous,  thiimpinf^  sound  of  the  bara- 
boula  is  heard  in  all  directions.  .  .  .  With  this  characteristic  orchestra 
a  ring  is  formed  in  the  open  air,  and  the  voluptuous  African  dances 
commence  with  shrill,  drawling  outcries,  the  sound  of  which  is  more 
plaintive  than  exhilarating  or  lively,  .  .  . 

"In  no  other  country  perhaps  is  there  such  entire  absence  of  all 
enormous  crimes  among  the  population.  .  .  .  The  unexampled  security 
of  a  traveller  among  the  population  of  the  interior  is  almost  incredible, 
for  he  may  journey  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other  .  .  .  with- 
out the  least  danger  of  violence  or  of  any  interruption  whatever.  .  .  . 
Almost  the  only  prevalent  crime  is  petty  theft.  ...  As  is  the  case 
with  all  barbarous  nations,  the  females  are  compelled  to  perform 
most  of  the  labor.  Those  of  the  country  employ  themselves  in 
cultivating  the  soil,  while  the  men  spend  their  time  in  traversing 
the  country  on  horseback,  in  drinking,  smoking,  and  other  habits 
equally  unprofitaUeL  The  females  of  the  towns  perform  all  the  retail 
traffic  of  the  country."  ^ 

>  Brown,  vol.  ii.  pp.  278-280.  Cf.  Mackenzie,  vol.  i.  pp.  38, 79;  vol.  ii.  pp.  146- 
154.  In  the  south,  the  decline  in  agricnltare  IbUowed  the  excessive  relaxation  of 


Digitized  by  Google 


youmal  of  Ammieam  FMdMrt. 


One  great  difficulty  in  dealing  with  this  question  lies  in  the  fact 
that  observers  did  not  know  just  what  they  were  describing.  A  chief 
is  called  indiscriminately,  governor,  king,  marshal,  or  fetishman. 
But  what  their  material  does  make  certain  is  that  the  negroes  did 
keep  their  mores  and  practised  them  whenever  they  were  allowed 
to  do  so,  and  that  such  practice  was  usually  attended  with  beneficial 
results.  Of  course,  the  incompleteness  of  our  data  does  not  permit 
us  to  affirm  that  Toussaint,  Dessalines,  and  Christophe  were  princes 
of  royal  blood,  but  it  is  very  probable  that  they  were.  A  striking 
instance  of  tiM  effect  of  an  election  upon  the  conduct  of  a  negro 
chief  is  seen  in  the  example  of  Soulouque,  president  and  emperor  of 
HaitLi 

Soulouque  was  a  negro  bom  in  Haiti,  of  the  Mandingo  tribe.  He 
became  a  general  under  several  mulatto  presidents.  In  the  anarchy 
which  followed  the  fall  of  Beyer,  he  was  elected  president  by  the 
mulattoes  because  he  was  old,  could  not  read  or  write,  and  it  was 
thought  he  would  be  a  weak  president  and  an  easy  tool.  Upon  be- 
coming president  he  devdoped  an  exceedingly  strong  will  and  beg^n 
to  attach  the  n^^roes  to  himself.  This  did  not  suit  the  mulattoes, 
and  a  series  of  conspiracies  was  begun.  Soulouque,  although  his 
antecedents  were  all  with  the  mulatto  party,  retaliated  by  executions 
and  massacres  in  true  African  style;  In  spite  of  his  failure  to  con- 
quer the  Dominican  Republic,  he  was  allowed  to  proclaim  himself 
emperor  in  1 849,  with  the  will  of  the  people  apparently  in  his  favor 
and  by  unanimous  consent  of  the  legislature.  He  proceeded  at  once 
to  form  a  numerous  court,  a  military  and  a  civilian  class,  and  to  pro- 
claim his  right  to  rule  as  he  pleased  at  any  time  he  saw  fit.  The 
marvellous  extent  of  the  power  of  these  kings  and  emperors  leaves 
no  room  for  doubt  that  it  was  based  upon  something  more  than 
mere  personal  excellence.  According  to  African  customs  it  might 
not  always  happen  that  the  successor  of  a  chief  was  chosen  from 
among  his  kin.  A  chief  might  be  selected,  on  account  of  his  ability 
or  prowess,  from  outside  the  royal  line,  but  he  of  course  succeeded  to 
all  the  prerogatives  of  the  office. 

In  Cuba,  Brazil,  and  the  United  States  the  absence  of  opportunity 
to  engage  in  war  and  the  comparatively  confined  life  that  the  negroes 
led  left  them  small  latitude  for  the  exercise  of  their  customs,  which 
was  confined  to  the  regulation  of  the  morals  of  the  people. 

Hubert  H.  S.  Aimes, 

West  Haven,  Conn. 

the Iftw  in  mguA  to  idteness.  In ^enottb,  iSs6v  the  people  in  tiie  moiuitadiw  were 

Mill  "  excessively  addicted  to  Obeah."    Mackenzie,  vol.  L  p.  5)6.  Chriltx^be  is 
said  to  have  had  great  faith  ia  OtiL  IHtU  vol.  ii.  p.  167.  • 
*  Diet,  Am.  Bio£. 


Digitized  bv  Google 


The  Passover  Song  of  ik§  Kid. 


33 


THE  fASSOVER  SONG  OF  THE  KID  AND  AN 
EQUIVALENT  FROM  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Wb  are  told  that  Jesus  and  his  disciples,  while  gathered  for  the 
Passover  celebration,  sang  a  hymn.  (Matt.  xxvi.  30.)  The  reference, 
doubtless,  is  to  the  Hallel  or  psalm  of  praise  (Psalms  cziiL-cxvii.).  In 
later  centuries  were  added  chanted  benedictions,  such  as :  "  Praised 
art  thou,  O  Lord,  King  of  the  Universe,  who  hast  redeemed  us,  and 
hast  redeemed  our  fathers  from  Egypt."  Mediaeval  manuscripts  con- 
taining the  Haggadah  (Passover  eve)  rite  include  other  pieces  of  a 
poetical  character.  At  the  end  of  the  service  were  added  two  folk- 
songs, included  in  the  Prague  edition  of  1590  (but  not  in  that  of 
1526),  namely,  Ehadmi  jodea  (One,  who  knows?)  and  Had  gadya 
(One  kid).^  These  are  still  sung,  with  devotional  feeling,  not  only  by 
orthodox  German  Jews,  but  also  by  those  of  other  countries.  The 
rhymes  have  numerous  equivalents  in  European  folk-lore  ;  the  first, 
a  number-song,  I  have  already  examined  in  this  Journal;*  of  the 
Song  of  the  Kid  I  shall  now  give  an  unpublished  English  variant, 
and  add  brief  comparative  remarks. 

The  Jewish  chant  proceeds  as  follows  (previous  terms  being  re> 
peated  with  each  new  agent) :  — 

One  kid,  one  kid,  that  my  father  bought  for  two  pieces ;  one  kid,  one  kid.' 

Then  came  the  cat  and  ate  the  kid  that  my  father  bought,  etc. 

Then  came  the  dog  and  ate  the  cat,  etc. 

Then  came  the  stick  and  beat  the  dog,  etc. 

Then  came  the  fiie  and  burned  the  sdck,  et& 

Then  came  the  water  and  quenched  the  fir^  etc. 

Then  came  the  ox  and  drank  the  water,  etc. 

Then  came  the  butcher  and  slew  the  ox,  etc 

Then  came  the  Death-angel  and  slew  the  butcher,  etc. 

Then  came  the  Holy  One,  blessed  be  he  !  and  slew  the  Death-angel,  etc. 

As  the  song  was  sung  with  devout  feeling,  it  came  to  be  felt  that  it 
must  be  something  more  than  a  nursery  rhyme.  In  1723,  Probst  von 
der  Hardt  gave  a  mystical  explanation,  and  interpreted  the  two  pieces 
as  significant  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  the  cat  as  indicating  Assyria,  the 
stick  Persia,  the  fire  Alexander,  the  water  Romans,  the  ox  Saracens, 
the  butcher  Franks,  the  angel  Turks,  and  the  Holy  One  God,  who 
would  send  the  still  expected  Messiah.  The  principle  of  the  rhyme 
was  found  in  Jeremiah  xxx.  16:  "  All  they  that  devour  thee  shall  be 
devoured."  This  fanciful  interpretation  found  some  favor  with  sub- 
sequent writers.^ 

>  Jewish  Encychpadia,  **  Haggadah." 

*  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore^  vol.  iv.  1891,  pp.  215-220. 

•  G.  Paris,  RmuuiU,  voL  L  1873^  p.  asaj  J.  C.  UliidM,  Sammbn^  JUditdit 
VOL.  xvm.  ~  NO.  68.  3 


34 


ycmmalo/  AmiHean  FaU^Lan. 


From  the  communication  of  Halliwell-Phillips  in  1842,  an  English 
parallel,  in  the  fonn  of  a  tale,  has  become  very  familiar  in  nursery 
literature.' 

An  old  woman  was  sweeping  her  bouse,  and  she  found  a  little  crooked 
sixpence.*  "  What,"  said  she,  "shall  I  do  with  this  little  sixpence  ?  I  will 
go  to  market,  and  buy  a  little  pig."  As  she  was  coming  home,  she  came  to 
a  stile ;  but  ^\^^  would  not  go  over  the  stile. 

She  went  a  iittle  further,  and  she  met  a  dog.  So  she  said  to  the  dog, 
**  Dog !  dog  t  bite  pig ,  piggy  wont  go  over  the  stile ;  and  I  shan't  get 
home  to-night"  But  tiie  dqg  would  not 

She  went  n  little  farther,  and  ilw  met  a  stick.  So  she  said,  **  Stickl 
stick  1  beat  dog ;  dog  won't  bite  ptg,"  etc 

The  story  continues  in  the  same  accumulative  fashion,  with  "fire  !  bum 
stick,"  "  water  !  quench  fire,"  "ox  1  drink  water,'*  "  butcher  1  killoz,"  "ropel 
hang  butcher,"  "rat!  gnaw  rope,"  and  "cat!  kill  rat." 

[At  this  point  of  the  story,  the  cat  demands  milk,  which  must  be  sought 
from  the  cow,  who  in  turn  asks  hay,  which  is  obtained  from  haymakers.]  ' 

As  soon  as  the  cat  had  lapped  up  the  milk,  the  cat  b<^n  to  kill  the  rat ; 
the  rat  began  to  gnaw  the  rope ;  the  rope  b^an  to  hang  the  butcher ;  the 
.  botcher  began  to  kill  tiie  os;  tiie  ox  began  to  dr}nk  the  water;  the  water 
began  to  quench  the  fire ;  the  fire  began  to  bum  the  stick ;  the  stick  began 
to  beat  the  dog;  the  dog  began  to  bite  the  pig ;  the  little  pig  in  a  fright 
jumped  over  the  stUe ;  and  so  the  old  woman  got  home  that  night 

Scottish  variants  make  the  tale  one  of  the  kid. 

There  was  a  wife  that  lived  in  a  wee  house  by  hcrsel',  and  as  she  was 
soopin'  the  house  one  day,  she  fand  twall  pennies.  So  she  thought  to  her- 
sel*,  what  she  could  do  wi'  her  twall  pennies,  and  at  last  she  thought  she 

Geschichte,  Basle,  1 768,  p.  1 33.  Hardt's  explanation  was  repeated  by  P.  N.  Lebrecht, 
1731,  to  whom  HalliwcU  ascribes  it.  For  authors  who  have  favoredsuch  view,  see 
the  Jtwisk  Encyclopadia^    Had  gadya.** 

>  Nursery  Rhym*i  of  Eng^amd,  Obtained  principally  from  oral  recitatioo. 
Edited  by  J.  O.  HalHwdL  London,  1842^  p.  159. 

*  Or,  a  silver  penny. 

*  This  bracketed  material  does  not  belong  to  the  song  now  in  question,  but  has 
been  introduced  by  way  of  "  contamination  **  from  another  accumulative  rhyme,  that 
of  tiw  moose  whose  taJI  has  been  bitten  off,  and  who  goes  to  tike  eat  toredahn  it 
The  mouse  is  referred  to  the  cow  for  milk,  thence  to  the  barn  for  hay,  thence 
to  the  blacksmith  for  a  key  to  the  barn,  to  the  sea  for  coal  to  forge  the  key,  etc. 
Journal  of  American  Folk-Lort,  vol.  xiii.  1900,  p.  229.  Halliwell  (-Phillips),  Fopu- 
lar  Talts  and  Nursery  Rhymes ^  London,  1849,  p.  33.  This  rhyme.  The  Cat  and 
the  Moose^  has  a  separste  comparative  Usfeoiy  in  several  hngnages.  French, 
Remte  des  TradUiem  P^uUnres^'wL,  IL  p.  131;  E.  F.  Carey,  Guernsey  Folk' 
Lore,  London,  1903,  p.  493;  see  Cosquin.  op.  cit.  below,  vol.  i.  p.  281,  No.  29; 
Provencal,  adulterated  with  the  tale  (originally  Hindu)  of  the  Hermit  and  the 
Mouse  (see  note,  below).  African  (Berber),  R.  Basset,  Conies  pop,  beriires,  Paris, 
1887,  Nok  45 ;  Nouvtmux  emUt  btrHru,  Paris,  1897,  p.  168.  This  rtndomtie  ia 
almost  as  variable  as  tiiat  of  tite  Kid»  witii  which  the  series  is  often  adnltersted. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tlu  Passavir  Sang  of  ike  Kid. 


35 


couldna  do  better  than  gang  wi*  it  to  the  market  and  buy  a  kid.  Sae  she 
gaed  to  the  market  and  coffed  [/.  e.  bought]  a  line  kid.  And  as  she  was 
gaun  hame,  she  spied  a  bonny  trass  o'  berries  growin'  beside  a  brig.  And 
she  sajTS  to  the  kid :  "  Kid,  kid,  keep  my  bouse  till  I  pu'  my  bonny,  bonny, 
buss  o'  beiries." 

Deed  no,"  says  the  kid, "  I  '11  no  keep  your  boose  till  ye  pu*  your  bonny 
buss  o*  berries." 

Then  the  wife  gaed  to  the  dog,  and  said, "  Dog,  dog,  bite  kid ;  kid  winna 
keep  my  house,"  etc. 

The  series  proceeds  with  staflF,  fire,  water,  ox,  axe,  smith,  rope,  mouse,  cat, 
and,  on  the  latter's  refusal,  makes  the  wife  say,  •*  Do 't  and  1  'II  gie  ye  milk 
and  bread.  "  "  Wi'  that  the  cat  to  the  mouse,  and  the  mouse  to  the  rope,  etc., 
and  the  kid  keepit  tbe  wife's  house  till  she  pu'd  her  bonny  buss  o' berries."  ^ 

A  variant  represents  the  wife  as  anxious  to  gather  sticks.' 

"  Kid,  kid,  rin  hame,  leuk  the  boose,  an'  come  again,  till  I  gedder  a 
puckle  o'  sticks  to  my  fair  firie." 

"  Niver  a  lenth,"  said  the  kid,  "  will  I  rin  hame,  leuk  the  hoose,  an  come 
again ;  ye  can  dee't  yersel'." 

The  series  here  is  dog,  stick,  fire,  water,  oz,  smith,  mouse,  cat 

I  now  print  for  the  first  time  a  version  obtained  by  myself,  many 
years  ago,  from  the  recitation  of  Miss  Lydia  R.  Nichols  of  Salem, 
Mass.,  at  the  time  aged  88  years,  who  retained  the  words  as  a  remi- 
niscence of  her  earliest  infancy ;  the  date  ol  the  rhyme  therefore  goes 
back  to  about  iScxx 

KID  DO  Ga 

As  I  was  going  over  London  Bridge, 
I  found  a  penny  ha'penny,  and  bought  me  a  kid. 
Kid  do  go. 

Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midntght^ 
Time  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hour  and  a  half  ago. 

Went  a  little  further,  and  found  a  stick. 

Stick  do  beat  kid, 

Kid  won't  go. 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midnight. 
Time  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hour  and  a  half  ago. 

Went  a  little  further,  and  found  fire. 

Fire  do  bum  stick, 

Stick  won't  beat  kid. 

Kid  won't  go. 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midnight. 
Tune  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hour  and  a  half  ago. 

*  R.  Chambers,  Popular  Rhymes  ofSe»tUmd^  p.  57. 

*  W.  Grqpir,  Frik-Ltn  f^mrtuU  (LondooX  vol  ii.  pi  277. 


Digitized  by  Google 


3^  Jouimal  of  American  Folk^Lan, 


Went  a  little  further,  and  found  water. 

Water  do  quench  fire, 

Fire  won't  burn  stick, 

Stick  wont  beat  kid, 

Kid  won't  go. 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midn^fat, 
Time  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hoar  and  a  half  ago. 

Went  a  little  further,  and  found  ox. 

Ox  do  drink  water, 
Water  won't  quench  fire, 
Fire  won't  burn  stick. 
Stick  won't  beat  kid.  ' 
Kid  won't  gOb 
Know  by  the  moonligbt  it 's  almost  midnight, 
Time  kid  and  I  were  liome  an  hour  and  a  hdf  ago^ 

Went  a  little  further,  and  found  butcher. 

Butcher  do  kill  ox, 

Ox  won't  drink  water, 

Water  won't  quench  fir^ 

Fire  won  t  burn  stick, 

Stkk  won't  beat  kid. 

Kid  wont  go. 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midnigfat. 
Time  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hoar  and  a  half  ago. 

Went  a  little  further,  and  found  rope. 

Rope  do  hang  butcher. 

Butcher  won't  kill  ox, 

Ox  won't  drink  water, 

Water  won't  quench  fire, 

Fire  wont  bum  stick, 

Stick  wont  beat  kid, 

Kid  wont  go. 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it  *8  almost  midnight, 
Time  kid  and  I  were  home  an  hour  and  a  half  ago. 

Rope  began  to  hang  butcher,  butcher  began  to  kill  ox, 
Ox  began  to  drink  water, 
Water  began  to  quench  fir^ 
Fire  began  to  bum  stick, 
Stick  b^an  to  beat  kid. 
Kid  b^g^  toga 
Know  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midnight. 
So  kid  and  I  got  home  an  hour  and  a  half  ^ 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Passover  Song  of  the  Kid, 


37 


There  is  a  class  of  rhymes  of  this  sort  which  increase  and  then 
reverse,  and  which  in  English  are  called  accumulative.  The  French 
have  a  better  word,  rarnhmUif  (dialectically  rti^fttme).  An  anony- 
mous writer  from  Tarn  and  Garonne  remarks*  in  connection  with  a 
tale  of  this  class  :  "  This  old  rengame  was  a  favorite  in  all  the  coun- 
try-side ;  every  peasant  wife  used  it,  as  soon  as  she  had  children  to 
suckle  or  nurse.  The  child  remained  serious  and  attentive  as  long 
as  lasted  the  part  called  the  ascent  {inountado,  i.  e.  crescendo),  and 
burst  into  explosive  laughter  during  the  descent  {dabalado,  diminu- 
endo). The  ascent  was  merely  spoken,  every  phrase  on  the  same 
monotone,  and  the  descent  chanted  on  one  elevated  note."  ^ 

To  the  kid  song  belongs  an  extensive  literature.  An  excellent 
bibliography  is  furnished  by  J.  Bolte,  in  addition  to  an  article  of  R. 
Kohler.^  Since  new  versions  continually  appear,  while  the  number 
of  unpublished  variants  must  be  innumerable,  a  writer  cannot  be  per- 
fectly informed.  As  Bolte  has  not  discussed  the  forms  he  notes, 
I  shall  briefly  set  forth  the  results  of  a  comparative  examination. 

The  very  numerous  German  versions  exhibit  several  types.  A 
common  fonn  is  that  in  which  a  farmer  sends  his  servant  Jack  to 
perform  some  agricultural  labor,  and  Jack  refuses. 

Der  Bauer  schickt  den  Jackel  naus, 
Er  solt  den  Haber  schneiden ; 
Jackel  wolt  nicht  Haber  schneiden, 
Wolt  lieber  so  Hause  bleiben.* 

The  farmer  sends  Jack  to  mow  oats.  Jack  will  not  mow  oats,  would 
rather  stay  at  home. 

The  fanner  sends  his  man  to  feteh  Jack.  The  man  will  not  fetch  Jack, 
Jack  will  not  mow  oats,  would  rather  stay  at  home. 

The  song  proceeds  in  the  usual  cumulative  form.  The  farmer 
sends  the  dog  to  bite  the  man,  the  stick  to  beat  the  dog,  the  fire  to 
burn  the  stick,  the  water  to  quench  the  fire,  the  ox  to  drink  the 
water,  the  butcher  to  kill  the  ox,  the  vulture  to  carry  off  the  butcher, 
the  witch  to  enchant  the  vulture,  the  hangman  to  bum  the  witch, 
the  doctor  to  kill  the  hangman,  and  the  verse  concludes :  ~ 

Rather  than  be  killed,  I  will  burn  witch, 
Rather  than  be  burned,  I  will  enchant  vulture, 

^  Revue  des  Traditions  Pofiulaires,  vol.  ii.  1887,  p.  131.  The  rhyme  given  is  a 
version  of  that  in  English  called  the  *'  Cat  and  the  Mouse,**  though  in  the  French 
the  cat  does  not  appear.  "  I  am  going  to  find  Madame  that  she  may  give  me 
biaad.**  **  Madame  will  not,  unless  I  bring  her  the  keys  ci  Monslenr.** 

*  R,  KAUer,  KUiture  schriften  zum  neuerm  LtUrahnrgtschichte  volkskunde 
und  wortforsehungy  ed.  by  J.  Bolte*  Berlin,  i^oo^  Na  45 :  Der  Bauer  schickt 
den  Jackel  aus,  vol.  iii.  p.  355. 

*  Kdhler,  loc.  cit. 


ytmmal  of  American  Foik-Lore, 


Rather  than  be  enchanted,  I  will  cany  off  butcher. 
Rather  than  be  carried  off,  I  will  kiU  ox, 
Rather  than  be  killed,  I  will  drink  water, 

Rather  than  be  drunk,  I  will  quench  fire, 
Rather  than  be  quenched,  1  will  bum  stick, 
Rather  than  be  burned,  I  will  beat  dog, 
Rather  than  be  beat,  I  will  fetch  Jack, 
Rather  than  be  fetched,  I  will  mow  oats. 

Equally  common  is  a  variation,  in  which  the  duty  required  is  to 
gather  pears. 

The  master  sends  his  huntsman 

To  knock  down  pears ; 

Huntsman  will  not  knock  down  pears, 

PeaiB  will  not  fidl, 

Huntsman  wiU  not  pick. 

The  rhyme  proceeds  with  do^,  stick,  fire,  water,  ox,  and  the  devil, 
who  will  fetch  all.  This  form  of  the  song  has  had  a  sort  of  sacred 
use,  being  chanted  on  the  eve  of  St.  Lambert,  September  17,  in  the 
public  place  of  Munich,  about  greenery  with  lighted  candles ;  the 
great  dide  of  dancers^  wbo  performed  this  and  other  chants,  was 
headed  by  monks  of  various  orders.  Number-stories"  {ZU^gn- 
scJkiekUit)  of  this  sort  were  also  employed  in  gatherings  of  spinners, 
to  accompany  movements  of  the  hands.  A  clever  spinner  would 
spin  o£f  a  skein  and  recite  the  long  stanzas,  while  an  awkward 
worker  could  hardly  get  through  the  shorter  ones.' 

Other  German  forms,  in  which  Jack  figures  as  the  first  actor,  ghre 
a  series  accordant  with  the  English,  in  that  the  cat  is  made  to  catch 
the  mousey  the  mouse  to  gnaw  the  rope^  the  rope  to  hang  the 
butcher,  etc' 

Some  versions  that  have  this  series  (ending  with  the  cat)  dis- 
pense with  Jack,  and  make  the  history  recite  the  adventures  of 
Chanticleer  and  Partlet.  Thus,  in  a  Low  German  rhyme,  the  cock 
and  hen  proceed  to  the  wood,  where  the  latter  finds  a  grain  of  malt. 
Beer  is  brewed,  which  the  cock  begs  to  partake,  but  falls  into  the 
tub.  The  hen  then  appeals  for  help  to  the  man,  who  refuses,  and 
the  series  proceeds  with  the  dog,  stick,  etc.^ 

A  Flemish  variant  makes  Pouledinnetje  and  Pouledannetje  go  to 
pick  up  sticks  (after  the  manner  of  the  wife  in  the  Scottish  variant). 
After  they  have  proceeded  a  long  way,  the  latter  refuses  to  return 
without  being  carried,  and  the  dog  is  appealed  to.  The  series  ends 
(as  in  English)  with  rope,  mouse,  and  cat.* 

»  L.  Erk  and  F.  M.  Bohme,  Deutscher  Luderhort^  Leipsic,  1894,  vol.  Hi.  p.  530. 

*  E.g.  J.  M.  Finnenich,  Germaniens  Vblkerstimmen^  Berlin,  1854,  vol.  iii.  p.  22. 

*  K.  MfiUenhofl^  SchUnvige  Sagen^  Kiel,  1845,  p.  47a 

*  L,  de  Buedaer,  1)9  Ut  JtgH^iwM  du  NordditaF¥«muQ)fMmiU  CkritikmUm§t 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Passover  Song  of  the  Kid,  39 

A  version  from  Alsace*  instead  ol  a  kid,  treats  of  a  pi^^ 

Theie  was  a  wife  who  had  a  pig.  Once  on  a  time  the  pig  ran  into  the 
wood  to  eat  acorns.   After  it  had  eaten  enough,  the  wife  said :  Tig^  you 

must  go  home."    But  the  pig  would  not. 

Then  the  wife  went  to  the  dog,  and  said  :  *'  Dog,  bite  pig,  pig  won't  go 
home."    Then  said  dog:  '*The  pig  would  n't,  and  neither  will  I.'* 

Stick,  fire,  water,  cow,  butcher,  and  hangman  are  appealed  to  ;  rather 
than  be  hanged,  the  butcher  consents,  and  the  impulse  is  propagated. 

A  German  parody  introduces  the  finding  of  a  coin,  as  in  the  Eng- 
Ush.« 

Yesterday  I  swept, 

I  found  a  kreutzer ; 

The  kreutser  I  gave  to  my  mother, 

My  mother  gave  me  com. 

The  com  I  gave  to  die  nuUer, 

The  miller  gave  me  meal, 

The  meal  I  gave  to  the  brook, 

The  brook  gave  me  water, 

The  water  I  gave  to  my  father, 

My  father  gave  me  a  stick, 

The  stick  I  gave  to  my  teacher. 

My  teadier  gave  me  a  beating.  .  .  . 

Some  Dutch  versions  closely  answer  to  the  English.' 

There  was  once  a  little  man  who  swept  his  little  stable.  What  did  he 
find  ?  A  little  golden  penny.  What  did  he  buy  with  it  ?  A  fat  pig.  But 
the  pig  would  not  go,  unless  it  were  carried  on  a  litter.  Then  he  went  to 
the  dog :  "  Dog,  will  you  bite  pig,"  etc. 

Or,  still  more  nearly  correspondent :  — 

An  old  woman  had  bought  in  the  market  a  suckling  pig,  and  was  driving 
it  home.  On  the  way,  she  came  to  a  hedge  and  said :  "  Pig,  will  you  jump 
over  the  hedge  ?  '* 

Scandinavian  forms  offer  little  that  is  especially  characteristic.  In 
a  Danish  variant,  a  boy  who  is  set  to  keep  a  recalcitrant  goat  appeals 
to  a  dog :  *  — 

Lille,  1854,  p.  122.  (The  last  tem  of  this  series  Is  a  little  old  man,  who  Is  asked  to 
seize  the  cat ;  according  to  a  method  of  interpretation  fashionable  in  a  preceding 

generation,  Baeckcr  took  this  personage  to  be  Odin.) 

*  A.  Stober,  Elsdssische  l^olksbuchUin,  Strassburg,  1842,  No.  236. 

*  E.  Meier,  Deutsckt  Kindereinu  und  KindtrspieU  aus  Schwaberty  Tubingen, 
185 1,  p.  65. 

*  la  French  trantlatton,  Rmmg  du  TVmdiiions  PqfiMlmrtttydLiL  i89i,pp.  103, 

104. 

*  J.  Kamp,  Danske  Volkcmitider,  Odensee,  1877,  p.  241.  Asbjorsen,  translated 
by  G.  W.  Dasent,  Tales  from  the  Kjeld,  London,  1894,  p.  238,  has  an  elaborated  tale 
of  a  goat  who  is  la  the  habit  of  ooraing  home  late. 


uiyiiiz^ed  by  Google 


40  youmal  of  Anuruan  Folhdjtn. 

'*  Dog,  won't  you  bile  kid? 

Kid  won't  go  home, 

And  I  can't  get  any  supper." 
'*  Nov"  said  the  dog. 

Tiie  confused  series  ends  with  the  cat. 

So  far,  the  variants  have  not  thrown  much  light  on  the  evolution 
•  of  the  tale.    But  the  case  is  different  with  French  versions. 

The  earliest  printed  (in  1853)  made  the  story  one  of  a  wolf  who 
was  to  be  driven  from  a  wood :  — 

J'y  a  un  loup  dedans  un  bois, 
Le  loup  n'  veut  pas  sortir  du  bois. 
Ha  !  j'  le  promets,  compfer  &ocardi 
Tu  sortiras  de  ce  lieu-liL^ 

The  aeries  continues  with  dog,  stick,  fire,  water,  cal^  butcher,  Devil. 

However,  other  forms  show  that  in  this  rhyme  a  verse  has  fallen 
out ;  it  is  property  the  kid  who  must  be  driven  from  the  wood.* 

Ya  t'un  bioquet  dans  notre  bois^ 
Qui  ne  veut  pas  sortir  du  bois. 
Par  la  sambler,  monsieur  V  bioquet^ 
Vous  sortires  de  notre  bois. 

II  faut  aller  chercher  un  loup, 

Ce  sera  pour  manger  1'  bicquet,  etc. 

The  terms  are^  stick,  fire,  water,  calf,  butcher,  liangman  (JiMfmmr). 

With  more  propriety,  it  is  from  the  cahbuge^tch  rather  than 
from  the  wood  that  the  kid  should  be  expelled.* 

Biquette  ne  veut  pas  sortir  du  chou ; 
Ah  I  tu  sortiras,  Biquette,  Biquette, 
Ah  I  tu  sortiras  de  oe  choo-llL 

The  title  Biquette  (kid)  seems  not  always  to  have  been  understood, 
and  to  have  given  rise  to  the  proper  name  Brocard,  as  above,  and  in 
a  Ftoven^al  rhyme  to  Bricou,  who,  by  confusion,  is  required  to  plant 
cabbages :  "  Tell  Bricou  to  come  and  plant  cabbages  ;  Bricou  will  not 
come.  Ah !  coqtiin  of  a  Bricou,  in  si^e  of  this,  you  shall  plant  cab- 
bages!"* 

The  series  ends  with  butcher,  Moor. 

1  E.  L.  Rockholz,  Alimtmmsekn  Ki$ul^lMMulKimdtnpielfamdtrSdlmt*bif 
Leipsic,  1857,  p.  152. 

*  C.  Beauquier,  Chatuons  populaires  recuetllies  en  Franche-Comti^  Paris,  1894, 
p.  117. 

*  Du  Mersan,  Ckamam    RmtUs  en/ofttinUt  Paris,  1891,  p.  35. 

*  JUvtu  du  LamgHM  Rtmuma^  vol.  vi.  1874,  p  314. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Passovtr  Song  o/ik$  Kid. 


41 


In  a  variant,  Jean  (a  farm-hand)  is  required  to  drive  the  pig  irom 
the  garden  where  it  is  eating  the  grapes.^ 

Ha !  Jean,  dit  le  maitre, 
Va  m'  chasser  la  biquette 
Qui  mang'  tout'  not*  raisin, 
bas,  dans  1'  grand  jardin. 

The  next  step  is  to  dispense  with  the  kid,  and  begin  the  rhyme 
with  Jean,  who  is  represented  as  declining  to  perform  agricultural 
labors.:' 

Jean  is  clearly  identical  with  the  Jackcl,  etc.,  of  the  German 
rhymes,  which  therefore  are  perceived  to  be  only  variations  of  the 

Kid  song. 

A  further  alteration  was  effected  by  turning  the  kid  and  its  owner 
into  companions  with  alliterative  names.'^ 

It  was  Poutin  and  Poutot  who  lived  together.  One  said  :  "  We  will  go 
for  strawberries ; "  so  they  went.  Poutin  ate  faster  than  Poutot  When  he 
had  had  enough,  he  said  :  "  Now,  will  you  go  back  ? "  '*No,  not  till  I  have 
had  as  much  as  700."     Well,  I II  tell  tiie  wolf  to  come  and  eat  you,"  etc. 

This  form  of  the  narrative  is  widely  spread  through  Europe,  and 
is  often  referred  to  animal  actors,  as  in  the  story  of  the  cock  and 
hen,  above  given. 

We  perceivci  therefore,  that  the  German  and  English  rhymes 
derive  from  a  single  source^  namely,  the  story  of  the  kid  who  enters 
the  cabhage-patch,  and  cannot  be  driven  out  without  help^ 

Since  the  terms  of  the  series  of  actors  di£fer,  and  the  variants  go 
back  to  a  common  origin,  we  may  inquire  which  are  the  earlier. 

In  many  versions  the  wolf  first  appear^*  and  Is  asked  to  devour  the 
kid ;  however,  he  is  evidently  intopoUted,  since  no  householder 
wotdd  think  of  employing  a  wolf  to  drive  his  kid  home ;  and  con- 
formably, in  the  best  versions  he  is  absent  From  this  point  the 
series  is  uniform,  dog,  stick,  fire,  water,  ox,  butcher ;  then  arises  a 
divergence ;  one  set  of  variants,  to  which  belong  the  English  rhymes, 
have  rope,  mouse,  cat ;  another  set,  as  well  as  the  Hebrew,  introduce 
animate  actors.  The  better  versions  favor  the  last  form,  and  in  fad; 
the  change  can  be  explained :  the  butcher  is  to  be  controlled  by  an  . 
officer  of  the  law,  the  hangman;*  instead  of  the  latter  could  be  put 
the  rope  he  uses ;  the  rope  required  the  mousei  and  the  mouse  again 
the  cat. 

>  C.  Marelle,  AffensdkwtmMt  Bnmswick,  18S8,  p.  €^ 

*  Romania,  vol.  i.  p.  2 1 8. 

*  E.  Cosouin,  Contes  populaires  (U  Lorraine,  Paris,  1886,  vol.  ii.  p.  32. 

*  Bourreauy  K.  d.  T.  P.,  voL  x.  p.  662.  Du  Mersan,  loc.  cit.^  has  judge ;  Marelle, 
swocd.  The  tenn,  tAich  is  matiiig  in  tiM  LaSla  aad  Hebrew,  may  be  an  inteipo- 
latioa. 


Digitized  by  Go 


4* 


youmal  of  American  FoUt'Lon* 


In  the  preferable  forms,  after  bringing  in  human  justice,  the  origi- 
nal series  seems  to  have  called  first  on  demonic  and  then  on  cdestial 

power. 

Many  versions  end  with  Death  or  the  Devil,  agents  who  in  medi- 
aeval  folk-lore  often  exchange.' 

A  mediaeval  series,  however,  could  hardly  have  ended  in  this  man- 
ner ;  the  usual  procedure  would  have  been  to  recognize  the  supremacy 
of  divine  authority.  Accordingly,  the  Dominus  of  the  Latin  form 
must  have  meant  Dominus  Deus^  This  conclusion  is  corroborated 
by  the  Hebrew  chant. 

As  the  song,  ending  in  this  manner,  described  an  effect  produced 
by  a  chain  of  forces,  acting  mediately  after  the  will  of  ilie  Supreme, 
it  had,  according  to  Middle  Age  ideas,  a  character  sufficiently  serious 
to  allow  of  its  employment  as  a  sacred  chant.  We  find  it,  therefore, 
in  use  at  the  festivals  of  saints,  as  well  as  for  a  spinning-song,  a 
game-rhyme,'  and  an  exercise  of  memory,  while  the  prevailing  use, 
as  it  had  been  the  original  purpose,  was  for  the  amusement  and  con* 
solation  of  the  nursery. 

The  Jewish  Passover  song,  as  now  clearly  appears,  was  only  a 
translation  of  the  nMMfiwMi^.  The  version  b  veiy  imperfect,  sedng 
that  the  essential  feature  of  the  whole,  the  enforcement  of  a  rejected 
task,  is  wanting.  This  deficiency  probably  resulted  from  the  defects 
of  the  version  used  by  the  Tenderer.*  After  the  translation  had  been 
made,  the  sacred  use  acted  as  a  conservative  principle,  and  in  the 
Hebrew  version  maintained  the  serious  idea  involved  in  the  intro- 
duction of  Death  and  of  the  Almighty,  which  had  once  character- 
ized the  mediaeval  French,  .but  which  dropped  out  as  the  rhyme 
reverted  to  mere  nonsense. 

Inasmuch  as  Germans  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  familiar  with 
other  and  later  forms  of  the  rhyme, ^  the  rendering  must  have  been 
effected  long  before  the  publication,  and  may  have  proceeded  from 
Romance-speaking  Jews,  seeing  that  these  still  sing  the  piece.  In 

»  Death,  Rockholz,  loc.  cit.y  R.  d.  T.  P.,  vol.  vi.  p.  502.  In  European  veilioilS 
generally  the  terms  vary.    Modern  Greek  has  the  plague,  Passow,  loc.  cit. 

'  Many  versions  have  for  a  final  term  master,  which  is  understood  to  be  the 
BMSter  of  the  recaldtnut  servant^  but  naj  originally  have  bad  this  meanings 
Marelle,  loc.  cit. 

'  Several  rhymes  used  in  different  games  are  made  up  from  the  series  of  the 
Kid  song.  So  with  the  English  game  "Club-fist,"  Newell,  Games  and  Hongs  of 
American  Children^  No.  75.  French  game  of  queue  leu-leu^  Rev.  d*  LangmiS 
Romtmes^  vol  ill.  p.  313. 

*  Compare  version  of  A.  Montel  and  L.  Lambert,  ClumtS  ^OplJeuru  dm  Lmtt- 
guedoc,  I'aris,  1880,  p.  536,  and  the  Modem  Greek  of  Passow. 

*  The  song  is  mentioned  among  the  games  of  Gargantua  by  the  German 
Johannes  Fischart,  in  1575 :  "  Der  Baor  schickt  sein  Jdckel  aus,"  so  that  the  words 
must  have  been  neailjr  the  same  as  tliote  now  current 


Digitized  by  Google 


TAe  Passover  Sang  of  the  Kid,  43 

applying  the  randomUe  to  a  holy  uao,  these  only  foUowed  the  exam- 
ple of  their  Christian  neighhors.  The  Had  gadya  contains  nothing 
essentially  Jewish. 

The  impression  made  by  comparison  is,  that  the  source  was 
probably  Old  French,  say  of  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century ;  had  » 
the  beginning  of  the  evolution  been  much  older,  the  process  could 
haxdly  have  been  traced  so  much  in  detail,  and  the  derived  forms 
would  have  presented  more  variation. 

This  view  is  consistent  with  the  character  of  other  European 
versions. 

In  Italy,  the  recorded  variants  all  belong  to  secondary  forms ;  the 
kid  has  fallen  out  of  the  story.  ^ 

Spanish  variants  either  a^ree  with  the  Italian,  or  belong,  not  to 
this  particular  rhyme,  but  to  Other  mndotmies  which  also  have  had 
international  diffusion.^ 

In  Northern  Europe,  the  tale  is  understood  to  be  very  familiar  in 
Russia,  and  doubtless  in  all  Slavic  lands ;  but  the  examples  known 
to  me  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Russians  have  borrowed  the  story 
from  neighbors  to  the  south.* 

Modern  Greek  rhymes  present  a  confusion  and  deficiency  which 
seems  to  require  a  similar  explanation.* 

A  Breton  variety,  as  might  be  expected,  is  nothing  more  than  a 
rendering  from  an  inferior  French  form.* 

Indications,  therefore,  point  to  a  single  Old  French  root  for  the 
European  song. 

As  to  other  oontments,  the  collection  is  still  too  limited  to  formu- 
late any  definite  opinion.  What  may  be  said,  accordingly,  should  be 
given  merely  as  an  opinion  open  to  future  change  in  case  additional 
inquiry  should  point  out  new  facts. 

The  manner  in  which  European  nursery  rhymes  do  easily  pass 
into  the  folk-lore  of  simple  races  with  whom  Europeans  are  brought 

*  See  texts  mentioned  by  BoUe.  In  a  veiBicHi  off  Imbriui,  Cenii  pomiglia» 
tuHt  Naples,  i87<i^  Na  9^  tibe  son,  oCEended  by  bb  inoUier*t  faflnre  to  keep  his 
supper,  lefnses  to  eat  In  other  cases,  like  Jean,  tbe  boy  refuses  to  pick  cab- 
bages. 

*  E.  G.  Coclho,  yogas  e  rimas  infantiUs^  Porto,  1883,  No.  109,  resembles  the 
English  House  that  Jack  Built :  '*  **This  Is  the  key  wblcb  opens  die  gate  of  the 
castle  of  Chuchummel,''  etc 

*  The  version  of  Afanasief,  Siagki,yo\.  iv.  No.  16,  is  one  in  which  a  couple 
(here  the  he^oat  and  shonoat)  quanel,  as  in  the  French  Pontin  and  Poutot, 
above. 

*  Passow,  Carmina  popularia  Grecia  reeettHans^  Nos.  274-276.  An  old  man 
has  a  oock  that  keeps  him  awake;  the  fes  eats  it,  etc.  The  original  Idea  of  the 

enforcement  of  an  action  is  lost  (as  in  the  Hebrew  song). 

*  F.  M.  Luzel  and  A.  Le  Bras,  Ckautons p^pMnt  di la  Bassg-Bretagntt  1890, 
ToL  i.  p.  61. 


Digitized  by  Google 


44 


y&umal  of  Amerkan  FoUhLat^ 


in  contact,  is  illustrated  in  Algeria,  where  the  Kabyls  have  adoptedt 
not  only  this  randonnee,  but  others  of  a  kindred  spirit.^ 

In  India,  the  tale  is  said  to  be  universally  familiar  in  the  PanjAb.' 

A  crow  carries  off  a  grain  of  corn  belonging  to  the  wife  of  a 
farmer,  who  seizes  the  bird  and  demands  restoration.  The  corn, 
however,  has  rolled  into  a  cleft  in  a  tree,  whence  the  thief  cannot 
extricate  it ;  accordingly,  he  appeals  to  a  forester : — 

Man  !  man  !  cut  tree, 

I  can't  get  the  grain  of  corn, 

To  save  my  life  from  the  farmer's  wife  I 

As  the  forester  will  not  interfere,  appeal  is  made,  in  the  accumu- 
lative form,  to  queen,  king,  snake,  stick,  fire,  water,  ox,  rope,  mouse, 
cat.    "  So  the  cat  began  to  catch  the  mouse,"  etc. 

In  this  case,  the  European  rhyme,  of  which  the  influence  is  suffi- 
ciently shown  by  the  concluding  terms,  appears  to  have  amalgamated 
with  some  native  nursery  tale. 

In  Siam,  a  boy  set  by  an  aged  couple  to  watch  the  plantation 
refuses,  and  the  crow  carries  off  the  seeds.  The  boy  appeals  to  crow, 
hunter,  mouse  (to  bite  bowstring),  dog,  earwig,  fire,  water,  river- 
bank,  elephant  (to  break  the  bank),  and  gnat  (to  sting  elephant). 
The  chain  of  causes  is  set  in  motion,  and  the  crow  makes  abundant 
restoration.* 

In  a  Hottentot  story,  the  mouse  has  spoiled  the  garments  of  a 
tailor,  and  when  accused  before  the  peacock,  casts  the  blame  on  cat, 
dog,  treei  fire,  water,  and  elephant,  in  the  usual  accumulative  form. 
The  cat  is  finally  bidden  to  bite  the  mouse  and  does  so.  Since  that 
time  the  animals  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  each  other.* 

If  there  were  for  every  European  and  African  country  a  list  ol 
variants  as  complete  as  that  in  France  and  Germany,  it  might  be 
possible  to  trace  the  manner  in  which  each  member  of  the  history  is 
altered  and  adulterated,  and  to  determine  just  what  originals  have 
combined  for  such  result  Under  present  conditions,  this  cannot  be 
done. 

In  a  tale  from  Zanzibar,  Goso  the  teacher  is  killed  by  a  calabash 
shaken  from  a  tree  by  a  gazelle.  His  scholars,  who  wish  to  avenge 
him,  cast  the  blame  on  the  south  wind.   The  latter  replies,  that  if 

*  One  Kabyl  version  is  of  a  child  who  refuses  to  eat  (as  in  the  Italian).  J.  Riviere, 
Recmsildi  Cmies  popukdru  di  la  K^U»  du  Djurdjura^  Paris,  i832,  p.  137. 

*  F.  A.  Sted,  IVidMmaie  Siorigs,  Bombay,  1884,  p.  209^ 

'  Notes  and  Queries,  7th  ser.,  vol.  \x.  p.  461. 

*  W.  H.  lUcek,  Reineke  Fuchs  in  Afrika,  1S70,  p.  26.  The  idea  of  throwing 
blame  of  stolen  property  from  one  to  the  other  belongs  to  genuine  African  tales, 
whence  it  is  doubdeas  borrowed.  Bleek,  A/riam  FoOk'lir*^  papers  printed  tft 
tlie       MctUkfy  Muguuut  December  15, 1877. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Passover  Sang  of  ike  Kid.  45 


he  were  the  chief  (and  so  able  to  act  independently  and  responsibly), 
he  would  not  be  stopped  by  a  mud  wall.  The  wall  is  inferior  to  the 
rat  (which  digs  through),  and  so  on  with  cat,  rope,  knife,  fire,  water, 
ox,  tick,  gazelle.    The  latter,  being  guilty,  is  silent,  and  is  killed.^ 

This  story  is  of  interest  because  it  derives  in  part  from  a  really 
ancient  fiction.  The  Panchatantra,  and  other  works,  informs  us 
of  the  manner  in  which  a  hermit  changed  a  mouse  into  a  maiden. 
When  the  girl  came  to  be  of  marriageable  age,  the  hermit  wished  to 
select  the  most  powerful  husband.  The  Sun,  first  chosen,  declares 
his  inferiority  to  the  cloud  that  obscures  him,  the  cloud  to  the  wind, 
the  latter  to  the  mountain,  and  the  mountain  to  the  mouse.  The 
maiden,  who  has  found  serious  objections  to  other  proposed  bride- 
grooms, is  delighted  with  the  prospect  of  a  congenial  marriage,  and 
the  hermit  is  obliged  to  re<traiisform  her,  in  order  that  she  may  be 
able  to  enter  the  mouse-hola  Thus  eveiy  creature  returns  to  its 
own  essential  nature.* 

The  Sanscrit  tale^  which  is  an  apologue  with  an  obvious  moral,  has 
had  a  distinguished  literary  career,  and  is  responsible  for  a  fable  of 
La  Fontaine.  In  folkJore^  also,  it  has  retained  currency  to  the  pre- 
sent day.  What  is  sufficiently  curious  is,  that  in  Provence  as  well  as 
in  2!anzibar  it  has  been  turned  into  a  popular  remdotm^,  being  "  con- 
taminated "  from  the  Kid  song.  The  fly  and  the  ant  go  on  pOgrim* 
age  to  Jerusalem.  They  come  to  a  river,  which  the  ant  undertakes 
to  cross  on  the  ice,  and  breaks  his  leg.  He  sues  for  the  recovery  of 
this  member,  but  the  ice  sends  him  to  his  superior  the  sun,  the  sun 
to  the  cloud,  the  cloud  to  the  wind,  the  wind  to  the  wall,  the  wall  to 
the  rat ;  we  then  fall  back  on  the  terms  of  the  Kid  series, — ca^  dog^ 
ox,  fire,  water,  man,  death. ^ 

The  conclusion  seems  to  me  to  be  that,  according  to  present  evi- 
dence, it  is  likely  that  the  Old  French  narrator,  whose  song  of  the 
Kid  became  popular,  in  a  hundred  variations,  all  through  Europe,  is 
likewise  responsible  for  its  repute  in  other  continents.  Doubtless, 
his  (or  her)  rhyme  required  no  great  effort  of  invention,  being  only 
one  of  a  class  of  similar  histories.  When  and  how  the  type  itself, 
the  randomise  with  its  crescendo  and  diminuendo,  came  into  exist- 
ence, may  be  left  for  future  decision  with  better  light ;  it  is  enough 
to  say  that  it  is  not  shown  in  ancient  literature. 

*  E.  Steere,  Smakili  Tales,  London,  1870,  p.  288.  Also,  G.  VV.  Bateman,  Zan- 
MtUur  Tales,  Chicago,  1901,  p.  67.  Mr.  Bateman  alleges  that  he  has  himself  trans- 
lated tales  which  were  recited  to  htm  in  Zanzibar;  the  stories,  however,  eadilUt 
no  new  featxires  other  than  an  alteration  of  the  titles  by  which  they  are  designated. 
The  writer  does  not  mention  the  name  of  Steere. 

*  Benf^,  Pautschatantrat  vol.  ii.  p.  262  \  Cosquin,  op.  cii.^  voL  ii.  p.  4a 

*  RomaiUa,  voL  i.  p.  108. 


Digitized  by  Google 


youmal  o/Amiriean  Folk'Lorg. 


To  these  briei  comparisons  I  may  be  allowed  to  add  some  general 

observations. 

The  territory  traversed,  that  of  nursery  tradition,  may  seem  too 
humble  to  desen'e  scientific  survey ;  yet  it  is  precisely  in  these  lower 
regions  that  the  abundance  of  material  may  enable  the  inquirer  to 
test  wide-reaching  theories. 

It  is  not  every  species  of  nursery  lore  for  which  it  is  reasonable  to 
expect  foreign  parallels.  Many  of  the  little  but  witty  rhymes  which, 
by  a  name  borrowed  from  Perrault,  we  designate  as  belonging  to 
**  Mother  Goosey"  owe  their  acceptance  to  a  radness  which  depends 
on  the  accident  of  rhyme  or  aHiteration ;  they  could  not  recommend 
themselves  to  a  stranger,  and  a  nurse  in  France  would  employ  verses 
quite  different  Even  though  the  English  sayings  may  often  prove 
an  ancestiy  of  three  hundred  years,  they  are  nevertheless  essentially 
local  and  modem. 

On  the  other  hand,  other  kinds  of  nursery  tradition  may  claim  wide 
diffusion.  Such,  speaking  generally,  is  the  case  with  the  formulas 
belonging  to  games,  whether  those  used  by  children  or  by  nurses. 
So,  also,  with  the  accumulative  stories  to  which  belongs  the  par- 
ticular rhyme  which  has  been  considered.  In  such  cases  the  agree* 
ment  is  so  close  that  even  the  minor  varieties  have  become  interna- 
tional. The  collector  who  recorded  the  English  nutdcim/e  thought 
that  the  Hebrew  song  might  explain  other  series,  such  as  *'  The  Cat 
and  the  Mouse"  and  "The  House  that  Jack  Built"  We  see  that 
this  is  not  the  case,  but  that  each  of  these  pieces  of  nonsense  has  its 
separate  comparative  history  in  several  tongues. 

The  seriousness  of  the  Passover  chant  made  it  natural  to  presume 
that  it  had  in  some  way  a  serious  origin.  It  seems  to  represent  acts 
of  vengeance  inflicted  by  actor  after  actor,  until  the  final  term  is 
reached  in  deity.  Comparison  has  been  made  with  the  Athenian 
ceremony  of  the  Diapolia.  In  this  singular  rite,  an  ox  (or  bull)  who 
ventured  to  partake  of  the  sacred  meal  was  sacrificed  by  means  of  a 
knife  thrown  at  him  by  a  priest.  The  animal  was  then  stuffed,  put 
in  the  plough,  and  made  to  be  present  at  a  judicial  inquiry.  The 
maidens  who  brought  the  water  were  first  accused  of  the  murder ; 
they  cast  the  blame  on  the  knife-grinder,  he  in  turn  on  the  executor 
of  the  act,  the  latter  on  the  knife  itself ;  as  the  knife  could  not  plead, 
it  was  adjudged  guilty,  and  cast  into  the  sea.  Obviously,  the  rite 
was  intended  to  appease  the  spirit  of  the  sacrifice,  whose  ghost  or 
kindred  might  be  expected  to  avenge  the  deed.  Now,  as  we  have  a 
series  of  agents  on  whom  reproach  is  thrown,  it  was  thought  that 
such  ritual  usage  might  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  nursery  rhyme,  just 
as  the  "counting-out "  rhymes  of  children  have  been  supposed  to  be 
relics  of  formulas  employed  in  sacrificial  rites. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Th€  Passover  S<mg  of  tk0  Kid. 


47 


In  this  example,  comparative  examination  seems  to  establish  that 
the  randonnie  did  not  so  descend  from  religious  custom,  but  was  at 
first  simply  a  piece  of  nonsense^  which  obtained  currency  through  its  . 
sprightly  character.  Whatever  sacred  significance  it  obtained,  alike 
as  a  Christian  carol  and  Jewish  hymn,  was  conferred  by  process  of 
interpreting  sanctity  into  what  is  secular,  which  is  responsible  for  no 
small  part  of  mythdogy* 

The  wide  circulation  of  the  piece  is  a  gratifying  example  of  the 
ease  with  which  even  the  minor  elements  of  European  folk-lore  have 
found  their  way  to  simple  neighbors.  So  with  folk-tales ;  I  have 
elsewhere  argued  that  the  history  of  Cinderella,  popular  though  it 
be«  is  probably  no  world-old  myth,  but  a  sophisticated  story  of  medi- 
aeval romance  origin.^  Civilization,  which  is  light,  shines  into  the 
darkness,  by  which  it  is  little  affected.  For  communication  of  cul- 
tivated narratives  to  savages  the  door  is  wide  open ;  in  the  other 
direction  the  valve  swings  ta  The  obscurity  and  mysticism  of  sav- 
age chants  renders  them  incomprehensible ;  one  cannot  imagine  a 
European  mother  using  a  Hottentot  or  Berber  song.  In  the  same 
manner  Bretons  get  many  of  their  folk-tales  from  France,  Basques 
from  Provence  or  Spain,  and  even  modem  Irishmen  from  modern 
Englishmen.  As  I  have  written  respecting  the  tale  of  the  "  Bird- 
wife:"— 

Tlie  origin  and  history  of  a  folk-tale  common  to  many  countries,  such 
as  the  one  which  has  been  the  subject  of  discussion,  may  be  figuratively 
represented  by  the  illustration  of  a  species  of  vegetable,  which  has  origi- 
nated in  an  early  civilization  at  a  time  so  remote,  that  from  the  first  mo- 
ment of  its  discernible  history  it  possesses  a  cultivated  character.  This 
v^etable,  again,  under  the  influence  of  civilization,  is  differentiated  into 
new  varieties,  arising  in  different  localities,  each  one  of  whicii,  on  account 
of  advantages  which  it  appears  to  offer,  may  in  its  turn  be  introduced  into 
differeot  legioiia^  and  even  supeisede  the  original  out  of  which  it  was  de- 
veloped, this  dissemination  following  tiie  routes  of  commerce  and  ordinarily 
proceeding  from  the  more  highly  organized  countries  to  those  inferior  in 
the  scale  of  culture.* 

These  remarks  need  to  be  modified  by  the  recognition  that  in  some 
cases,  the  process  indicated,  far  from  beginning  in  a  remote  period, 
may  be  comparatively  modem.  The  winged  seeds  of  tradition  may 
suddenly  take  root,  multiply  with  speed,  and  soon  become  abundant 
Once  firmly  established^  the  new-comers  may  persist,  as  in  the  pre- 
sent example  has  for  three  centuries  been  true  of  the  German  rhyme ; 
such  obstinacy  does  not  show  that  the  pkint  is  autochthonous,  nor 

>  Journal  of  AmiHeam  ^oO-Un,  vol.  v9. 1894,  p.  70. 
'  Thg  /Hifrmaiimiat  FM-£mv  Cvmgms^  1891.    Papas  and  TraiMictions. 
London,  1892^  p.  40. 


Digitized  by  Google 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


that  it  had  indefinite  antiquity  prior  to  the  date  of  record.  The 
immigrant  is  often  variable,  and  freely  amalgamates  with  the  native 
•  flora;  such  "contamination"  seems  to  proceed  more  easily  in  un- 
lettered communities,  where  fancy  easily  takes  oral  channels  ;  we 
then  usually  find  combination  with  aboriginal  histories,  introduction 
of  savage  motives,  and  recast  into  barbaric  form.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  tradition  of  civilized  lands,  as  less  free,  may  be  more  con- 
servative. Thus  English  lore  sometimes  maintains  characteristics 
of  a  history  which  has  perished  in  its  original  habitat ;  so  in  the  Kid 
rhyme  has  been  preserved  the  humorous  preface  which  once  was  a 
necessary  feature  of  all  randonnies. 

The  series  under  consideration  also  illustrajtes  the  di£Ference  of 
literature  and  folk-lore  as  regards  method  of  composition.  In  some 
variants  we  have  illustrated  a  process  entirely  corresponding  to  that 
of  written  letters ;  the  brief  nursery  rhyme  was  expanded  into  a 
long  story»  just  as  a  modem  author  enlaiges  a  nursery  tale  into  a 
novelette.  The  majority  of  reciters  repeated  the  rhyme  with  an 
intention  of  adherence  to  their  original ;  but  lapse  of  memoiy  on  one 
hand,  influence  of  association  on  the  other,  introduced  unconscious 
changes,  which  sometimes  accumulated  in  such  manner  as  to  alter  the 
form.  In  general,  the  tendency  was  toward  confusion ;  the  formula 
degenerated,  so  as  to  forfeit  such  measure  of  consistency  as  it  had 
once  possessed.  Here,  however,  app>ears  a  certain  degree  of  free- 
dom ;  reciters  appropriated  and  reproduced  the  fun  of  the  piece, 
using  their  own  words,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Scottish  variants.  On 
the  whole,  so  far  as  regards  the  history  now  in  question,  the  meth- 
ods of  folk-lore,  beyond  the  difTerence  arising  from  the  oral  medium, 
offer  no  salient  distinction  to  those  of  literature. 

Since  this  article  has  been  put  into  type,  I  find  that  the  Rhyme 
of  the  Kid,  in  the  form  above  given,  has  been  generally  known  in 
New  England.  Readers  of  the  proof,  respectively  from  White  River 
Valley,  Vt.,  and  from  Norway,  Maine,  find  the  history  familiar. 
The  first  informant  learned  the  rhyme  from  a  grandmother  who 
originally  came  from  Norwich,  Conn.  The  only  difference  observed 
in  the  words  is  that  the  first  line  of  the  refrain  went :  — 

See  by  the  moonlight  it 's  almost  midnight. 

WiUiam  Wills  Newell, 


Digitized  by  Google 

I 


Same  TradUiamml  Smgs, 


49 


SOME  TRADITIONAL  SONGS. 


In  the  present  brief  article,  I  shall  give  an  account  of  four  songs 
or  ballads,  with  presentation  of  variants  for  comparison,  included  in 
the  interesting  collection  of  family  songs  recently  printed  by  the 
Aliens,  of  Medfield,  Mass.,  in  whose  family  they  have  been  traditional 
for  many  generations.  Not  alone  because  of  the  uniqueness  of  one 
or  two  of  them  are  they  objects  ol  interest  to  the  student  of  folk- 
lore, but  also  because  of  the  authenticity  of  the  tradition  that  hat 
kept  them  alive. 

I.  THE  ELFIN  KNIGHT. 

In  the  printed  collection  referred  to  above,  this  ballad  is  given 
under  the  title,  "  Blow,  ye  Winds,  Blow." 


yrr7"r~rrf-r  n  c  r  if 


Y<m 


fins    Bol-laiid  ddit*   Blow,  blow, 


.  Qg  ^  

V  

7=?= 

J     J  3 

h  1 

-Tl  

m  J  

 J 

1  mLJi  ■  

tlow,    jn    winctoi  blow,     And     not     havt  in 


•dtdi  of  BM-dlowoiiEt     Blow,  yo  winds  diat    n  -  rise,  blow,  Uow. 


I  You  must  make  me  a  fine  Holland  shirt,  — 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow,  — 
And  not  have  in  it  a  stitch  of  needlework,— 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  blow,  blow. 

s  You  must  wash  it  in  yonder  spring, 
Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow, 
Where  tliere 's  never  a  drop  of  water  in, 
Btow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  Uow,  blow. 

3  You  must  dry  it  on  yonder  thorn, 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow, 
Where  the  sun  never  yet  shone  on, 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  blow,  blow. 

4  My  father 's  got  an  acre  of  land. 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow, 
You  must  dig  it  with  a  goose  quill, 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  Uow,  Uow. 
VOL.  xvm.— 110.68.  4 


Digitized  by  Google 


50  yoimuU  of  Amtriam  Fdk-Lan* 

5  You  must  sow  it  with  one  seed, 

BioWf  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow. 
You  most  mp  it  with  yonr  tfaamb  iiail» 
Blow,  ye  winds  tfiat  arise,  blow,  blow. 

6  You  must  thrash  it  on  yonder  sea, 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow, 
And  not  get  it  wet,  or  let  a  kernel  be, 
Blow,  ye  wind^  that  arise,  blow,  blow . 

7  YoQ  miist  grind  it  on  yonder  hill, 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow. 
Where  there  yet  has  ne'er  stood  a  mill. 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  blow,  blow. 

8  Wben  you've  done^  and  finished  your  wori^ 

Slow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow, 
Bring  it  unto  me  and  you  shall  have  your  shirt, 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  blow,  blow. 

ComiKiT  ison  of  this  version  with  the  several  others  taken  down  of 
late  years  in  various  parts  of  this  country  brings  out  the  fact  that  it 
comes  from  a  distinct  and  separate  line  of  tradition.  This  appears 
from  the  refrain,  "  Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds,  blow."  In  the  other 
versions  referred  to, — which  i^pear  to  spring  from  a  line  of  tradi- 
tions rather  English  than  Scotch, — the  refrain  was  originally  a  list  of 
names  of  fiowers,  in  course  of  time  perhaps  becoming  much  altered. 

For  purposes  of  comparison,  as  showing  well  the  specific  pouits 
of  difference  in  the  two  lines  of  tradition,  the  following  set  of  the 
words  of  this  ballad,  recently  recovered  by  me,*  may  be  of  interest 


I  want  yon  to  bmIm  au    a    cm  -  brie  liilit,  Pan*  lay  aad 


If  J  frjij  J  Jir  JiJ  J  JiJ 


sage,   rose*  ma  -  ry    and  tb3rn)e,  With -out     a  -  ny  nee  •  die  or 


^     P  P 


a 'Bj  liao  w(^  And  thai  yraahall   be    a  tmalov-cr    of  mina. 

X  I  want  you  to  make  me  a  cambric  shirt, 
Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme. 
Without  any  needle,  or  any  fine  work, 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  miue. 

1  Tkg  Elfin  Kn^ht.  Recorded  about  1875  by  a  lady  of  Proridence,  R.  1^  from 
the  singing  of  an  i^ed  num. 


Digitized  by  C 


Same  TradUiomU  Songs, 


51 


a  Go  wash  it  out  in  yonder  well, 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
Where  there  *s  never  no  water  nor  drop  of  rain  fell, 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

3  Go  hang  it  out  on  yonder  thorn, 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
Where  there  *s  never  no  blossom,  since  Adam  was  bom. 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

4  Now,  since  you  have  asked  me  questions  thrae^ 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
I  pray  you  would  grant  rae  the  same  liberty. 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

5  I  want  you  to  buy  me  an  acre  of  land, 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
Between  the  salt  water  and  the  sea  sand, 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

6  Go  plough  it  all  up  with  one  cuckold's  horn, 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme. 
Go  sow  it  all  down  with  one  peppercorn, 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

7  Go  reap  it  all  up  with  a  aidde  of  leather, 

Parsley  and  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
And  bind  it  all  up  with  one  cock's  feather. 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

IT.  THB  RAM  OP  DARBY. 

This  amusing  ballad  or  song  is  said  to  have  been  originally  the 
composition  of  a  malefactor,  under  sentence  of  death,  in  an  effort  to 
write  a  song  in  which  there  should  not  be  a  single  word  of  truth. 

Among  the  Allen  Family  songs  is  a  version  of  this  ballad,  sung  to 
an  air  which  seems  to  be  a  set  of  the  same  air  to  which  it  is  usually 
sung  in  England,  —  an  air  having  some  resemblance  to  the  "  Hobby 
Horse  Dance." 


 N  

 :  :  N        1  [' 

Ab 

=4= 

-4  d  1 

I    WW  8« 

lag  to 

Dm  '  bj, 

=#±±=t=f=E=d 

Up  •  on     %     mu  '  kit 

d»y,  I 

=t= 

saw 

the  big 

gest     ram,        sir.  That 

-4 

«r  •  «r  WW  fid  with  bay.     That  ev  •  er  ww  ltd   with  hay. 


Digitized  by  Google 


52  youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

I  As  I  was  going  to  Derby, 

Upon  a  market  day, 
I  saw  the  biggest  ram,  sir, 
That  ever  was  fed  with  hay, 
That  ever  was  fed  with  hay. 

s  The  ram  was  fat  bebind,  sir, 
The  ram  was  fat  before, 
He  measured  ten  yards  round,  sir, 
I  tbinlK  it  was  no  more. 

3  The  wool  grew  on  his  back,  sir. 

It  reached  to  the  sky, 
And  there  the  eagles  built  their  nests, 
I  beard  tbe  young  ones  ciy. 

4  Tlie  wool  grew  on  his  belly,  sir. 

And  reached  to  the  ground, 
rr  was  sold  in  Derby  town,  sir. 
For  for^  thousand  pound. 

5  The  wool  upon  Us  tail,  sir, 

Filled  more  tiian  fifty  bags. 
Yon  had  better  keep  away,  sbr, 
When  that  tail  shakes  and  wags. 

6  The  horns  upon  his  head,  sir, 

Were  as  high  as  a  man  could  reach, 
And  there  they  built  a  pulpit,  sir, 
The  Quakers  for  to  preach. 

7  And  he  who  knocked  this  ram  down, 

Was  drowned  in  the  blood. 
And  he  that  held  the  dish,  5;ir, 
Was  carried  away  by  the  ilood. 

8  And  all  the  boys  in  Derby,  sir, 

Came  begging  for  his  eyes, 
To  kick  about  the  streets,  sir. 
As  any  good  football  flies. 

9  The  mutton  that  the  ram  made 

Gave  the  whole  army  meat. 
And  what  was  left,  I 'm  told,  sir, 
Was  served  out  to  the  fleet. 

Abtufd  as  it  is,  this  song  has  a  special  interest  for  us  Americans, 
owing  to  the  recorded  tradition  that  General  Washington  sang  it  on 


Digitized  by  Google 


Some  TradiUotuU  Songs.  53 

one  occasion  to  the  children  of  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth.    This  tradi- 
tion is  recorded  by  the  late  Senator  Hoar,  in  his  autobiography. 
The  following  version  comes  from  Glover,  Vermont :  — 

X  As  I  was  going  to  Derby, 

Upon  a  market  day, 
I  spied  the  biggest  ram,  sir, 

That  ever  was  fed  on  hay. 
That  ever  was  fed  on  hay,  sir, 

That  ever  was  fed  on  hay, 
I  spied  the  biggest  ram,  sir, 

That  ever  was  led  on  hay. 

Tow  de  row  de  dow,  dow, 

Tow  de  row  de  da. 
Tow  de  row  de  dow,  dow. 

Tow  de  row  de  da. 

3  He  had  four  feet  to  walk  on, 

He  had  four  feet  to  stand, 
And  every  foot  he  had,  sir. 

Covered  an  acre  of  land. 
Covered  an  acre  of  land,  sir,  etc. 

3  The  wool  upon  his  back,  sir, 

It  reached  up  to  the  dcy, 

The  eagles  built  their  nests  there, 
For  I  heard  the  young  ones  cry. 
For  I  heard  the  young  ones  ay,  sir,  etc. 

4  The  wool  upon  his  tail,  sir, 

I  lieard  the  weaver  say, 
Made  three  hundred  yards  of  cloth. 

For  he  wove  it  in  a  day. 
For  he  wove  it  in  a  day,  sir,  etc. 

5  The  horns  upon  this  ram,  sir, 

They  readied  up  to  the  moon, 
A  nigger  climbed  up  in  January, 

And  never  came  down  till  June. 
And  never  came  down  till  June^  shr,  etc 

6  The  butcher  that  cut  his  throat,  sir, 

Was  drowttded  in  the  blood, 
And  the  Utte  boy  that  held  the  pail 

Was  carried  away  in  the  flood. 
Was  carried  away  in  the  flood,  sir,  etc' 

*  In  the  Awmicm  MmiMy  Mt^suiiu  for  October,  18971  the  above-mentioned 
f  of  General  Washington  is  tdd.  A  similar  veisioa  of  the  ballad  is  given. 


Digitized  by  Google 


54 


Jourthal  of  American  Folk-Lare. 


In  Derby,  England,  the  ballad  of  the  Ram  has  oontiniied  to  be 
popular,  and  is  sung  in  much  the  same  manner.  There  are  a  number 
of  additional  verses.  For  the  salce  of  comparison,  the  foUowang 
stanzas  may  be  cited: — 

The  space  between  his  horns,  sir, 
Was  as  far  as  a  man  could  reach, 

And  there  they  built  a  pulpit 
For  the  parson  there  to  preach. 

This  ram  jumped  ofer  a  wall,  sir, 

His  tail  caoglit  on  a  briar, 
It  reached  from  Darby  town,  sir, 

All  into  Ldoesteishire. 

And  of  this  tail  so  long,  sir, 

'T  was  ten  miles  and  an  ell, 
They  made  a  goodly  rope,  sir, 

To  toll  the  market  bell. 

The  little  boys  of  Darby,  sir, 

They  came  to  beg  his  eyes. 
To  kick  about  the  streets,  sir,  ^ 

For  they  were  football  sise.  * 

The  jaws  that  were  in  his  head,  sir, 

They  were  so  fine  and  thin, 
They  were  sold  to  a  Methodist  pSISOn, 

For  a  pulpit  to  preach  in. 

Indeed,  sir,  this  is  true,  sir, 

I  never  was  taught  to  lie, 
And  had  you  been  to  Darby,  sir, 

Yott 'd  have  seen  it  as  well  as  I.* 

The  song  belongs  to  the  ckus  of  "  lying  tales,"  or  extravaganzas. 

*  L.  Jewitt,  Tkt  Baitads  and  Songs  of  Dti^shirt^  London,  1867,  p.  1 15.  Con- 
coming  football,  the  editor  eapbins  that  this  was  ewentiaHy  a  Derby  game,  aad 

waa  played  every  year,  frequeady  with  highly  disastrous  consequences,  until  pot 
down  by  the  authorities  a  few  years  back.  On  Shrove  Tuesday  business  waa 
entirely  suspended,  and  the  townspeople  being  divided  into  two  parties,  —  All 
Saints  and  St.  Peter*s,  —  the  ball  was,  at  noon,  thrown  from  the  Town  Hall  to  the 
denaely  packed  masses  in  the  maifcei-pfaKeb  the  two  partica  each  tiying  to  goal 
it  **  at  didr  raapecttve  placea.  The  light — for  it  was  noddng  less — condnned  for 
many  hours,  and  sewers,  brook-courses,  and  even  rivers  were  invaded,  and  scores 
of  people  who  were  fortunate  enough  not  to  get  killed  or  lamed  were  stripped  of 
their  clothing  in  the  fray. 


Some  Traditional  Songs, 


55 


III.  THE  QUAKERS  WOOING. 

The  most  complete  version  of  this  quaint  little  comic  song,  for 
such  it  evidently  is,  may  be  found,  with  the  air  to  which  it  was  sung, 
in  Mr.  Newell's  "Games  and  Songs  of  American  Children."  In  the 

Allen  songs  is  a  shorter  version,  as  follows:  — 


2^ 


■Mad  •  ttBt  I     hmcoBM    to  woo  tMe»    Ofa,  ham. 


ohl 


Mad  •  am. 


have  com«      to   ooart  thee,     Oh  t  hum* 


t3  —  T  IT 


Ob»     daw  iMt' 


*  Get    yon  gMMk  yoa  mm  •  ^  Qw  -  kir, 


Hi 


dj  obi 


I'D 


of  JOW 


1 


Qnakar-iih  ac  -  tioMlKvt^ty  -  ka  dfadc      a     da  -  dji  ohl** 

X  "  Madam,  I  have  come  to  woo  thee, 
O,  hum,  oh  ! 
Madam,  I  have  come  to  court  thee, 
Oh,  hum,  oh  dear  me  I" 
**Gct  yoa  gone,  you  saucy  Quaker, 
Hiadinkedadyolil 
111  have  none  of  your  Quakerish  actkmfl^ 
Kutty  ka  diok  a  dady  ohl" 

a  "  I 've  a  ring  cost  forty  shilling, 

Oh,  hum,  oh,  ' 
Thou  Shalt  have  It  If  thee  art  wUlhtg^ 
Oh,  hum,  oh  dear  me  1" 
<*!  11  have  none  of  your  rings  or  moiiey» 
Hi  a  dink  a  dady  oh ! 
I  '11  have  a  man  that  calls  me  ^  Honey,' 
Kutty  ka  dink  a  dady  oh ! " 

3  ^'Must  I  then  change  my  religion, 
Oh,  hum,  oh  I 
And  become  a  Presbyterian  \ 
Oh,  hum,  oh  dear  met " 


yaumai  of  Amerium  Felk-L&n, 


"  You  must  learn  to  lie  and  flatter, 
Hi  a  dink  a  dady  oh^ 
Else  you  never  can  come  at  her, 
Kutty  ka  dink  a  dady,  oh ! " 

From  Fall  River,  Mass.,  I  have  the  following  version,  which  I 
take  occasion  to  print  here  for  purposes  o£  comparison : 

I  "  Itfadin,  I  have  come  ftcourting, 
Yottfortosee, 
To  marry  yon  I  have  a  noCioii, 
Oh,  deary  me  1" 

8  "  To  marry  you  I 've  no  desir^ 
Fal-lal,  fal-lal  fal-lal-la, 
I  '11  sit  down  and  poke  the  fire, 
Fal-lal,  fal-lal,  fal-lal-la." 

3  Here's  a  ring  cost  forty  shi]]l^g% 

Oh,  deary  me, 
Thou  may'st  have  it  if  tfaoa  art  wflUng^ 
Oh,  deary  me  1" 

« 

4  "  I  want  none  of  your  rings  or  money, 

Fal-lal.  fal-lal.  fal-lal-la. 
Give  me  the  man  that  calls  me  '  Hooey,' 
Fal-lal,  falM  fal-laUa." 

5  Fare  you  well,  for  «e  most  part^ 

Oh,  deary  me, 
I  don't  care  if  I 've  broke  yomr  heart, 
Ob,  deary  me  1 " 

6  "  I  '11  go  home,  and  tell  my  mammy, 

Fal-lal,  fal-lal,  fal-lal-la, 
You  may  go  to  the  Old  Harry, 
FalMfelMfal-hd-Ul" 

IV.  THE  TWELVE  DATS  OP  CRItISTllA& 

Mentioned  among  the  Allen  Songs  as  a  Christmas  carol,  it  is, 
however,  neither  a  Christmas  song  nor  a  carol  Mrs.  Gomme  (Tra- 
ditional Games,  vol  iL  p.  319)  gives  the  best  account  of  it,  showing 
that  it  is  originally  a  game,  bearing  some  resemblance  to  the  game 
of  *'|^orfeit8»''  and  connected  with  the  festivities  of  the  Epiphany. 

*'  The  company  were  all  seated  round  the  room.  The  leader  of 
the  game  commenced  by  saying  the  first  line.  The  Imes  lor  the  fira^ 


.  ij  i^ud  by  Google 


Same  Traditional  Songs, 


57 


day  of  Christmas  were  said  by  each  of  the  company  in  turn,  — then 
the  first  day  was  repeated,  with  the  addition  of  the  second  by  the 
leader,  and  then  this  was  said  all  around  the  circle  in  turn.  This  was 
continued,  until  all  the  lines  were  said  all  round  the  circle  in  turn. 
For  every  mistake,  a  forfeit  had  to  be  given  up.** 
The  version  in  the  Allen  Songs  is  as  follows ;  — 


fart    of    a  Jn  -  ai  •  per  tree. 


^1 — 1 

7— r-j  J  J  j- 

The  tweifthday    of  Chriit-iiiai  ny    tnw  lov«  MBk  to 


<s>- 


« — ^ 


Twelve  lords  a  reap-in^flve  gold  liogPb  Fow  ooUcfobifdStTluee French boM^ 
etc.   (Gifts  12  or  6.) 


4\  


Two  tnr-tfo    dofataad   «   fMurt    of     a    J«  •  ni •  par  tree. 


I  The  first  day  of  Christmas  my  true  love  sent  to  me 
A  part  of  a  juniper  Uee. 

3  The  Mcond  day  of  Christmas  my  true  love  sent  to  me 
Tiro  turtle  doves,  and  a  pert  of  s  juniper  tree. 

And  so  on,  a  different  gift  being  added  for  each  of  the  twelve  dajfs. 
The  last  stanza  reads  as  follows 

19  The  twelfth  day  of  Cbristmas  nqr  tme  love  sent  to  me 
Twelve  lords  a-rea]iiiig^ 

Eleven  golden  pippiosy 
Ten  fiddlers  playing, 
Nine  ladies  dancing, 
Eight  hounds  a-running, 
Seven  swans  a-swimmii^| 
Six  geese  a-flying, 
Jive  gold  rings, 
Four  college  birds, 
Three  French  hens, 

Tiro  tnrde  doves,  aiid  a  part  ol  a  jtiniper  tree. 


Digitized  by  Google 


58 


youmal  of  American  Folk'Lore, 


This  song  became  popular  in  America  at  an  early  date,  — as  the 
following  melody,  copied  from  a  manuscript  of  1790^ 


First  Day. 


^         Twelfth  Day. 

j  r  I  I  I  ^  1^  iJ  /  J'  ^  ^ 


c  c  1!  ^  r  If  1  ci'^c^ 


— 


(1 2th  to  6th  Gifts.) 


5 


4: 


(SthGiig 


(4th  Gift.) 


(3d  Gift.) 


(3d  Gift.) 


(itt  Gifl.) 


From  the  same  source  as  the  version  of  "The  Elfin  Knight,"  cited 
on  a  previous  page,  I  have  the  following  set  of  the  words  and  air  of 
this  game-song. 


— ^ 


Hm  fint  day  of  Clulit-mu  my  tnia  Ion  Mot  to  nt 


p«t   of   a    Jtt  •  fll-par 


TwmTB  Day. 


ThotwdlUi  day   of  Chitat- 


my  tm  low 


to  BO 


Twelve  ships  a- Hdl  •  infi  Itw  gpldifa^Fonrool  •  ly  UidiiTlifMFlNachboKMi 
etc.  (Gift*  i>to6b)  . 


Two    tor  •tie    doves,  And  a    part     of    a    Ja  •  oi*  par  tna. 


Some  1  radii ioTiai  Songs,  59 

I  The  first  day  of  Christmas  my  true  love  sent  to  me 
A  part  of  a  juniper  tree. 

And  so  on,  a  different  gift  being  added  for  each  oi  the  twelve  days. 
The  twelfth  stanza  is  as  follows,  — 


IS  The  twelfth  day  of  Chiistmts  my  true  love  sent  to  me 

Twelve  ships  a-sailing, 
Eleven  bells  a-ringing, 
Ten  girls  a-dancing, 
Nine  fiddles  playing, 
Eight  horses  running, 
Seven  smms  a-swimming, 
Six  geese  spying, 
Five  gold  rincpiy 
Foot  colfy  birds, 
Three  French  honis» 

Two  turtle  doves^  and  a  part  of  a  juniper  tree. 

Boston,  Mass.  ^ 

Editoeial  note.  The  pamphlet  from  which  are  taken  the  four  songs  above 
given  is  entitled  <*  Family  SongSi  eompUed  by  Rosa  S.  AUen.  Music  amaged 
by  Joseph  A.  Allen.  As  sung  by  the  Aliens  St  the  Homestead^  GMde  Hil^  Med- 

field,  Massachusetts,  1899."    Pp.  14. 
The  songs  included  are  as  follows :  — 

1.  Katy  Cruel. 

2.  Johnny,  the  Miller. 

3.  Blow,  ^e  Wiadii  Blow. 

4.  F«lly  Van. 

5.  Bingo. 

6.  The  Ram  of  Derby. 

7.  Song  of  a  Hunter. 

8*  A  Frog  he  wookl  A«Wooiog  go. 
9^  The  Dumb  WICe. 
la  When  Adam  was  First  Created. 

11.  The  Twelve  Days  of  Christmas. 

12.  The  Quaker's  Wooing. 

This  little  collection,  which  includes  examples  of  some  ancient  ballads,  may 
serve  as  illustration  of  the  considerable  body  of  folk-song  still  ^"ft^f^g  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  awaiting  cofleetien. 


Digitized  by  Google 


6o 


journal  of  Anurietm  FolkZan^ 


RECORD  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE, 

NOKTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkian.  Powhatan.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist" 
(vol.  vi.  n,  s.  pp.  670-694)  for  October-December,  1904,  Mr.  W. 
W.  Tooker  discusses  at  length  "  Some  Powhatan  Names,"  largely 
with  reference  to  etymologies  recently  proposed  by  Mr.  W.  R. 
Gerard  in  the  same  periodical  for  January-June,  1904.  Among  the 
words  treated  are :  Appamatuck  f  tiie  retting  tree  Quiyoughquo- 
banock  ("  place  where  the  lesser  priests  were  initiated  Rapahanock 
("  country  of  exceeding  plenty  Warraskoyac  ("  the  top  or  point  of 
the  land"),  Onawmanient  ("a  . path  where  they  were  led  astray  or 
betrayed  Orapikes  ("a  solitary  water-place  or  swamp  "),  Werowo- 
comoco  ('* sachem's  house ")»  Wynauk  ('* winding  about  place"), 
Massawomek  ("those  idio  travel  by  boat "),  Chickahominy  (*'  hominy 
people"),  aUowk  ("plaything"),  attaangwassuwk  ("shining  star"), 
attgmoMS  (from  radical  "to  hunt "),  cattapeuk  ("  sowing  time "),  gtiaa* 
necut  ("long  mantle"),  iapaantamnais  ("satisfied  or  contented  with 
com  "),  utU^aantam  ("  food  that  contented  them  cutssenepo  ("  mid- 
dle-aged person"),  cuttoundg  (an  onomatopoetic  term),  kekatau^ 
("one  remains  ("great  mantle  of  deer-skin  "), /attv^ 

hiccora  ("  made  from  broken  or  pounded  shells  "),  matatsno  (typo- 
graphical error  for  menatano),  nimatewh  ("he  is  my  brother"), 
nahapue  ("  he  that  abides  aspamu  ("  our  abode  "),  ottawam  ("  our 
possession  "),  Uttasantasough  ("  he  speaks  a  strange  language "), 
paqwantewun  ("clean  apron"),  bagwanchybassen  ("it  bindeth  about"), 
putt€7vas  ("he  is  covered"),  ontacan,  un?itttc  ("head-heavy"),  etc. 
Incidentally,  Algonkian  words  for  "stream,"  "dog,"  "rainbow," 
"season,  time,"  "man,"  "dish,"  etc.,  are  discussed.  To  the  study 
of  the  Virginian  dialects  of  Algonkian  Mr.  Tooker  has  devoted  some 
sixteen  years,  and  his  flair  Algonquin,  no  less  than  his  sprach- 
gefuhlt  appears  to  advantage  here,  for  he  seems  to  have  decidedly 
the  best  of  the  argument  —  New  yersey.  In  his  "  Personal  Names 
of  Indians  of  New  Jersey  "  (Paterson,  1904,  pp.  83),  Mr.  Wlllkmi 
Nelson,  whose  monograph  on  "The  Indians  of  New  Jersey  "  (pp.  168) 
appeared  in  1894,  publishes  "a  list  of  650  such  names,  gleaned 
mostly  from  Indian  deeds  of  the  seventeentii  century,"  thereby 
earning  the  lastmg  gratitude  of  the  onomatologist,  and  at  the  same 
time  adding  to  the  rather  scanty  linguistic  records  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Lenap^  (the  author  estimates  that  the  dictionaries  and  vocabu- 
laries of  the  Lenap^  tongue  extant  "furnish  perhaps  5,000  different 
words").  Names  prior  to  1664  were  written  by  the  Dutch  (except 
a  few  on  the  DeUware  by  Swedes),  after  1664  mostly  by  ^igUsb- 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk- Lore. 


6i 


men,  though  deeds  for  lands  north  of  Newark  were  usually  drawn 
up  by  Dutch  scriveners,  —  also  many  in  Monmouth  and  Somerset 
counties.  Women's  and  children's  names  often  appear,  but  *' be- 
cause an  Indian  squaw  or  child  joins  in  a  deed,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  the  aborigines  recognized  the  woman's  right  of 
dower  or  the  child's  inheritance  in  lands."  In  comparatively  few 
cases  is  the  etymology  of  these  names  known  or  given.  —  New 
Brunswick.  In  the  "Bulletin  of  the  Natural  History  Society  of 
New  Brunswick"  (no.  xxii.  1904,  pp.  175-178,  i  pi.)  Professor  W.  F. 
Ganong  writes  briefly  "Upon  Aboriginal  Pictographs  reported  from 
New  Brunswick."  Hitherto  but  four  aboriginal  pictographs  have 
been  reported  from  New  Brunswick,  —  Gesner's  wood  picture,  the 
St.  George  stone  medallion,  the  Passamaquoddy  marked  boulder  now 
in  the  University  of  New  Brunswick  Museum,  and  the  Oromocto 
carved  sandstone  boulder.  Of  these  the  third  and  fourth  are  most 
likely  not  <tf  human  but  glacial  origin,  the  second  is  probably  not  of 
Indian  workmanship,  and  the  first  has  long  ago  crumbled  to  dust 
At  French  Lake  Flrofessor  Ganong's  party  discovered,  in  July,  1903, 
what  may  be  a  real  aboriginal  pictograph.  —  Maseoutem  -  In  a  brief 
paper  in  the  "American  Antiquarian"  (voL  xxvL  1904,  pp.  84-88) 
entitled  Site  of  Mascouten  Rediscovered/'  Rev.  Thomas  Clifford 
writes  of  the  "Indian  city/'  described  by  Dablon  in  1675  as  located 
"  in  the  midst  of  a  terrestrial  paradise"  but  which,  after  the  French 
and  Indian  wars,  vanished  utterly.  Its  location  became  one  of  the 
problems  of  Wisconsin  archaeology.  According  to  the  author,  Mas- 
COUten  was  exactly  in  Seymour's  Valley,  at  the  head  of  Mud  Lake^ 
on  the  banks  of  the  Hihorokera,  or  Running  Swan."  The  much- 
sought  fortification  mounds  are  at  Port  Hope.  A  natural  fortress 
is  this  valley.  —  Arapaho.  Mr.  C  S  Wake's  article  on  "  Nihancan, 
the  White  Man,"  in  the  "American  Antiquarian"  (vol.  xxvi.  1904, 
pp.  225-231),  discusses  the  character  of  Nihancan  (who  corresponds 
to  the  Ojibwa  Manabozho,  the  Blackfoot  Napi,  etc.)  as  he  appears  in 
the  "  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho "  recently  published  by  Dr.  A.  L. 
Kroeber.  In  Arapaho  Nihancan  is  now  "the  ordinary  word  for 
white  men"  as  Vihuk  (a  mythological  figure)  has  given  his  name 
to  them  in  Cheyenne.  To  Nihancan  the  spider  corresponds,  as  in 
Ojibwa  the  rabbit  does  to  Manabozho.  Nihancan  figures  in  Arapaho 
mythology  and  tradition  as  creator  (or  rather  changer,  perhaps), 
giver  of  death,  a  sensual  being,  an  evil-disposed  person,  a  deceiver, 
a  trickster,  an  ungrateful  individual,  etc.  The  complexion  of  the 
whites,  resembling  the  sacred  white  of  certain  animals,  etc.,  is  sug- 
gested as  having  led  to  the  transference  of  the  name. 

Athapascan.  Nafirane,  In  the  "Thmsactions  of  the  Canadian 
Institute"  (voL  viL  1904,  pp.  517-534,  2  pi.)  Rev.  A.  G.  Morice  has 


Digitized  by  Google 


6a 


youmuU  of  Amarkam  Folk^Lort. 


an  article  on  "The  Nah  aneand  their  Language."  The  topics  treated 
are  the  name  ("  people  of  the  west "),  tribal  divisions  and  numbers 
(now  ca.  looo  souls),  physical  characters,  etc.  (Nah  ane  are  pure  Den6 
"  neither  in  blood,  customs,  nor  language  "),  institutions  and  customs, 
language  (pp.  526-534).  Some  evil  influences  of  white  contact  are 
very  noticeable  (syphilis,  drunkenness,  etc.),  and  the  Tlinkit  of  Ft. 
Wrangell  have  not  improved  them  by  intermixture.  The  eastern 
Nah 'ane  differ  from  the  western  in  physique,  culture  (the  former  have 
not  been  10  adaptive-minded  as  the  ktter),  etc  The  author  informs 
us  that  in  the  house  of  his  hosts  (western  Nah'ane)  "were  to  be  seen, 
besides  gilt  bronze  bedsteads,  and  ]aces  of  all  kinds,  two  sewing- 
machines,  two  lai]ge  accordeons,  and,  will  the  reader  believe  it? 
— a  phonograph  1  All  this  in  the  forests  of  British  Columbia,  north 
of  the  58th  degree  of  hititudei"  The  "new  order"  of  things  is  also 
exemplified  "in  the  small  tnvelling-tmnks  bought  from  the  whites^ 
which  are  to  be  seen  planted  on  two  posts^  in  several  traces  along 
the  trails,  and  which  contain  some  of  the  bones  of  the  dead  picked 
up  from  among  the  ashes  of  the  funeral  pile."  The  language  of  the 
western  Nah-ane  possesses  a  regular  accent,  "something  quite 
unknown  in  all  the  northern  D^n6  dialects ; "  this  feature^  Father 
Morice  thinks,  is  due  to  Tlinkit  influence.  There  is  also  a  marked 
song-like  intonation  of  speech.  Nah  ane  is  an  eclectic  language,  and 
its  vocabulary  contains  fully  40  nouns  borrowed  from  Tlinkit,  besides 
several  terms  from  the  Kutchin,  Hare,  and  Chippewyan  dialects,  and 
even  one  word  from  Tsimshian,  the  name  for  snake,  that  reptile  not 
being  found  in  the  Nah'ane  territory.  Several  English  words  also 
have  been  adopted,  and  a  few  others  from  the  Chinook  jargon.  On 
page  531  are  given  the  Nah  ane  names  for  the  months.  Another 
peculiarity  of  the  language  is  the  possession  of  the  numbers  one, 
two,  three,  as  "perfectly  regular  verbs,  conjugated  with  persons  and 
tenses."  The  Nah  ane  language  is  "  much  less  complicated  and 
verbally  poorer  than  the  Carrier," — also  "less  pure  in  its  lexicon, 
more  embarrassed  in  its  phraseology,  and,  owing  to  its  accent,  even 
more  delicate  in  its  phonetics."— i^^miAtf.  Mr.  C  S.  Wake's  "The 
Navaho  Origin  Legend "  (American  Antiquarian,  vol.  xxvi  1904, 
pp,  265-270)  r^sum^  the  origin-legend  of  the  Navahos  as  given  by 
Dr.  Washington  Matthews  in  his  "Navaho  Legends,"  published  by 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  m  1897.  This  legend  Mr.  Wake 
considers  "typically  American  in  its  contents,  not  only  containmg 
many  incklents  as  parts  of  a  connected  wholOi  but  giving  a  detailed 
account  of  the  emergence  from  undeiground  of  the  Dtod  (Navaho), 
which  is  the  usual  explanadon  of  the  appearance  of  men  on  the  earth 
current  among  the  Indian  tribes.*'  —  Hupa.  Mr.  P.  £.  Goddard's  two 
monographs,  "Life  and  Culture  of  ti^e  Hupa"  (Univ.  of  Calii 


Digitized  by  Go 


Record  of  Amenean  FM-Lon. 


Publ.  Amer.  Arch.  &  Ethnol.  vol.  ii.  1903,  pp.  1-88,  30  pi.)  and 
"Hupa  Texts"  {ibid.  pp.  89-368)  are  valuable  additions  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  folk-lore  of  the  Californian  Athapascan.  In  the 
first,  the  author  treats  environment,  history,  villages,  houses,  dress, 
food,  occupations  of  men  (bow  and  arrow  making,  net  making,  hide- 
dressing,  pi}je  making,  etc.),  occupations  of  women  (basket  making), 
measures,  social  customs  (sex  and  motherhood,  caic  of  children, 
dawn  of  womanhood,  courtship  and  marriage,  restrictions  for  womCT« 
daily  routine),  social  organization,  amusements,  war,  diseases  and 
their  cures,  burial  eustoms*  religion  (ddties,  feasts*  dances,  religious 
attitude).  The  Hupa  *'have  no  migration  myth  nor  legends  relating 
to  a  time  before  their  coming  to  the  region  "  (p.  7),  and  according  to 
their  ideas  "  their  first  ancestors  came  spontaneously  into  existence 
in  the  valley  itself."  Their  seclusion  has  been  so  great  that  *<6o 
years  ago  the  news  of  the  coming  of  white  men  had  not  reached 
them,"  and  *'  they  knew  nothing  of  the  Spaniards  to  the  south  nor 
of  the  English-spealdttg  people  to  the  east  and  north  of  them." 
They  number  at  present  some  450.  The  dwelling  of  the  Hupa  was 
the  xotUOt  besides  which  they  had  the  taii^mWt  *'  sweat-house,"  and 
the  minU,  or  menstrual  lodge  of  the  women.  Chin-tattooing  was 
practised  by  all  mature  women,  and  "  delicate  marks  were  placed 
on  the  chins  of  quite  young  girls,  the  number  and  size  of  which 
increased  with  later  life."  The  common  measure  of  value  was  the 
decorated  dcntalium  shell,  —  "money  "  was  strung  on  strings  reach- 
ing from  the  thumb-nail  to  the  point  of  the  shoulder.  And,  "  since 
all  hands  and  arms  are  not  of  the  same  length,  it  was  necessary  for 
the  man,  when  he  reached  maturity,  to  establish  the  value  of  the 
creases  [used  to  determine  length  of  shells]  on  his  (left)  hand  by 
comparison  with  money  of  known  length  as  measured  by  some  one 
else."  Besides  this  he  had  also  "a  set  of  lines  tattooed  on  the  inside 
of  his  left  forearm,"  these  lines  indicating  the  "length  of  five  shells 
of  the  different  standards."  This  shell-money  was  carried  in  boxes 
of  elk-horn.  The  women  slept  in  the  xonta^  the  men  in  the  taikyuw. 
Small  children  are  seldom  punished  or  handled  roughly,  —  "  they  are 
thought  to  be  above  tiie  natural  and  likely  to  disappear,  going  to  the 
world  of  immortals  if  th^  are  ill-used."  The  dances  of  young  girls 
are  very  curious.  Courtship  "  often  eiEtended  through  a  summer  and 
a  winter,"  and  a  man's  standing  in  the  world  ."depended  on  the 
amount  of  money  which  had  been  paid  for  his  mother  at  the  time 
of  her  marriage."  The  typical  family  "consisted  of  the  man  and 
his  som^  the  wife  or  wives  of  the  man,  the  unmarried  and  half-mar- 
ried daughters,  the  wives  of  the  sons,  and  the  grandchildren ;  and  in 
addition  to  thes^  sometimes,  "  unmarried  or  widowed  brothers  and 
sisters  of  the  man  and  his  wife;"  The  next  unit  above  the  family 


Digitized  by  Google 


<4 


yattmalof  Atmrkan  Folk-Lan. 


was  the  village.  Personal  insult  or  injury  is  followed  by  "absolute 
non-intercourse,"  and  matters  are  ultimately  settled  by  a  go-between. 
The  chief  games  of  the  Hupa  are  four,  and  "the  contestants  are  not 
individuals  but  social  or  ethnic  units  (village  against  village,  tribe 
against  tribe)."  In  war  "medicine-making"  had  an  important  rdle. 
Disease  was  due  to  an  invisible  foe,  and  pain  was  a  substance  to  be 
removed  from  the  body,  wherein  it  had  come  to  be  lodged.  There 
were  two  kinds  of  "  medicine  men,"  the  "  dancing  doctor  "  and  the 
sucking  doctor,"  the  diagnoser  and  the  curer.  The  Hupa  had  a 
great  muUng  oeremony  for  the  dead.  The  chief  divtiiity  is  Ylman- 
tOwiftjrai  ("the  one  who  Is  lost  across  the  ocean  "X  a  sort  of  "trans- 
former/'  Among  the  festivals  are  ** salmon  feast"  and  "acorn 
feasts;"  also  three  great  dances,  "winter,"  "smnmer,"  and  "falL" 
On  these  dance  occasions  the  Hupa  "maintains  a  pious  frame  of 
mind"  These  people  have  also  "a  reverence  for  language^"  and  for 
them  also  "  the  trails  were  sacred."  An  undercurrent  of  deep  reli- 
gious feeling  belonged  to  them  in  many  respects.  In  "  Hupa  Texts," 
Mr.  Goddard  publishes  native  version,  interlinear  translation,  and 
free  English  rendering  of  14  myths  and  tales,  and  37  texts  relating 
to  dances  and  feasts,  "medicine"  formulae,  etc.  These  texts,* which 
are  "offered  primarily  as  a  basis  for  the  study  of  the  Hupa  language," 
were  collected  chiefly  in  1901,  a  few  in  1902.  Of  the  "creator  and 
culture  hero  "  myth  we  learn  that  but  one  Hupa,  a  woman,  knows 
it  in  its  collective  form  Yimantuwifiyai,  though  the  first  person  to 
exist,  had  a  grandmother,  to  whom  he  returned  after  his  labors.  In 
the  "  dug-from-thc-ground"  myth  appears  the  boy-hero.  "Rough- 
nose  "  is  a  story  of  the  "  world  above."  In  some  of  the  other  legends 
figure  owl  and  coyote,  three  sisters,  etc.  Fire  was  discovered  by  Old- 
man-across-the-ocean,  who  twirled  a  stick  on  a  piece  of  willow.  In 
some  of  the  other  legends  the  origins  of  various  dances  are  told.  The 
collection  of  "medicine  formula"  is  particularly  valuable  for  com- 
parative study.  The  folk-lore  data  have  their  value  enhanced  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  given  in  the  native  language. 

Pueblos.  In  his  article  on  the  "  Archaeology  of  Pajarito  Park,  New 
Mexico"  (American  Anthropologist,  voL  vL  n.  s.  1904,  pp.  629- 
659)  Professor  Edgar  L.  Hewett  devotes  some  space  to  pictographs 
(pp.  65 1 -65 3,  with  figs.)  and  mortuary  customs  (pp.  655-6 56).  Petro> 
glyphs  are  found  all  over  the  Paik,  but  are  particdarly  mumerous 
and  well  preserved  at  Pnye.  One  of  the  glyphs  "  pictures  an  ancient 
Tewa  legend,  which,  in  modem  times,  has  been  developed  into 
die '  Montemma '  legNid  of  Pecos,  Taos,  and  other  pueblos*"  On  Teh- 
rega  diff  is  a  fine  petroglyph  of  the  plumed  serpent  Some  of  the 
pictographs  are  pecked,  others  incised  with  a  sharp  tool  At  Teh- 
r^  and  Tsankawi  four  modes  of  burial  occur, «  communal  mounds, 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Rtcord  0/  Amtrieam  FoOk-Lor*. 


6$ 


caves  or  crypts,  intra-mural  chambers,  under  fireplaces  in  living- 
rooms. 

Salishan.  Si'ciail.  To  the  "Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Insti- 
tute "  (vol.  xxxiv.  pp.  20-91)  for  January-June,  1904,  Mr.  Charles 
Hill  Tout  contributes  a  "  Report  on  the  Ethnology  of  the  Si'ciatl  of 
British  Columbia,  a  Coast  Division  of  the  Salish  Stock,"  containing, 
"with  the  exception  of  a  few  folk-tales,  all  that  may  now  be  gathered 
of  the  past  concerning  this  tribe."  They  are  now,  outwardly,  at  least, 
a  civilized  people,  and  their  lives  and  condition  compare  fiiyorably  with 
those  of  the  better  chus  of  peasants  of  western  Europe."  They  num- 
ber some  325  souls  and  are  Catholics,  having  been  converted  by  the 
Oblate  Fathers  (to  whose  efforts  their  present  welfare  is  due)  more 
than  forty  years  ago.  The  ethnographic  and  sociological  section  of 
the  Report  treats  of  tribal  name^,  genealogy  and  septs,  castes  and 
classes,  shamanism  and  sulaism,  dress»  dwellings,  food,  household 
utensils,  puberty  customs,  mortuary  customs,  beliefs,  times  and  sea- 
sons,  etc;  the  archaeology  of  middens,  cairns,  and  fishing  works.  In 
the  section  on  traditions,  the  native  text,  interlinear  translation,  and 
free  English  versions  are  given  of  tales  and  legends  concerning; 
The  Beaver,  the  Wolf  and  the  Wren,  The  Sun  Myth,  The  Salmon 
Myth,  The  Eagle  and  the  Owl,  The  Seal  and  the  Raven,  A  Si'ciatl 
Prophecy.  Of  the  following  the  English  text  alone  is  given :  The 
Thresher  Myth,  The  Eagle  People,  The  Mink  and  the  Wolf.  Lin- 
guistics occupy  the  rest  of  the  paper,  a  sketch  of  phonology  and 
grammar  and  an  extensive  vocabulary  (pp.  78-90^  two  columns  to  the 
page). 

SoxoRAN.    Cora.    In  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (vol.  vi. 
n.  s.  1904,  pp.  744-745)  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka  has  a  note  on  "Cora 
Dances."  The  Cora  or  Nayarit  Indians  of  the  territory  of  Tepic- 
(western  Mexico),  who  number  some  3000,  and  belong  to  the  more- 
primitive  tribes  of  the  country,  have  characteristic  dances,  "held  on- 
special  occasions,  such  as  feasts,  or,  as  in  the  instance  witnessed  by 
the  writer,  during  a  visit  by  strangers,"  in  the  evening  by  the  light 
of  a  bright  fire.   The  dancing  is  done  on  a  box  (hollowed  from  a 
single  log)  called  a  tarima,  in  a  way  suggestive  of  an  Irish  jig.  The- 
-  dances  known  as  ckaravts  and  smus  were  witnessed  by  the  author- 
at  Guainamota  in  October,  1902.  The  music  is  "semi-Indian  "  and 
the  dances  have  Spanish  dements,  "  but  enough  of  the  aboriginal 
remains  to  make  them  worthy  of  ethnologic  interest." 

Uto-Aztecan.  Mexkan,  In  Globus"  (vol  Ixxxv.  1904,  pp. 
345-348,  5  figs.)  H.  Fischer  writes  about  *'Eine  altmexikanische 
Steinfigur,"  describing  a  nephritoid  figure  of  Quetztalcoatl,  the  an- 
cient Mexican  wind-god,  now  in  the  Stuttgart  Museum.  Its  exacter 
origin  is  unknown.  The  god  it  represented  in  part  as  a  skeleton. 

VOL.  xvm. — NO.  68.  5 


Digitized  by  Google 


66 


yomnuil  of  AmiTuam  Foikd^ir^. 


The  workmanship  is  excellent.  — In  the  same  periodical  (vol.  Ixxxvi. 
pp.  108-119)  Dr.  K.  Th.  Preuss  has  an  article  on  "  Der  Ursprung 
dcr  Menschenopfer  in  Mexico."  The  topics  considered  are  the 
renewing  of  the  sun  and  fire  gods,  the  death  of  the  deities  of  rain 
and  vegetation,  the  origin  of  the  sacrifice  of  deities,  etc.  In  Mexico 
human  sacrifice  had  the  same  sense  as  animal  sacrifice.  The  sun- 
renewal  ceremonies  with  their  god-kUlings  are  dramatic  acts  of 
"  magic."  When  gods  are  "  opened,"  as  in  sacrifice,  their  efficacy  is 
great, — so^  too,  with  men  and  other  victims, — and  gods  can  charm 
with  hlood  as  well  as  other  beings.  The  real  object  of  the  death  of 
the  god,  the  increase  of  his  divine  gifts  to  men,  was  later  complicated 
with  other  ideas. ^ In  his  "El  monolitode  Coatlinchan"  (MexioOb 
1904,  pp.  87),  presented  to  the  International  Congress  of  American- 
ists at  Stuttgart  (August,  1904),  Dr.  Alfredo  Chavero  discusses  the 
question  whether  this  "idol "  represents  the  god  Tlaloc,  as  has  been 
supposed,  reaching  a  negative  conclusion  on  this  point  The  divinity 
figured  in  the  monolith  is  female,  not  male,  and  represents  Chal- 
chiuhtlicue,  the  goddess  of  waters.  —  In  the  "  Mitteilungen  der 
Anthropologischen  Gesellschaft  in  Wien  "  (vol.  zxxiv.  1904,  pp.  222- 
274,  71  figs.)  Dr.  Edward  Seler  publishes  a  detailed  study  of  "Die 
holzgeschnitzte  Pauke  von  Malinalco  und  das  Zeichen  atl-tlachinolfi" 
in  which  he  criticises  Preuss'  recently  expressed  ideas  concerning 
the  gods  of  fire  as  fundamental  in  ancient  Mexican  religion.  The 
usual  translation  of  the  sign  in  question  as  "  water  and  fire  "  is  not 
exact,  tlachinolli  signifying  not  "fire,"  but  "the  burned,"  The 
whole  expression  tf//-//a^r//'i«<7/// probably  means  "prisoners  have  been 
taken ;  (the  town)  is  burnt,"  which  could  readily  enough  take  on  the 
signification  of  "war,"  which  the  term  had  in  the  dictionaries,  etc. 
A  noteworthy  example  of  this  sign  occurs  on  the  wooden  drum  from 
Malinalco,  in  the  Tenancingo  District  (State  of  Mexico).  This  drum 
is  described  in  detail.  —  As  vol.  i  no.  vil  of  the  "  Papers  of  the 
Peabody  Museum  "  (Cambridge,  December,  1904,  pp.  26,  5  pi.  and 
8  figs.)  is  published  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall's  *' A  Penitential  Rite  of  the 
Ancient  Ifexicans,*'  in  which  is  presented  valuable  material  coU 
lected  from  Sahagun,  Motdina,  Duran,  Mendieta,  the  Chronicles  of 
Tezoiomoc^  etc.,  concerning  the  rites  of  tongue  and  ear-piercing 
among  the  ancient  Mexicans,  a  painful  rite  practised  by  young  and 
old  in  evety-day  Hfe  and  not  confined  to  priests. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Mayan.  In  "Globus"  (vol.  Ixxxv.  1904,  pp.  361-363)  R  Fdrste- 
mann  discusses  "Die  Stela  I  von  Copan,"  which  he  assigns  to  a  date 
1496-15 10  a.  d.,  and  interprets  the  inscription  as  relating  to  the 
appearance  on  the  coast  of  unknown  foreigners.  This  inscription 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


X*eordo/  Ammtft»  FoU^Lon. 


67 


resembles  that  of  Piedras  Negras,  which  dates  from  almost  the  same 
period.  —  In  the  "Journal  de  la  Soci^t^  des  Am^ricanistes  de  Paris" 
(vol.  L  n.  s.  1 9041  pp.  289-308)  M.  D68ir6  Charnay  discusses  "  Les 
Explorations  dc  T^bert  Maler/'  *  his  rttearches  In  the  UsmnasinUa 
Valley,  etc.  Charnay  objects  to  the  displacement  of  the  name  of 
LoriUard  for  the  mined  city,  also  to  wliat  he  calls  a  Washington 
mania  for  changing  or  modifying  names  consecrated  by  use.*'  The 
term  acropolis^  used  by  Maler*  is  also  objected  to^  since  the  structures 
in  question  were  "  not  at  all  fortresses."  He  agrees  with  Maler  in 
thinking  Menque  in  existence  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  but  holds 
that  "  Lorillard  city  "  was  not  the  scene  of  the  visit  of  Cortes.  Fbp 
laneque,  formerly  called  Tula  or  Tollan,  was,  he  thinks,  "the  capital 
of  Tulapan.  Tikal  also  is  **  Toltec,"  but  Tayasal  Maya.  Copan  is 
for  Charnay  the  most  modern  of  these  '*  cities,"  and  "  Toltec."  The 
most  ancient  civilization  of  this  region  (Comalcalco)  dates  from  the 
eleventh  century  of  our  era,  the  latest  (Tayasal)  from  the  seventeenth, 
—  the  whole  civilization  being  relatively  quite  modem.  — As  vol.  iv. 
no.  L  (Cambridge,  Mass.,  December  1904,  pp.  47,  i  pi.  65  figs.)  of 
the  "  Papers  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and 
Ethnology,  Harvard  University,"  appears  Dr.  Paul  Schellhas's 
"Representation  of  Deities  of  the  Maya  Manuscripts"  (second 
edition,  revised),  translated  by  Miss  Selma  Wesselhoeft  and  Miss 
A.  M.  Parker,  and  revised  by  the  author.  The  deities  considered 
are  the  death-god  (with  whom  are  associated  the  war-god,  the 
moan-\>\x^,  the  dog,  a  blindfolded  human  figure,  two  isolated  «. 
figures,  and  the  owl),  the  god  with  the  large  nose  and  lolling  tongue, 
the  god  with  the  ornamented  face,  the  moon  and  night  god,  the 
maize-god,  the  god  of  war  and  of  human  sacrifices,  ihc  sun-god, 
the  chicchan  god,  the  water-goddess,  the  god  with  the  ornamented 
nose,  the  old,  black  god,  the  Uack  god  with  the  red  lips,  the  god  ol 
the  end  of  the  year,  the  old-wmnan  goddess,  the  frog  god, — these 
various  gods  are  numbered  A  to  N.  Of  mythological  animals  the 
following  are  discussed,  the  iMMM-bird,  serpent,  dog,  vulture,  jaguar, 
tortoise,  snail,  owl,  ape,  scorpion,  bce^  bat  (only  on  pottery).  The 
god  B  appears  twice  as  frequently  in  the  MSS.  as  any  other.  Next 
in  order  come  D  and  E. — To  the  **  Transactbns  of  the  Department 
of  ArduBology,  Free  Museum  of  Science  and  Art "  (vol  L  1904,  pp. 
61-66),  of  tiie  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  George  B.  Gordon  con* 
tributes  a  brief  article  on  "Chronological  Sequence  in  the  Maya 
Ruins  of  Central  America."  The  later  migrations  of  the  Mayas 
were  from  south  to  north,  and  at  Copan  is  the  earliest  dale  known. 
From  Copan  to  Chichen  Itza  measures  about  three  centuries.  While 
such  a  movement  was  going  on,  however,  the  older  cities  con- 
tinued to  flourish.  Geometrical  ornament  is  later  than  the  highl/ 


Digitized  by  Google 


68 


ybumai  of  American  Folh-Lort. 


decorative  if  distinctly  conventional  style.  The  strongest  evidence 
of  the  greater  antiquity  of  Copan  is  to  be  found,  according  to  Dr. 
Gordon,  in  "the  conditions  underlying  the  foundations  of  the  ruined 
buildings  that  occupy  the  surface."  Maya  culture  was  developed  in 
loco.  The  author  is  confident  that  dates  earlier  and  later  than  any 
now  known  will  be  discovered  in  the  future. 

Costa-Rica.  In  the  "Journal  de  la  Socictd  des  Americanistcs  de 
Paris"  (n.  s.  vol.  i.  1904,  pp.  153-187),  M.  Raoul  dc  la  Grasserie 
discusses  at  some  length  "Les  langues  de  Costa  Rica  et  les  idi- 
omes  apparent^s."  The  grammatical  peculiarities  of  Bribri,  Tenaba, 
Bnmca,  Guatuso,  Chibcha,  Cuna,  Koggaba  (Arvak  type),  are  briefly 
set  forth,  and  on  pages  175-182  lexical  and  other  resemblances  are 
considered,  while  pages  183-187  are  occupied  with  comparative 
vocabularies  of  Bribri,  Cabecar,  Tertaba,  Brunca,  Guatuso^  Chibcha, 
Doraaque^  Guajrmi,  and  Cuna.  Uhle,  Thiol,  and  Pittier's  compart* 
sons  are  repeated,  and  the  table  of  tribes  on  pages  156-158  is  from 
Brinton. 

WEST  INDIES. 

Cuba.  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes's  article  on  "  Prehistoric  Culture  of 
Cuba,"  in  the  "  American  Anthropologist "  (vol  vi  n.  s.  pp.  585- 

598,  4  pL)  for  October-December,  1904,  is  based  on  studies  and  col- 
lections made  by  the  author  during  a  visit  to  the  island  in  1904. 
After  a  brief  introduction  and  a  historical  sketch  of  Cuban  archaeology 
the  author  discusses  various  archaeological  objects  (stone  idols,  cere- 
monial celts,  clay  heads,  etc.).  Dr.  Fewkes  recognizes  three  phases 
of  aboriginal  life  in  the  original  colonization  and  prehistoric  culture 
of  Cuba :  (i)  the  primitive  cave-dwellers  of  the  central  region  and 
western  extremity  of  the  island,  (2)  the  fishermen  living  in  pile-dwell- 
ings in  some  places,  (3)  the  Tainans,  having  the  true  Antillean  stone 
age  culture,  derived  from  Hayti  and  Porto  Rico.  While  "the  con- 
nection of  the  coast  fishermen  of  Cuba  with  the  shell-heap  and  the 
key  population  of  Florida  was  intimate,"  the  question  still  remains 
open  as  to  which  was  derived  from  the  other.  Concerning  the  cave- 
dwellers  and  "the  rude  savage  race  of  Cuba,"  little  can  be  said,  but 
"it  is  probable  that  these  people  were  lineal  descendants  of  those 
whose  semi-fossil  skeletons  found  in  caves  have  excited  so  much 
interest,  and  no  evidence  has  yet  been  presented  to  prove  that  this 
race  had  vanished  when  Cuba  was  discovered  by  Columbus."  The 
Tainan  or  AntiUean  culture,  which  reached  its  highest  development 
in  Porto  Rico  and  Hayti,  '*came  to  both  these  islands  from  South 
America,  but  had  grown  into  a  highly  specialized  form  in  its  insular 
home.*'  The  resemblances  of  the  coast  peoples  of  Florida  and  Cuba 
were  probably  due  to  contact  and  interchange  of  culture. 


.  J  i^ud  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Andean  Chaco.    In  his  article,  "  Einiges  iiber  das  Gebiet,  wo 

sich  Chaco  und  Anden  begegnen  "  (Globus,  vol.  Ixxxvi.  pp.  197-201), 
E.  Nordenskiold  describes  flint  implements  from  the  Puna  de  Jujuy, 
the  stone-heaps  of  the  Puna  Indians  where  sacrifices  to  Pachamama 
arc  made,  the  pottery-making  of  the  Chiriguanos,  the  fire-making  of 
the  Chorotes,  etc.  In  this  region  there  are  many  evidences  of  the 
former  existence  of  a  culture  higher  than  that  of  the  makers  of  the 
flint  implements,  —  the  fine  pottery,  etc.,  indicate  this.  In  one  of 
the  graves  the  author  found  a  skeleton  with  a  pipe-like  object  in  his 
mouth,  "  made  of  the  arm-bone  of  a  man." 

AvMAKAN.  In  his  article  on  "  The  Cross  of  Carabuco  in  Bolivia," 
in  the  "  American  Anthropologist  "  (vol.  vi.  n.  s.  pp.  599-628)  for 
October-December,  1904,  Mr.  A.  F.  Bandelier  endeavors  to  "place 
on  record  all  known  information  on  this  topic  as  an  incentive  to  more 
complete  investigation."  The  wooden  cross  of  the  Aymaran  village 
of  Carabuco,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Titicaca,  north  of  La  Paz, 
is  first  mentioned  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century*  Since 
then  the  facts  indicate  that  the  origin  of  the  cross  is  connected  with 
Indian  lore  purporting  to  be  primtHve^  in  the  sense  that  it  antedates 
Spanisk  eohmsation^  Mr.  Bandelier  discusses  also  "  a  series  of  tales 
(mostly  told  ea,  20  years,  or  less,  after  the  coming  ol  Pizarro)  related 
by  the  aborigines  of  Pern  and  Bolivia  to  the  Spaniards  at  an  early 
day,  and  which  are  connected  with  the  cross  of  Carabuco  and  the 
story  of  Juan  Rubio^" — the  last  was  told  to  the  author  by  a  Peruvian 
Quichua.  These  tales  embrace  "  the  traditions  about  Tonapa,"  etc 
The  Tona^  of  Salcamayhua  and  Ramos  is  probably  the  ViracacJia 
of  Betanzos  and  Creza.  Viracocha  seems  to  be  a  Quichua  word,  the 
interpretation  of  the  first  syllable  of  which  as  "  froth  or  foam  "  the 
author  considers  "entirely  gratuitous,  the  whole  word  signifying 
really  something  that  will  not  sink,  but  floats  on  the  surface  of 
water  "  (cf.  the  tale  of  Tonapa  floating  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Titi- 
caca).  Tonapa,  apparently,  is  neither  Ouichuan  nor  Aymaran.  This 
valuable  and  interesting  paper  adds  to  our  knowledge  of  South 
American  folk-lore,  and  will  help  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  aborigi- 
nal origin  of  the  lore  of  Viracocha  and  Tonapa,  the  question  of  the 
influence  of  the  first  Europeans  upon  the  minds  and  legends  of  the  . 
Indians. 

Cariban.  Bakairi,  In  "Globus"  (vol.  Ixxxvi.  pp.  1 19-125,  16 
figs.)  Dr.  Max  Schmidt  has  an  article,  "  Aus  den  Ergebnissen  meiner 
E.\pedition  in  das  Schinguquellgebiet,"  giving  an  account  of  his 
observations  among  the  Indians  of  the  head-waters  of  the  river 
Xingii  in  Brazil    Ornamentation  and  lead-pencil  drawings  are  dis* 


Digitized  by  Google 


youmal  of  American  Folh-Lore. 


cussed,  with  some  detail  The  latter  indtide  a  "picture"  of  the 
author,  who  is  also  given  a  necklace  like  the  Bakairi  men,  and  also 
another  of  him  on  horseback,  and  a  third  as  archer.  Interesting  is 
the  use  ol  maize  straw  and  cobs  to  make  forms  of  animals,  birds»  etc 
The  geometric  patterns  of  tiie  wall^eses  of  the  Bakidr^  like  the 
patterns  on  the  fire-fan^i  have  their  origin  in  the  tedinique  of  manu- 
facture. 

Guiana*  In  the  "Journal  de  la  Soci^t^  des  Am^ricanistes  de 
Paris  (n.  s.  vol.  i  1904,  pp.  1 33-150  Gabriel  Marcel  publishes 
"  un  texte  ethnographique  inddit  du  xviii«  si^cle/'  being  an  account 
of  the  Indians  of  Guiana  in  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  from 
a  MS.  of  La  Croix,  a  surgeon  at  Approuage,  1 785-1 787.  Physical 
characters,  clothing,  religious  ideas,  marriage,  man  child-bed  (now 
called  couvade),  festivals  and  dances,  chiefs  and  captains,  Indians  as 
laborers,  are  briefly  considered.  Besides  their  own  tongue  these  In- 
dians had  a  sort  of  French-Indian  jargon,  and  they  also  understood 
Galibi,  "the  general  language  of  the  Indians  of  Guiana."  Round 
dances  in  imitation  of  animals  were  in  use  among  them. 

Tupi-GuARANi.  In  the  first  section  of  his  article  on  "  Die  Indianer 
des  Obern  Parand,"  in  the  "  Mitteilungcn  der  Anthropologischen 
Gesellschaft  in  Wien "  (vol.  xxxiv.  1904,  pp.  200-221),  Father  Fr. 
Vogt  discusses  the  Kaingud  (name,  dwellings,  activities,  hunting  and 
6shing,  mental  characteristics,  religious  ideas,  "  magic "  and  sha- 
manism, language,  —  vocabulary,  pp.  208-214),  the  Guayaki,  the 
Guayand  on  the  river  Piri  pytd,-— on  pages  218-220  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  the  Credo  in  old  and  modem  GuaranI  are  given,  — and 
the  so-called  Chirripd.  The  Kaingud  have  more  marked  religious 
ideas  than  the  other  tribes  of  the  Upper  Parand, — their  highest 
being  is  called  Tupd>  in  whose  honor  they  have  festivals,  particularly 
dances,  in  front  of  the  dwdlings  of  their  caciques.  The  shaman,  who 
is  also  healer,  is  greatly  venerated  among  them. 

GENERAL. 

American  Origins.  To  the  "  American  Antiquarian  "  (vol  xxvi. 
1904,  pp.  105-115)  Mr.  C.  Staniland  Wake  discusses  "American 
Origins."  Among  the  topics  considered  in  relation  to  Old  World 
culture  are  the  Mexican  merchants'  staff,  the  god  of  trade,  the  swas- 
tika, astronomic  ideas,  stone  monuments  and  sculpture,  bronze 
objects,  copper  "money,"  the  Votan  and  Quetzalcoatl  legend,  the 
winged  globe,  etc.  The  conclusion  is  reached  that  *'  early  American 
culture  was  derived  from  the  Asiatic  stock  to  which  the  early  Baby- 
lonians, who  probably  originated  in  Central  Asia,  belonged,  or  from 
the  Phoenicians,  who  appear  to  have  been  intermediaries  between 
Asia  and  the  western  world."   Arcades  ambo  I 


Digitized  by  C 


Ricord  of  American  Folk-Lon. 


71 


Art.  Rev.  S.  Peet's  illustrated  article  in  the  "American  Anti- 
quarian "  (vol.  xxvi.  1904,  pp.  201-224),  on  "  The  Ethnography  of 
Art  in  America,"  deals  in  a  general  way  with  the  totem-figures  of 
the  Northwest  coast,  the  animal  fetiches  of  the  Pueblos,  the  human 
effigies  of  the  "  mound-builders,"  the  Iroquoian  human-image  pipes  of 
Canada  and  New  York,  the  pottery  human-images  of  the  Gulf  Coast, 
the  stone  zemcs  of  the  Antilles,  the  hgures  of  human  beings,  gods, 
etc.,  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  etc.  Pictographs,  graphic  art, 
hieroglyphs,  personal  decorations,  dress,  textile  arts,  pottery,  orna- 
ments, basketry,  musical  instruments,  are  also  discussed.  The  author 
endeavors  to  picture  aboriginal  American  art  "as  it  was  before  tfao 
discovery.'* 

Codices  and  PicrooaAPRS.  In  the  "American  Antiquarian" 
(voL  zxvi  1904,  pp.  137-152)  Rev.  S.  D.  Feet  has  an  article  on 
«  Comparison  of  the  Codices  with  the  ordinaxy  Pictogiaphs."  Be- 
tween the  "codices"  of  the  Mayas  and  the  pictogn^hs  of  the  more 
northern  tribes,  "  a  very  close  connection  ensts,"  and  the  religious 
rites  and  ceremonies  suggested  or  portrayed  in  both  were  not  so  dis* 
similar  as  has  often  been  supposed.  The  author  discusses  calendar, 
cardinal  points,  number  13,  altars  and  costumeiy,  day  and  month 
symbols,  etc.,  representations  of  industries  and  occupatidnSt  symbols 
of  particular  divinities,  astronomic  ideas,  etc. 

FlRfi-WoRSHlP.  Rev.  S.  D.  Peet's  article  (American  Antiqua^ 
rian,  vol.  xxvi.  1904,  pp.  185-192)  on  "The  Suastika  and  Fire-Wor- 
ship in  America,"  discusses  in  a  general  way  the  fire-brand  race  of 
the  Navahos  and  their  sand  painting  with  its  hool^ed  cross,  the  Aztec 
ceremony  of  "  new  fire,"  etc. 

International  Congress  op  Americanists.  In  "Globus"  (vol. 
Ixxxvi.  pp.  199-302)  Dr.  K.  H.  Preuss  writes  of  "  Der  xiv.  Interna- 
tionale Amerikanistenkongress  in  Stuttgart,  18.  bis  23.  August, 
1904,"  resumeing  briefly  the  chief  papers  (there  were  45  read). 
Among  the  topics  treated  were :  The  Share  of  the  Swabians  in  the 
Colonization  of  America  (P.  Kapff),  Discoveries  of  the  Northmen  (Y. 
Neilsen),  Prehuman  Period  in  the  Equatorial  Andes  (H.  Meyer,  — 
" no  traces  as  yet  of  'diluvial  man '  "),  The  Age  of  the  Megalithic 
Structures  of  Peru  (C.  R.  Markham),  Contributions  oC  American 
Archssology  to  the  Science  of  Man  (W.  R  Holmes, — "five  stages 
of  world^ulture^  pre«nrage,  savage,  barbarian,  civilised,  enlightened  "), 
The  American  Origin  of  Syphilis  (I.  Bloch),  The  Ancient  Settlement 
of  Casjdllo  de  Teayo  in  Northern  Vera  Cruz  (E.  Sder),  Paintings  of 
Cbichenitza  (Miss  Breton),  Excavations  in  Tiahuanaco  (Count  G.  de 
CNque-Montfort),  Archaeological  Investigations  on  the  Argentine 
Bolivian  Frontier  (E.  von  Rosen),  Finds  in  Northeast  Greenland 
(H.  Stolpe),  The  Influeact  of  the  Social  Divisions  of  the  Kwakiutl 


Digitized  by  Google 


71 


yburnai  of  Anurkan  Folk-Lore. 


Indians  upon  their  Culture  (F.  Boas),  The  Customs  and  Usages  of 
the  Pokonchi  Indians  of  Guatemala  (K.  Sapper  and  V.  A.  Narciso), 
Peruvian  Mummies  (A.  Baessler),  The  Chorote  Indians  of  the  Boliv- 
ian Chaco  (E.  von  Rosen),  Myths  of  the  Koryaks  and  those  of  the 
Indians  of  the  Northwest  Pacific  Coast  and  of  the  Eskimo  (W. 
Jochelson),  Ideas  in  the  Myths  of  South  American  Indians  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  North  American  Indians,  the  Japanese, 
etc.  (P.  Ehrenreich),  The  Occurrence  of  European  Tale-Elements 
among  the  Argentine  Indians  (R.  Lciunann-Nitsche),  The  Reli- 
gfious  Ideas  of  Primitive  Man  (W.  Bogoras),  Hopi  Prayer-Sticks  (O. 
Solberg),  Sun-Festivals  of  the  Hopi  compared  with  those  of  the  An- 
cient Mexicans  (K.  Th.  Preuss),  An  Andent  Mexican  Green-Stone 
Idol  <E.  Seler)»  The  Art  of  the  Xingu  Indians  (H.  Meyer),  Eskimo 
Dialects  and  Migrations  (W.  Thalbitxer),  Indian  Linguistic  Stocks 
in  the  United  States  (W.  Currier),  etc  The  next  Congress  will  be 
hdd  in  Quebec  in  1906. 

** Ireland  the  Great."  With  the  title  "La  Gnmde-Irlande,  ou 
pays  des  blancs  pr^-colombiens  du  Nouvean-Monde^'*  M.  Eugene 
Beauvois  publishes  in  the  **  Journal  de  la  Soci^t^  des  Am^ricanistes 
de  I^uis"  (vol.  L  n.  s.  1904,  pp.  189-229}  an  article  r^um^ing  the 
accounts  and  references  extant  concerning  the  HvUramannaiand,  or 
"Ireland  the  Great,"  of  the  old  Norse  records,— said  to  have  been 
situated  near"Vinland  the  good."  The  evidence  of  Ar^  Marsson, 
Bjoern  Bredvikingapp^  and  Gudleif,  etc.,  is  cited  and  the  probable 
situation  of  the  country  discussed  at  some  length.  The  author,  who 
accepts  the  story  of  the  Gaelic  colony,  places  *•  Great  Ireland  "  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  present  city  of  Quebec,  rejecting  the  opinion  of 
Storm,  who  looks  on  the  Great  Ireland  "  tale  as  made  up  on  the 
basis  of  monkish  relations  (the  passage  of  Dicuil). 

Legends.  In  the  "  American  Antiquarian  "  (vol.  xxvi.  1904,  pp. 
23-28)  Mr.  C.  Staniland  Wake  treats,  in  general  fashion,  the  "  Legends 
.  of  the  American  Indians."  The  author  holds  that  "  although  some 
Indian  stories  furnish  evidence  of  contact  with  the  white  race,  yet 
they  may  be  regarded,  on  the  whole,  as  embodying  the  early  ideas 
of  the  native  race  and,  therefore,  as  throwing  valuable  light  on  its 
past."  Topics  of  domestic  and  social  life,  food,  clothing,  social  rela- 
tions, activities  and  amusements,  government,  etc.,  constitute  one 
set  of  ideas  embodied  in  these  legends ;  character4q>icting another; 
nature-beliefs  a  third. 

Numbers.  In  the  "American  Antiquarian"  (vol  xxvi.  1904,  pp. 
153-164)  H.  L.  Stoddard  has  a  rather  curious  article*  on  **The 
Abstruse  Significance  of  the  Numbers  Thirty-six  and  Twelve^" 
intended  as  a  summary  of  ''some  data  which  has  a  bearing  upon  the 
Discoidal  Stone  and  Statues,  uncovered  near  Menard's  Mound,  Ar* 


Digitized  by  Go 


.  Rtcord  of  American  Felk-Lore. 


73 


kansas"  (in  the  spring  of  1901).  The  diacoidal  "is  wrought  out  of 
jasper  beautifully  engraved,  showing  symmetry  and  perfection  of  de* 
sign."  The  statue  of  the  man,  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  is  of  jasper, 
that  of  the  woman,  in  the  sitting  posture,  is  of  marble.  The  man 
"  has  a  Mongolian  cast  of  features,"  the  woman  "  an  Egyptian  style 
of  head-dress  "  The  discoidal  "  has  36  principles  of  half  circles  com- 
posing one  full  circle,"  and  on  its  under  side  "  is  a  Phallic  symbol 
showing  thcjyoni  conventionalized."  The  author's  final  conclusion  is 
that  "the  synthetic  hypothesis  of  the  concomitant  analogies  indi- 
cate that  there  was  an  exchange  of  culture  between  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica, and  that  the  discoidal  and  images  are  an  example  of  Asiatic 
culture." 

Superstition.  In  the  "American  Antiquarian  "  (vol.  xxvi.  1904, 
pp.  48-56)  Rev.  S.  D.  Peet  writes  of  "Superstition  a  Means  of  De- 
fence." The  author  considers  that  among  the  American  Indians 
"the  most  interesting  method  of  defence  was  that  which  came  from 
the  combination  of  religious  symbols  and  mechanical  contrivances," 
and  holds  that  a  good  example  of  this  may  be  seen  at  Ft  Ancient, 
Ohio.  The  totem-poles  of  the  Northwest  coast  are  other  illustrations ; 
also  the  peculiar  figures  carved  on  housenfront  posts  in  Polynesia,  etc. 
Religious  influence,  rather  than  a  physical  or  material  barrier,  served 
here  as  a  protection. 

Urn-Burial.  To  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (vol  vL  n.  s. 
pp.  660-669)  October-December,  1904,  Mr.  Clarence  R  Moore 
contributes  a  brief  article  on  "Aboriginal  Urn-Burial  in  the  United 
States."  Urn-Burials  are  reported  from  Sta.  Barbara  (vessels  of 
stone),  Arizona,  New  Mexico  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Michigan, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina.  The  facts  indicate  that 
"  urn-burial  occasionally  was  practised  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  though  as  yet  a  continuous  line 
of  occurrence  has  not  been  traced.  It  seems  to  have  been  "  almost 
unknown  in  the  north."  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  *'  much 
greater  use  of  pottery  in  the  south."  In  part  of  the  southwest  and 
in  the  extreme  southeast  cremated  remains  were  placed  in  urns. 
Burial  in  urns  occurs  in  conjunction  with  other  forms  of  burial. 

A.K  CandL  C  C 


Digitized  by  Google 


74  yommal  of  American  FolK^Lon, 


SIXTEENTH  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  AMERICAN 

FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

The  Society  met  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  conjointly  with  Section  H, 
Anthropology,  A  A  A.  S.,  and  the  American  Anthropological  Asso- 
ciation, during  Convocation  week,  from  December  27,  1904,  to  Jan- 
uary I,  1905.  On  Thursday,  December  29,  the  societies  met  in 
joint  session  with  the  American  Anthropological  Society,  and  on 
Friday,  December  30,  with  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  During 
the  same  week  met  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science  and  affiliated  societies. 

The  Council  of  the  Society  met  at  12  m.,  December  10,  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art. 

At  2  p.  M.  the  Society  met  for  business,  in  the  Museum. 

The  Secretary  presented  the  Report  of  the  Council,  including 
reports  made  to  the  Council  by  the  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

During  the  year  1904,  publication  of  the  series  of  Memoirs  of  the 
American  Folk-Lore  Society  has  been  continued  with  Vol.  VIII.» 
being" Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,"  collected  and  annoUted 
by  George  A.  Dorsey. 

The  iiuml)er  of  members  remains  about  the  same;  it  is  hoped 
that  in  the  near  future  an  increase  may  be  effected,  especially  by  the 
formation  of  local  branches. 

Herewith  is  presented,  in  substance,  the  Report  of  the  Treasurer, 
from  December  26^  1903,  to  December  27, 1904. 


fialanee  from  last  stateoient   #3,313.85 

Receipts  from  payment  of  annual  dues   705.00 

Subscriptions  to  the  Publicatioa  Fund   I47<oo 

Sales  of  Memoirs  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  through 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  to  January  30, 1904     •      .      .  51.80 

Interest  on  bonds   5 1-38 

Postage  from  members  ,  .24 

$3,369.97 

» 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  for  manufacturing  Journal  of  Ameri- 
can Folk-Lore,  Nos.  63  to  66   $831.03 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  for  maaufactoriag  Vol.  VIII.  of 

Memoire  (400  copies)   I1O73.97 

E.  W.  Wheeler,  Canbriidge,  Mass.,  printing  of  drcnlais,  etc   .  37.50 

W.  W.  Newell,  Secretaiy,  derfc  hire^  stamps,  etc.    .     .     .  31^)0 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sixteenth  Annual  Meeting, 


75 


To  secretaries  of  local  societies^  rebates  of  fees 


E.  W.  Remick,  Boston,  Mass. 


56,00 


M.  L.  Fernald,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Second  National  Bank,  New  York,  N.  Y,,  collection 
Treasurer,  extra  postage  


x6.oo 

3.20 
10 


$3,028.80 


Balance  to  new  account,  December  27, 1904  ....  tt34o.47 


No  nomination  for  officers  having  been  offered  through  the  Secre- 
tary as  provided  for  in  the  rules,  the  Council  presented  their  nomi- 
nations, and  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to  cast  a  single  ballot  for 
officers  of  the  Society  during  the  year  1905,  as  follows  :  — 

President,  Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 

First  Vice-President,  Dr.  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Harvard  University, 
Cambridge,  Mass. 

Second  Vice-President,  Professor  William  A.  Neilson,  Columbia 
University,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Councillors  (for  three  years) :  Professor  Franz  Boas,  American 
Httseum  of  Natural  History,  New  York»  N.  Y.;  Dr.  J.  Walter 
Fewkes»  National  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Mr.  James  Mooney, 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,  D.  C ;  Mr.  A.  N.  Tozzer,  Pea- 
body  Museum  of  American  Archaeology,  Ounbridge^  Mass. 

llie  PermaQent  Secretary  and  Treasurer  hold  over. 

The  Secretary  was  empowered  to  select  the  time  and  place  of  the 
next  annual  meeting,  in  conjunction  with  Section  H  and  with  the 
American  Anthropological  Association 

No  other  business  coming  up^  the  Society  proceeded  to  listen  to 
an  address  of  the  retiring  President,  Professor  George  Lyman  Kit- 
tredge  of  Harvard  University,  on  "Disenchantment  by  Decapita- 
tion." 

Papers  on  folk-lore  were  read,  as  follows:— 
"The  Kiowa  Supernatural,"  James  Mooney,  Washington,  D.  C. 
"  The  Tale  of  the  Three  Wishes,"  William  W.  Newell,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

"  Superstitions  of  School  Children,"  Will  S.  Moneoe. 


$3,269.27 


Digitized  by  C 


ft 

76  journal  0/  American  FM^Lon* 


LOCAL  MEETINGS  AND  OTHER  NOTICES. 

Treasurer  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  From  the  year  1892, 
John  H.  Hinton,  M.  D.,  has  acted  as  Treasurer.  At  first  accepting  the 
position  only  for  a  single  year,  Dr.  Hinton  finally  consented  to  accept  an 
electkm  for  a  term  of  five  years,  and  again  a  reelection  to  the  position. 
In  this  office  hu  exactness  and  repute  for  sagacity  have  been  of  great 
and  continued  service  to  the  Sode^,  of  which  he  has,  by  election  of  the 
Council,  been  made  an  honorary  Life  Member.  Since  the  Annual  Meet- 
ing in  December,  Dr.  Hinton  has  felt  that  the  state  of  his  health  made  it 
advisable  for  him  to  retrench  his  duties,  and  has  requested  that  he  be 
relieved  of  further  responsibility.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Eliot  Remick,  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Boston  Branch,  has  been  asked  by  the  Council  to  serve 
in  the  same  capacity,  and  has  consented  to  do  so.  Mr.  Remick  will 
therefore  act  as  Treasurer  during  the  current  year.  His  address  is  300 
Marlboro  Street  Boston,  Mass. 

The  following  are  regular  monthly  meetings  of  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society,  Boston  and  Cambridge  Branches,  held  since  the  last  report:  — 

Boston,  Friday^  December  9,  8  p.  m.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of 
Mrs.  H,  E.  Raymond,  16  Exeter  Street.  Professor  Putnam  introduced 
Miss  Emily  Ilallowell,  who  gave  a  brief  account  of  certain  folk-songs  col- 
lected by  herself  from  negroes  of  Alabama  in  the  neighborhood  of  Calhoun. 
Miss  Hallowell,  assisted  by  Mrs.  McAdoo,  sang  a  number  of  these  songs, 
whidi  were  interesting  as  folk-lore  and  pleasing  as  music. 

Jlusday^  January  17,  8  P.  M.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Remick,  500  Marlboro  Street  In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Mr.  W.  W. 
Newell  introduced  the  speaker,  Mr.  V.  St^fansson  of  Iceland,  now  Hemen- 
way  Fellow  in  Anthropology  at  Harvard,  who  spoke  on  "  The  Animal  Folk- 
Lore  of  Iceland."  Mr.  Stdfansson  began  with  an  exceedingly  clear  account 
of  the  history  and  present  condition  of  Iceland  and  its  people.  In  the 
realm  of  folk-lore  account  was  given  of  the  part  played  by  the  bear,  the 
bull,  snipe,  plover,  the  raven,  the  kite,  the  eagle,  and  many  dwellers  in 
the  water,  including  the  silver  mullet  and  whale.  Mr.  Sttffansson  related 
a  number  of  entertaining  myths,  and  at  the  close  of  his  address  showed 
several  andent  articles  of  dress  and  household  adornment,  and  photographs 
of  Iceland  soeneiy. 

Tuesday,  February  38,  8  p.  m.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  G.  Preston,  1063  Beacon  Street.  In  the  absence  of  Professor 
Putnam,  Mr.  Newell  introduced  Dr.  Arthur  W.  Ryder  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, whose  subject  was  "  Sanscrit  Fables  and  Epigrams."  Dr.  Ryder's 
paper  consisted  largely  of  original  renderings,  in  verse,  from  several  works. 

In  many  of  these  ancient  fables  the  view-point  is  notably  like  that  Of  the 
modems,  and  the  wit  of  the  fables  has  a  caustic  quality  applicable  to  the 
present  time.   A  discussion  followed  the  paper. 

Hdm  Ltah  Reed^  Steretary, 


Digitized  by  Google 


BihUograpkUal  Notes. 


77 


Cambridge,  November  22,  1904.  The  Branch  met  at  the  house  of  Miss 
Batchelder,  28  Quincy  Street.  Dr.  George  N.  Chase  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity treated  '*  Greek  Religion  in  Uie  Light  of  Recent  Discoveries  in  Crete." 
Since  1900,  under  Prince  George,  the  Greek  government  has  made  explo- 
rations possible  on  the  same  terms  as  in  Greece  itselL  Crete,  accordingly, 
has  been  the  ground  of  archeological  exploration,  which  has  been  fruitful 
of  discoveries.  The  customs,  costumes,  bouses,  and  even  diet  of  the  Myce- 
naean age,  a  period  prior  to  the  Hellenic,  have  been  brought  to  light 
Among  Americans  occupied  in  this  manner,  the  speaker  mentioned  an 
expedition  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Miss  Boyd  and  Mr. 
Evans.  Mention  was  made  of  the  recently  discovered  palaces  and  palace- 
shrines,  dating  between  2000  and  1000  b.  c,  which  show  the  king  evi- 
dently as  father  of  his  people  and  legate  of  the  gods  \  of  doll-like  images 
representing  diSertnt  cults,  and  exhibiting  the  gods  in  human  form;  of  a 
cult  of  the  dead  shown  by  tombs  and  ring?,  etc. 

Dttember  13, 1904.  The  Branch  met  with  Miss  Bumstead,  is  Berkdey 
Street  Dr.  A.  W.  Ryder  was  the  speaker  of  the  evening,  his  subject  being 
"Sanscrit  Fables  and  Epigrams."  His  translations  elicited  discussion 
from  guests,  who  found  in  the  early  Hindu  lore  much  which  reminded 
them  of  European  equivalents. 

Cmsianu  G*  Alexander^  Secretary, 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 
BOOKS. 

The  Old  Farmer  and  his  Almanac.  Being  some  observations  of  life 
and  manners  in  New  England  a  hundred  years  ago  suggested  by  read- 
ing the  earlier  numbers  of  Mr.  Robert  B.  Thomas's  Farmer's  Almanac. 
Together  with  extracts  curious,  instructive,  and  entertaining,  as  well  as 
a  ▼ariety  of  miscellaneous  matter.  By  Gboroi  Lyman  Kittrbogb. 
Boston,  Mass. :  William  Ware  &  Co.   1904.   Pp.  xiv,  403. 

It  opportunely  happened  that  in  the  year  of  publication,  the  distin- 
guished writer  of  this  volume  served  as  President  of  the  American  Folk- 

Lore  Society.  The  book,  whidi  only  in  a  small  proportion  is  concerned 
with  folk-lore  proper,  contains  an  infinity  of  information  in  regard  to  the 
changes  of  New  England  life  and  manners  illustrated  in  the  Almanac, 
which  from  the  date  of  its  first  appearance  for  1793  has  continued  its 
annual  issue.  Thomas  (1766-1846)  was  brought  up  in  the  North  Parish 
of  Shrewsbury,  Mass. ;  it  illustrates  the  frequent  changes  in  New  England 
local  topography,  that  the  district  he  lived  m  was  tnocesslvely  transferred 
to  four  diflEerent  towns.  He  began  life  as  a  schoolmaster,  and  set  up  in 
his  native  place  as  a  bookbinder,  obtaining  work  from  publishers  in  Bos- 
ton, whither  he  migrated  in  1793  ;  having  already  the  ambition  to  prepare 
an  almanac  of  his  own,  he  entered  a  mathematical  school  taught  by  Osgood 
Carleton,  himself  the  author  of  an  almanac.  At  this  point  may  be  noted 


Digitized  by  Google 


78 


younml  of  Ammium  Foth'Lore^ 


one  of  the  amusing  anecdotes  abundantly  furnished  by  Professor  Kittredge. 
Carleton  spoke  English  so  correctly  as  to  make  his  birthplace  the  subject 
of  wagers,  and  subject  him  to  aome  inconvenience  \  be  thought  it  worth 
while  publicly  to  explain  in  print  that  he  was  bora  at  Nottinghaiihwest  in 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  and  had  lived  in  that  locality  for  sixteen 
years ;  but  in  the  course  of  subsequent  travel, "  bei^g  (while  yom^)  mostly 
conversant  with  the  English,  he  lost  some  of  the  country  dialect."  The 
astronomical  studies  of  Thomas  resulted  in  the  publication  of  his  almanac^ 
"calculated  on  a  new  and  improved  plan,  for  the  year  of  Our  Lord  1793; 
being  the  first  after  Leap  Year,  and  seventeenth  of  the  Independence 
of  America.  Fitted  to  the  town  of  Boston,  but  will  serve  for  any  of  the 
adjoining  states."  The  one  hundred  and  thirteen  issues  of  this  publica- 
tion, as  Professor  Kittredge  observes^  ahttost  exactly  cover  the  period  of 
United  States  history  under  the  Constitution,  so  that  the  cbanfe  and  de- 
velopment of  a  century  may  be  followed  in  its  pages;  to  extract  such 
notices,  compare  them,  and  contment  00  them,  is  the  taok  which  he  has 
undertaken.  As  a  result,  the  contents  of  hu  book  are  very  varied  \  what- 
ever may  be  the  field  in  which  the  reader  is  interested,  he  will  be  sure  to 
find  something  that  bears  on  his  own  particular  theme,  whether  manners 
or  beliefs,  teaching  or  law,  food  and  festivals,  jests  and  wittidsma^  travel 
and  agriculture. 

The  artistic  embellishment  of  the  Almanac  shows  the  p>ermanence  of 
tradition.  In  tSoq,  cuts  were  introduced  to  illustrate  verses  which  had 
previously  been  made  to  stand  at  the  head  of  each  month ;  these  at  first 
represented  scenes  and  occupations  suited  to  the  month  in  question.  In 
1804  were  substituted  illustrations  depending  on  the  zodiacal  signs,  which, 
however,  were  realistically  treated,  as  figures  having  an  environment  of 
landscape.  Both  these  methods  of  designation,  whether  by  the  animal 
signs  or  by  the  labors  of  the  year,  have  an  ancient  and  curious  history, 
going  back  to  southern  Europe  and  to  Roman  times  ;  on  this  subject  Pro- 
fessor Kittredge  briefly  touches,  with  reproduction  of  certain  designs. 

Some  of  the  chapters  are  directly  connected  with  folk-lore.  Under  the 
heading  Murder  will  out,"  Professor  Kittredge  shows  thst  the  ancient  or- 
deal by  touch,  in  which  an  accused  person  is  made  to  coaw  in  contact 
with  the  corpse,  under  the  bell^  that  contact  with  the  murderer  would 
cause  a  flow  of  blood  from  the  wound,  was  in  force  and  apparently  legalized 
in  New  England  as  late  as  1769.  In  that  year,  Mrs.  Jonathan  Ames  of 
Boxford  died  suddenly,  and  suspicion  was  directed  against  her  mother-in- 
law  and  the  son  of  the  latter ;  these  were  invited  to  touch  the  body,  but 
refused ;  they  were  committed,  but  in  the  end  acquitted  for  want  of  evi- 
dence. In  1646,  a  mother  was  forced  to  touch  the  face  of  the  dead  child 
she  was  sospected  of  having  destroyed ;  the  blood  came  freshly  into  the 
face^  and  she  confessed  \  no  doubt  to  produce  such  avowal  on  tiie  part  of 
the  guilty  had  been  one  effsct  of  the  superstition. 

An  ancient  folk-aoeodote  recites  the  warfare  of  the  toad  and  the  spider ; 
a  narration  of  this  sort  is  given  in  the  Almanac  of  1798.  We  are  told 
how  the  toad,  after  being  bitten  by  its  antagonist^  sought  out  and  devoured 


Digitized  by  Google 


BidUograpkkal  NoU^ 


79 


a  piece  of  a  plantain ;  a  spectator,  out  of  curiosity,  pulled  up  the  plant ;  the 
toad,  once  more  woanded,  vainly  sought  for  its  remedy,  and  immediately  ex- 
pired. This  duel  had  been  already  put  into  verse  by  Richard  Lovelace, 
vhoae  poetry  was  printed  in  1659.  ^  Thomas  Browne  also  knew  the  his- 
tory. In  this  connection,  Professor  Kittredge  cites  from  Winthrop  a  tale 
concerning  a  combat  between  a  mouse  and  a  snake.  Mr.  Wilson,  pastor  of 
Boston,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  struggle  was  significant:  the  snake 
represented  the  devil,  and  the  mouse  the  Puritan  immigrants,  an  humble 
folk,  but  destined  to  deprive  the  Evil  One  of  his  kingdom.  That  American 
Indians,  like  other  pagans,  were  worshippers  of  the  Devil  was  a  common 
tenet  of  New  England  divines,  in  which  they  did  but  reflect  the  usual  atti- 
tude of  the  Church,  which  some  misaaonaries  retain  even  to  the  present 
day.  It  is  odd  to  encounter  among  unimaginative  Puritans  the  mystical 
tendency  of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  which  actual  and  external  events  might 
be  interpreted  as  only  symbols  of  spiritual  forces. 

As  to  the  treatment  of  witches.  New  Englanders  only  shared  the  uni- 
versal belief  and  practice.  This  is  better  understood  than  of  old,  although 
ignorant  persons  continue  to  make  the  executions  of  Salem  a  reproach 
against  Massachusetts.  As  Professor  Kittredge  remarks,  the  wonder  is,  not 
that  such  an  outbreak  should  have  taken  place,  but  that  it  should  so  sud- 
denly have  come  to  an  end ;  the  real  feet  being  that,  as  compared  with  the 
mother  countiy,  or  any  European  land,  the  ookmists  ediibiced  a  remark- 
able moderaticm  and  good  sense,  for  which  they  deserve  credit. 

The  maker  of  the  Faimer'a  Almanac  "  was  not  a  superstitious  person. 
The  custom  of  almanac-makers  required  him  to  insert  something  regarding 
lunar  influences,  as  related  to  the  labors  of  the  house  and  the  farm  ;  but 
.  this  he  does  perfunctorily,  with  a  suspicion  of  irony ;  and  in  course  of 
time  the  whole  matter  came  to  be  passed  over  in  the  pages  of  his  work. 
Thus  we  read  in  1800:  — 

August  19.  ^fow  hushes,  mow^udUtmowf  If  yon  have  any  foith  in  the  in- 
fluence of  the  moon  oa  them. 

In  1803,  we  find  him  saying 

January  18.  Old  Experience  says  (and  she  generally  speaks  the  truth)  that 
pork,  killed  about  this  time,  will  generally  cone  out  of  the  pot  as  large  as  when  it 
was  pot  in. 

However,  in  such  attitude  Thomas  was  in  advance  of  his  day.  At  the 
dose  of  the  eighteenth  century,  even  scientific  farmers,  who  thought  they 
had  the  attestation  of  experiment,  considered  that  the  state  of  die  moon 
ought  to  receive  attention.  In  1790,  Dr.  Deane^  author  of  an  octavo  vol- 
ume called  **The  New  Engknd  Farmer,"  a  work  of  real  merit,  having  put 
the  matter  to  a  practical  test,  decided  that  it  was  most  effectual  to  cut 
bushes  during  the  old  moon,  when  the  '*  sign  is  in  the  heart."  He  con- 
sidered that  even  though  zodiacal  signs  may  be  a  mere  convention,  yet 
these  might  be  of  service  in  pointing  out  the  proper  time  for  the  undertak- 
ing.   Professor  Kittredge  remarlcs  that  the  attitude  of  these  sober  experi- 


Digitized  by  Google 


8o 


yaumal  of  American  Folh^Lare. 


menters  is  not  to  be  confused  with  the  superstitious  theories  of  earlier 
centuries. 

In  regard  to  astrology,  he  shows  bow  important  a  part  this  bad  in  the 
daily  life  of  the  eighteenth  century,  more  especially  in  navigation.  It  was 
still  the  usual  pracdoe  to  employ  an  astrologer,  who  should  cast  a  boro' 
scope,  in  order  to  determine  the  exact  day  and  hour  on  which  a  vessel 

ought  to  weigh  anchor.  In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a 
publication  which  received  the  title  of  the  Book  of  Knowledge  circulated 
freely  among  New  England  people ;  this  included  popular  astrolog}',  prog- 
nostications, palmistry,  etc.  Indeed,  as  is  observed,  almanacs  existed 
largely  for  the  purpose  of  designating  the  days  and  hours  when  the  particu- 
lar influence  of  one  or  another  planet  would  be  operative. 

Only  the  title  need  be  mentioned  of  a  chapter  on  **  Indian  Talk,"  in 
which  is  discussed  the  character  of  the  English  familiarly  spoken  by  Indi- 
ans in  New  England.  In  dealing  with  this  question,  as  all  other  topics, 
Professor  Kittredge  has  employed  abundant  learning,  with  the  result  of 
producing  an  exceedingly  entertaining  book. 

W.  N. 

GiOGRAPmscHB  Namkncunos.  Metbodiscbe  Anwendung  der  namenkund- 
licben  Grundsatse  auf  das  allg^meine  zuganglicbe  topographische 
Namenmaterial.  Von  J.  W.  Naou  Leipzq;  und  Wien :  Franz  Deuticke, 
1903.  Pp.  vii,  zss. 

The  three  sections  of  this  monograph  treat :  Geographic  names  of  peo- 
ples remote  from  us  (Germans),  those  not  related  culturally  (Chinese,  Jap-, 
anese,  American  Indians,  Turks,  East  Aryans),  and  those  culturally  so 
related  (Hebrews,  Phcenicians  and  Punic  peoples,  Semites  in  Spain,  Mag- 
yars, etc.),  geographic  names  of  peoples  racially  and  culturally  related  to 
the  Germans  (Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  Italians,  British  and  Irish,  peo- 
ples of  Balkan  peninsula,  Russians,  Austro-Hungarian  Slavs),  geographic 
names  tA  Germans  and  Scandinavians.  A  brief  bibliography  and  an  alpha- 
betical list  of  all  geographical  names  discussed  are  appended.  The  only 
aboriginal  American  names  considered  are :  Mexico^  Popocatepetl,  Tehuan- 
tepec^  Zacatecas,  Chicago,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Ohio,  ChimboraxOb  Cbu- 
qmsaca,  Chocachacra,  Andes,  Hayti,  for  whidi  more  or  less  exact  etymolo- 
gies are  o^iven.  Our  yapan  and  roo^nntes  in  the  modern  languages  of 
Europe  go  back  with  the  older  Zipangu  to  the  Chinese  Jhpen-koue,  "  Land 
of  the  Rising  Sun,"  —  so  too  Nippon^  by  dialectic  variation.  The  names  of 
the  continents,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  are  all  probably  of  Semitic  origin, 
but  their  exact  etymologies  are  not  at  all  clear.  The  author  rightly  accepts 
the  derivation  of  Amerka  from  Amerigo,  probably  =  Gothic  AmaMdk.  As 
a  place-name  Bimorek  (p.  78)  signifies  "  a  smtiI  on  the  Biese  (a  little 
river)."  Of  words  which,  in  English,  have  achieved  more  than  a  lodging 
as  place-names  or  ethnic  terms,  the  following  are  discussed  by  Nagl  •  Alp. 
Arras,  Atlas,  Brussels,  Cologne,  Croat,  Nanking,  Slav,  etc.  On  the  whole, 
this  little  volume  seems  to  be  much  above  the  average  in  accuracy,  and 
contains  a  good  deal  of  valuable  matter.  The  sections  (pages  68>9z)  on 


Digitized  by  Google 


BibUograpkUal  NeUs. 


8i 


the  metamorphoses  and  transierences  of  geographical  names  will  interest 
the  student  o£  folk-etymology.  * 

Kbliothcque  des  £coles  et  des  Families.  Une  France  Oubli£e  :  L'Acadie, 
par  Gaston  bv  Bosoq  z>b  BsAiniONT.  Paris:  Hachette,  1903.  Pp.  191. 
Besides  historical  data  and  travel  notes  this  work  contains  a  brief  section 
on  the  language  and  customs  of  the  Acadians,  and  some  items  concerning 
the  Micmacs  of  Cape  Breton,  the  Hurons  of  Loretto,  the  Montagnais  of 
Pointe-Bleue,  and  the  Iroquois  of  Caughnawaga.  The  author's  derivation 
(p.  64)  of  Lac  Bras  tPOr  from  Labrador  needs  elucidation.  On  page  72 
is  recalled  the  marriage  of  the  Chevalier  de  La  Nouee  in  1754  to  a  Micmac 
metisse.  At  Pointe-Bleue  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  intermixture  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  men  and  the  Montagnais  women.  I  he  old  conical  birch- 
bark  wigwams  of  these  Indians  have  given  way  to  cloth  tents  in  imita- 
tion of  the  whites.  The  younger  generation  of  the  Iroquois  at  Caughna- 
waga are  letting  their  beards  grow.  Here,  too,  ** the  Uond  mHU^^  are 
in  evidence. 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  (Bulletin  No.  33.  —  W.  B.  No.  294). 
Weather  Bureau.  Weather  Folk-Lore  and  Local  Weather  Signs. 
Prepared  under  the  direction  of  Willis  L.  Moore,  Chief  U.  S.  Weather 
Bureau.  By  Edward  B.  Garnoit,  Professor  of  Meteorology,  Washing- 
ton: Government  Printing  Office,  1903.  Pp.  153.  Witii  ir  dbarts. 

Pages  5-47  of  this  interesting  little  volume  are  devoted  to  *'  Weather 
Folk-Lore/'  /.  e.  proverbs  and  sayings  of  the  folk  concerning  wind  and 
Storm,  douds,  atmospheric  changes,  tempeiatnre,  humidity,  animals,  birds* 
fish,  insects,  plants,  sun,  moon,  stars,  moon  and  weather,  stars  and  weather, 
animals,  birds,  etc,  and  weadier,  days,  months,  seasons,  and  years.  Along* 
side  die  folk-tiioughts  are  given  the  words  of  poets  and  philosophers.  Few 
proverbs  of  American  Indians  have  ever  been  published,  for  which  reason 
the  following  may  be  reproduced  here  :  — 

1.  When  the  clouds  rise  in  terraces  of  white,  soon  will  the  country  of  the 
com-priests  be  pierced  with  the  arrows  of  rain  (Zufii). 

2.  When  oxen  or  sheep  collect  together,  as  if  they  were  seeking  shelter, 
a  storm  may  b^  expected  (Apache). 

3.  When  chimnej^swallows  drde  and  call,  diey  speak  of  rain  (Zuni). 

4.  When  grouse  drum  at  night,  Indians  jnedict  a  deep  fall  of  snow. 

$.  When  the  sun  sets  unhappily  (with  a  hazy,  veOed  face),  then  wOl  the 
morning  be  angry  with  wind-storm  and  sand  (Zufti). 
6.  The  moon,  her  face  if  red  be^ 
Of  water  speaks  she  (Zul^i). 

Das  Asvlrbcht  dkr  NATintvdixnt,  von  A.  Hsllwig.  Mit  einem  Vor- 
wort  von  J.  Kohler.  Berlin:  R.  von  Decker's  Verlag,  1903.  Pp.  viii, 
lat. 

This  little  monograph  endeavors  jto  describe  the  nature  and  purpose  of 
the  **  right  of  a^hmi"  among  savage  and  barbarous  peoples  all  over  the 
VOL.  XVIIL  —  xo.  6B.  6 


Digitized  by  Google 


83 


yaumal  of  Ammean  FM-Lare. 


globe.  This  "  right  of  asylum  "  has  also  had  an  important  r6le  in  the  de- 
velopment of  higher  human  civilizations,  —  e.  g.  in  the  Greek  and  Roman 
period,  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  hurope,  and  particularly  among  some  of  the 
Semitic  peoples,  with  whom  the  "city  of  refuge  "  (known  also  to  the  Creeks 
and  the  boquols,  etc,  in  primitive  America)  was  an  approved  iosdtation. 
Hellwig  recognises  ttitee  divisions  of  tiiis  "  rtght  of  asylum/' — tliose  for 
criminalsi  strangers,  slaves,  all  veiy  intimately  related.  The  division  into 
local,  personal,  and  temporal  "  right  of  asylum  "  is  rejected  by  him. 

Among  people  so  low  in  the  stage  of  culture  as  the  Australian  blacks  the 
"right of  asylum"  for  strangers  occurs.  Strangers  in  limited  numbers  are 
permitted  by  the  tribe  in  whose  land  alone  the  red  earth  used  for  mourning 
is  found,  to  visit  the  place  unmolested  and  take  as  much  of  it  as  they  can 
carry  away.  In  Polynesia  the  right  of  asylum  "  appears  in  many  interesting 
forms,  rising  often  to  the  dignity  of  fbft  sanctuary  of  tlieold  Israditisli  sort. 
Tbe  African  Bushmen  are  probably  vntfaoot  this  idea»  but  the  antfaor  at- 
tributes it  in  some  form  to  the  Hottentots.  In  varions  parts  of  Negro  and 
N^roid  Africa  all  varieties  of  tiie  *' right  of  asylum  "  appear,  based  some- 
times on  religious  and  sometimes  on  selfish  and  material  grounds.  East- 
cm  Africa  has  had  a  relatively  high  development  of  this  institution  for 
strangers  for  more  than  600  years.  The  right  of  the  slave  to  asylum  has 
had  an  ethical  influence  upon  his  master  in  the  way  of  inducing  better 
treatment.  Often  wives  have  right  of  asylum  against  their  husbands  who 
have  abused  tiiem.  "  Right  of  asylum  "  naturally  leads  often  to  arbitra- 
tion, etc  The  anaya  ci  the  Kabyles  u  *'the  safofpuard  of  f^gitives»  those 
threatened  by  vengeance,  those  in  imminent  or  present  danger."  The  re- 
sponsibilities the  right  unpoaes  upon  those  vHio  avail  themselves  of  it  are 
very  great ;  violation  often  causes  every  privilege  to  cease.  The  mass  of 
Hell  wig's  data  relates  to  Africa,  which  continent  takes  up  pages  35-105  of 
the  book.  America  is  treated  at  pages  105-122  under  the  rubrics:  gen- 
eral, criminal,  stranger,  slave.  The  Cherokee  and  the  Creeks  are  chiefly 
referred  to,  —  in  the  next  edition  Mooney's  work  on  the  former  ought  to  be 
used  ;  also  Gatschet  for  the  latter.  In  the  "  peace  towns  "  of  some  of  these 
Indians  of  the  southeastern  United  States,  as  also  in  the  corresponding 
"city"of  the  Iroquois,  wt  meet  with  rather  high  conceptions  of  the  idea  of 
asylum.  In  some  form  or  oUier,  the  "right  of  asylum "  was  ivdMmown 
among  many  American  Indian  tribes.  This  section  of  Hdlwig's  work  can 
easily  be  eidaiged  and  improved.  His  forthcoming  work  on  the  "  right  of 
asylum  "  among  the  *'  hi|^er  races  "  will  be  awaited  with  interest 

Kartot.raphie  BEi  DEN  Naturvolkern.  InauguTal-Disscrtation  zur  Er* 
langung  der  Doktorwiirde  der  hoheh  philosophischen  FakultiU  der  Fried- 
ricfa-Alexanders-UniversitSt,  Erlang^n  vorgelegt  von  Wolvgamg  Dr5biil 
Erlangen :  Junge  9c  Sohn,  1903.  Pp.  8o» 

The  five  chapters  of  this  discussion  of  map<lrawing  among  primitive  peo- 
ples (the  author's  thesis  for  Ph.  D.,  at  the  University  of  Erlangen)  treat  the 
following  topics:  Qualities  capacitating  primitive  peoples  for  map-drawing, 
the  first  traces  of  cartographic  attempts  (rodK-drawiogs  and  their  signifi!* 


Digitized  by  Go 


BibUographked  NoUg. 


83 


Cance  for  cartography,  primitive  way-marks),  cartographic  figures  on  the 
ground  ("sand  maps,"  relief  maps,  etc.),  "sea-maps"  (*' sailing-charts," 
"stick  maps,"  etc.),  map-drawing  with  European  means  (birch-bark,  chalk- 
drawings,  drawings  with  lead-pencil  on  paper,  primitive  conception  of 
modern  maps).  Dr.  Drober  agrees  with  Dr.  K.  E.  Ranke  in  attributing 
the  keen  sense  of  sight  of  primitive  peoples,  whece  it  exists,  not  to  peculiar 
anatomicsl  oonatitation,  eta,  of  the  eye,  but  to  exercise  and  individual 
"educadoo,"— thoqgli  this  develops  in  liie  savage  a  maiiced  gift  of  obser- 
vation. Of  lilce  origin  b  also  the  much-discussed  "sense  of  orientation" 
of  primitive  peoples.  Add  to  these  qualities  the  art  of  drawing,  and  the 
capacity  for  cartographic  representations  of  a  rude  and  crude  order  is  pre- 
sent. And  many  primitive  peoples  have  more  or  less  artistic  instinct  for 
drawing.  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  they  often  possess  the  three  quali- 
ties named  in  a  rather  highly  developed  form.  Nor  is  the  sense  of  exact- 
ness and  of  distances  lacking,  and  that  they  are  not  without  geographical 
ioMwledge  appears  from  tiidr  tales  and  legends,  particularly  many  of  the 
ao-called  "obaervation-mytlis.''  Some  of  the  maps  made  by  primitive 
peoples  compare  much  to  their  advantage  with  similar  efforts  of  the  igno- 
lant  Emopean  peasant  In  petrqglyphs  might  be  seen  the  origin  of  car- 
tography, marks  on  the  loeks,  etc.,  passing  over  to  other  more  easily  in- 
scribed substances,  way-marks  on  trees,  in  the  sand,  etc.  "  Sand  maps  " 
are  found  among  many  primitive  peoples,  African  Negroes,  Australians, 
Pacific  Islanders,  American  Indians,  etc.  Stone  relief  "maps"  are  re- 
ported from  Torres  Straits,  Loango,  etc.  Relief  maps  in  sand  are  known 
to  the  Eskimo,  some  North  African  peoples,  some  Pacific  Islanders,  and 
others.  " Sea  maps"  of  several  kinds  were  much  in  use  with  the  Polyne- 
sian navigators,  particularly  the  maikmgt  the  rtUM,  and  the  meidf,  the 
first  of  whuh  is  a  general,  the  last  a  special  "map^"  all  cbancteristic  of 
the  Marshall  Islands,  but  not  entirely  restricted  to  them.  "  Maps "  on 
birch-bark  or  skins  are  known  to  several  Indian  tribes  (e.  g.  Montagnais 
and  Naskapi),  to  the  Yukagirs,  etc.  Chalk-written  "  maps  "  are  reported 
from  Laos,  the  Caroline  Islands.  Pencil  *'maps"  have  been  brought  by 
travellers  from  many  Indian  tribes  of  North  and  South  America,  —  the  re- 
viewer possesses  such  made  by  the  Kootenay  of  British  Columbia  in  1891. 
Some  of  the  Eskimo  deserve  almost  the  name  of  geographers,  like  the  Poly* 
nesian  "map^oiaker*" 

The  ability  to  "read**  or  *'sense"  maps  made  by  white  men  is  found 
among  the  Eskimo,  the  Maori,  Bechuana,  etc.,  and,  as  the  reviewer  can  say 
from  personal  experience,  the  Kootenay  and  probably  many  other  Ameri- 
can Indian  peoples.  To  the  facts  here  recorded  much  might  be  added. 

A,  K  C. 

Indian  Folk-Lorb.  (Being  a  collection  of  tales  illustrating  the  customs 
and  manners  of  the  Indian  people.)  By  Ganbshji  Jxthabkal  Limbdi, 
Jaswatsinhji  Printing  Press,  1903.  pp.  xv,  336. 

This  litde  book,  scarcely  described  by  the  rather  pretentious  titie,  is  a 
collection  of  folkanecdotes,  ninety-four  in  number,  illustrating  maxims  and 


Digitized  by  C 


ycMrtuU  of  Ameruan  Folk-Lan. 


proverbs,  or  satirizing  the  faults  and  extravagances  of  Hindu  village  society. 
The  Bamtiveft  are  translated  by  the  coUeccor  from  the  vernacular  in  which 
thejr  originaUy  appeared,  making,  as  the  writer  says,  the  first  Gujarat!  book 
of  its  type  rendered  into  English.  The  scope  of  the  tales  may  be  shown 

by  a  few  examples.  Blindness  to  one's  own  faults  is  illustrated  by  the  case 
of  a  sluggard  who  lies  under  a  fruit  tree,  but  is  too  indolent  to  put  out  his 
hand  in  order  to  grasp  the  fallen  berries.  He  begs  a  hasty  traveller  to  dis- 
mount and  supply  him,  and  when  the  rider  refuses,  observes  that  he  will 
next  apply  to  some  one  who  is  less  lazy.  The  village  of  Gambhu  was 
formerly  owned  by  tailors  \  when  the  place  was  taken  by  an  enemy,  these 
formed  an  anny  of  rescue^  i|ach  man  armed  with  his  scissors  and  measoring 
wand.  They  form  in  line,  with  the  intention  of  attacking  the  foe  at  day- 
break. The  head  of  the  row,  however,  argues  that  the  rear  would  be  a 
safer  position  for  himself,  and  accordingly  retires  to  the  end  d  die  line ;  as 
each  foremost  person  follows  his  eaounpl^  by  morning  the  army  has  re- 
treated ten  miles.  The  minister  of  a  native  state,  knowing  well  that  his 
term  of  office  will  be  short,  stipulates  that  when  accused  of  peculation  the 
trial  shall  take  place  before  peasants  of  the  lowest  class.  When  his  greed 
has  borne  its  natural  fruit  in  the  clamors  of  the  people  whom  he  has 
oppressed,  the  charge  is  brought  before  the  arbitrators  already  selected. 
These  are  honest  folk,  who  know  that  the  state  has  been  cheated,  and  that 
the  minister  has  amassed  a  fortune;  not  wishing  to  be  too  severe,  they 
impose  what  to  them  seems  the  large  fine  of  twenty-five  rupees,  which,  as 
they  think,  nuy  be  the  half  of  his  gains.  The  master  of  ceremonies  in  a 
Jain  temple  observes  that  the  statues  of  the  twenty-four  saints  or  Tirthank- 
ei8  are  of  gold  and  silver,  with  the  exception  of  one,  which  is  of  marble. 
He  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  taking  and  melting  some  of  the  figures. 
When  called  to  account,  he  explains  that  he  has  had  a  dream,  signify  ing 
that  the  Tirthankers,  tired  of  this  present  world,  have  determined  to  aban- 
don it ;  at  his  intercession,  however,  they  have  consented  that  the  marble 
figure  may  remain.  The  Jains  tremble  at  the  Mne  wraA,  and  regard  the 
thief  as  their  saviour. 

We  are  requested  to  add  that  orders  for  tUs  book  may  be  addressed  to 
the  Harvard  Cbdpemtive  Sode^,  Cambridge  Mass. 

W.N. 


Digitized  by  Google 


.  RECEIVED. 
FEABOOY  AAUSEUiti. 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORR 

Vol.  XVIIL  — APRIL-JUNE,  1905.— No.  LXIX, 


WISHOSK  MYTHS. 


INTRODUCnON. 

The  Wishosk  Indians  of  the  coast  of  Humboldt  County,  in  north- 
western Califomia*  inhabited  a  veiy  restricted  territory.  They  held 
.  the  shores  of  Humboldt  Bay,  on  which  the  city  of  Eureka  is  now 
situated,  and  the  mouths  of  Mad  and  Eel  rivers.  Their  frontage 
on  the  ocean  extended  a  few  miles  north  and  south  of  these  rivers 
with  a  total  length  of  about  thirty-live  miles,  all  of  it  flat  and  sandy. 
Inland  their  territory  extended  in  general  to  the  top  of  the  first 
range  of  hills,  nowhere  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  from  the 
ocean,  and  for  the  most  part  varying  in  distance  between  five  and 
ten.  Their  own  name  for  themselves  as  a  linguistic  group  is  Su- 
latlek.  Wishosk  they  declare  to  be  the  name  that  some  of  their 
Athabascan  neighbors  give  them.  Most  of  the  tribes  of  the  region 
know  them  or  their  territory  by  some  variation  of  the  name  Wiyot, 
which  is  one  of  the  few  native  geographical  or  tribal  names  in  north- 
ern California  that  is  without  apparent  signification  and  known  to  a 
number  of  linguistic  groups.  Roughly  speaking,  the  territory  of  the 
Wishosk  surrounds  Humboldt  Bay,  and  popularly  they  are  usually 
known  as  Humboldt  Bay  Indians.  Their  territory  was  entirely  cov- 
ered, almost  down  to  the  beach,  with  redwood,  and  this  fact,  com- 
bined with  the  circumstance  that  Humboldt  Bay  is  the  only  sheltered 
harbor  on  the  coast  of  California  north  of  San  Francisco,  has  made 
this  bay  the  centre  of  population  for  Humboldt  and  the  contiguous 
parts  of  adjacent  counties.  Almost  all  the  traffic  between  this" 
region  and  the  outside  world,  including  a  large  lumber  export,  pa.sscs 
through  the  prosperous  settlements  on  this  harbor ;  for  the  district 
is  as  yet  unconnected  with  the  rest  of  the  State  by  railroad,  and 
other  than  trails  only  three  wagon-roads  lead  out  from  it.  Ill  con- 
sequence, while  the  narrow  valleys  and  canyons  of  the  Klamath  and 
Trinity  and  other  rivers  of  this  region  were  early  overrun  by  miners, 
the  white  population  along  these  streams  being  much  greater  forty 
or  fifty  years  ago  than  it  is  now,  where  in  many  parts  the  Indians  are 


Digitized  by  Google 


86 


yaumal  of  American  Folh^Lore. 


still  in  the  majority,  conditions  have  been  very  different  on  Hum- 
boldt Bay,  where  there  have  been  permanent  settlement  and  steady 
development  of  the  country.  The  greater  half  of  the  population 
and  of  the  productive  agricultural  land  of  Humboldt  County  is  prob. 
ably  within  the  small  territory  that  once  belonged  to  the  Wishosk. 
Naturally  these  Indians  have  suffered  from  this  overwhelming  con> 
tact  with  dvilization.  Their  numbers  have  been  reduced  veiy  much 
more  than  on  the  Klamath  and  Trinity,  and  their  old  life  has  almost 
entirely  disappeared.  They  now  live  like  their  white  neighbors,  and 
an  occasional  basket,  usually  made  for  sale^  is  about  the  only  visible 
evidence  of  their  culture  of  fifty  years  ago  that  one  is  likely  to  find 
among  them.  They  number  all  told  a  few  dozen,  with  hardly  any 
children.  On  the  whole  they  present  a  greater  aspect  of  physical 
infirmity  than  the  other  tribes  of  this  region.  Most  of  what  could 
have  once  been  learned  about  them  ethnologically  has  perished,  and 
the  broken  and  incomplete  nature  of  their  myths,  as  they  remain, 
is  only  too  evident  from  the  material  here  presented.  It  is  possible 
that  individuals  with  better  knowledge  of  the  old  beliefs  are  still 
alive,  but  of  the  six  or  eight  i)ersons,  all  of  them  of  middle  age  or 
more,  with  whom  work  was  attempted,  some  knew  nothing,  and  not 
>one  had  any  knowledge  that  went  very  far. 

In  general  culture  the  Wishosk  resembled  the  other  tribes  of  the 
•region  which  constitutes  the  northwestemmost  corner  of  Califor- 
nia. It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  culture  of  this  compara- 
tively small  area  is  very  different  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  State, 
showing  certain  affiliations  with  the  culture  of  the  coast  to  the  north, 
and  being  in  many  respects  unique.  These  special  characteristics 
are  not  each  confined  to  a  single  tribe  or  group,  but  for  the  most 
part  are  common  to  all  the  tribes  in  the  region.  As  compared  with 
this  distinct  northwestern  culture,  the  Indians  of  at  least  the  greater 
part  of  the  remainder  of  California,  in  spite  of  their  numerous  divi- 
sions, must  be  considered  a  unit  in  their  culture  On  the  material 
and  technological  side  of  their  life  the  Wishosk  were  certainl)  \  ery 
similar  to  the  other  tribes  in  the  northwestern  ethnographical  pro- 
vince. Their  houses  and  boats,  their  tools  and  basketry,  were  prac- 
tically identical  with  those  found  on  the  Klamath  and  Trinity.  In 
other  respects,  especially  on  the  religious  side^  there  were  greater 
differences.  The  northwestern  culture  finds  its  highest  develop- 
ment and  greatest  specialization  among  the  Yurok  living  along  the 
Klamath  from  Weitchpec  down,  among  the  Karok  on  the  same  river 
above  Weitchpec,  and  among  the  Hupa  on  the  confluent  Trinity 
from  Weitchpec  up  fot  some  twenty-five  miles.  For  instance,  it  was 
only  these  three  tribes  that  held  the  elaborate  deerskin  dance  ;  and 
the  ahnost  equally  important  jumping  or  woodpecker-head  dance  did 


Digitized  by  Go 


Wishosk  Mylhs. 


87 


not  extend  far  beyond  their  borders.  The  position  of  the  Wishosk 
is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  they  held  the  jumping  dance  only  at 
the  mouth  of  Mad  River  at  the  northernmost  end  of  their  territory, 
where  they  were  in  contact  with  the  Yurok.  In  other  places  other 
ceremonies  were  held.  Whether  these  were  similar  to  the  ceremo- 
nies of  the  tribes  to  the  south  and  southeast,  or  whether  they  were 
largely  peculiar  to  the  Wishosk,  is  not  known.  The  food  and  daily 
faalHts  of  the  Wishosk,  who  lived  along  flat  ocean  shores  backed  by 
heavy  timber,  must  of  necessity  have  been  somewhat  di£Ferent  from 
those  of  the  other  tribes  of  the  region,  who  lived  along  permanent 
and  rapid  rivers,  or  rocky  coasts,  or  grassy  and  oak-covered  hillsides ; 
but  such  differences  due  directly  to  locally  varying  envuronment 
need  hardly  to  be  taken  into  consideration  where  the  fundamental 
characteristics  of  cultures  are  in  question. 

A  considerable  body  of  the  myths  of  the  Indians  of  northwestern 
California  have  been  collected,  but  as  yet  there  is  no  published  ma- 
terial of  any  value  available  other  than  a  number  of  stories  in  the 
first  part  of  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard's  Hupa  Texts.^  The  first  five  o!  these, 
including  a  long  creation  and  culture-hero  story,  may  be  regarded  as 
typical  also  of  the  mythology  of  the  other  more  developed  tribes  of 
the  region,  these  five  myths  all  being  found,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part,  among  the  Yurok  or  Karok  or  both.  One  of  the  most  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  the  mythological  beliefs  of  these  three 
tribes  is  the  idea  of  a  former  distinct  race,  conceived  of  as  very 
human  in  nature  although  endowed  with  supernatural  powers,  who 
inhabited  the  world  before  the  cominf;  of  men,  and  then  either  left 
the  inhabited  world  to  become  spirits  or  turned  into  animals.  This 
race  is  the  KixOnai  of  the  Hupa.  In  a  general  way  this  previous  race 
is  held  responsible  by  the  Indians  for  everything  now  existing  in  the 
world,  and  it  is  often  stated  that  all  the  characters  in  myths  were 
members  of  it.  Actually  this  idea  is  carried  out  very  inconsistently, 
and  docs  not  seem  to  have  been  used  by  any  tribe  to  work  the  body 
of  its  myths  into  a  system ;  and  so,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  origins  are 
generally  explained  simply  by  growth  or  appearance  in  the  time  of 
this  previous  race.  The  most  prominent  characters  in  the  several 
mythologies  are  one  or  more  culture-heroes,  of  whom  the  Hupa 
YimantuwiAyai, "  Lost-across-the^icean,"  by  another  name  *'01d-man- 
over-across,"  is  a  typical  illustration,  except  for  the  &ct  that  he 
approaches  a  little  more  dosely  to  being  a  creator  than  do  his  ana- 
logues among  the  Yurok  or  Karok.  The  Yurok  and  Karok  charac- 
ters that  correspond  to  him  are  called  Wtdower-across-the-water." 
The  stories  almost  universally  told  about  him  include  among  their 

^  Umivirsity  of  CalifmUa  PubUeoHatu  im  Amtrieam  Ardutology  omdEtkmokgyt 
i.  1994. 


Digitized  by  Google 


88 


ycurMol  of  American  Folh^Lore* 


chief  incidents  accounts  of  how  he  obtained  by  trickery  salmon  from 
the  woman  who  was  keeping  them  shut  up ;  of  how  he  first  brought 
about  birth,  women  having  been  previously  killed  at  the  birth  of 
their  children  ;  of  how  he  tried  to  kill  his  son  by  causing  him  to  climb 
a  tree,  in  order  that  he  might  obtain  his  wife ;  of  how  his  son  there- 
upon left  the  world  for  the  one  across  the  sea;  and  how  he  himself 
was  finally  carried  off  to  the  same  place  after  having  succumbed  to 
the  temptation  of  a  woman  who  was  a  flat  fish.  This  character  is 
always  represented  as  erotic  and  tricl^,  but  does  not  show  the  other 
despicable  qualities*  such  as  gluttony  and  cowardice,  usually  attrib- 
uted to  Coyot^  and  often  to  the  trickster  in  the  mythologies  d  other 
tribes.  A  second  culture-hero,  who  is  more  respected,  is  primarily 
a  destroyer  of  evil  beings ;  but  in  the  common  versions  he  has  less 
part  in  the  shaping  of  the  world.  A  third  character,  whose  function 
and  importance  vary  considerably  even  in  myths  told  by  different  in- 
dividuals of  the  same  tribe,  is  the  dentalium-shell.  Occasionally  this 
personage  is  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  creator.  Coyote  appears  fairly 
frequently,  but,  although  he  sometimes  destroys  monsters,  is  usually 
of  contemptible  character.  The  myths  in  which  the  culture-heroes 
do  not  appear  are  of  course  of  very  varied  character,  but  the  most 
typical  are  mainly  hero  stories  of  a  certain  sort.  In  the  great  ma- 
jority of  these  the  hero  is  distinctly  conceived  of  as  human  nnd  is 
not  identified  with  an  animal.  This  is  evident  in  such  Hupa  stories 
as  "Dug-from-the-Ground  "  and  "He-lives-South."  Among  the  Yurok 
there  are  exceedingly  few  animal  characters  ;  among  the  Karok  they 
are  more  numerous.  These  heroes  are  very  rarely  destroyers  of  mon- 
sters or  enemies.  In  most  cases  their  achievements  are  of  such  a 
nature  as  rising  from  a  state  of  oppression  to  great  wealth  and  power, 
or  receiving  and  establishing  a  ceremony.  The  two  Hupa  stories  just 
mentioned  are  typical  of  this  class  uf  tales.  The  idea  so  prevalent 
on  the  North  Pacific  coast,  and  at  least  in  parts  of  California,  of  a 
hero  encountering  and  overcoming  direct  dangers,  is  very  little  devel- 
oped in  this  region.  It  also  appears  from  what  has  been  said  that  the 
hero  myths  sometimes  grade  insensibly  into  ceremonial  origin  myths. 

The  myths  of  the  great  central  region  of  California  contain  some 
incidents  and  ideas  found  also  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  States 
but  on  the  whole  are  of  a  very  different  character ;  and,  as  compared 
with  the  northwestern  myths,  they  show  considerable  uniformity 
from  all  sections.  Mythological  material  from  the  Wlntun,  Maidu, 
and  Yana,  of  the  Sacramento  valley,  has  been  published  by  Curtin^ 

and  Dixon and  other  material,  not  yet  published,  Has  been  col- 

* 

*  Creation  Myths  of  Primitivi  Anurica^  Boston,  1898  (Northern  Wintun  and 
Yana). 

*  Maidu  Mythi,  BmiL  Am,  Mm,  Nat.  Hist  svii.  pt  il.  33-118, 1902. 


L  J  i^ud  by  Google 


Wiskask  Mylks. 


lected  from  the  Pomo,  the  Yuki,  and  other  stocks,  including  in  part 
those  of  the  south  central  portion  of  the  State.  Generally  these 
Indians  have  a  well-developed  idea  of  a  creator,  such  as  the  Wintun 
Olelbis  and  the  Waidu  Karth-Initiate  or  Earth-Namer.  Both  the 
powers  and  deeds  of  this  creator  distinguish  him  quite  markedly  from 
the  culture-heroes  of  the  northwestern  region.  The  character  next 
in  consequence,  and  usually  more  frequently  mentioned  in  stories,  is 
Coyote.  In  certain  cases,  as  among  the  Maidu,  he  is  more  or  less 
antithetical  to  the  creator,  bringing  death  and  other  evils  into  the 
world,  though  through  foolishness  rather  than  frofti  malicioiis  intent. 
In  other  cases,  as  among  the  Yuki,  this  relation  between  him  and  the 
creator  is  replaced  or  added  to  by  a  division  of  their  functions,  by 
which  the  creator  is  the  author  of  the  world  and  of  mankind,  while 
Coyote  originates  what  is  characteristic  of  life  and  culture.  In  this 
phase  he  is  virtually  equivalent  to  a  culture-hera  Sometimes  his 
rdle  in  this  capacity  is  so  much  developed  as  to  reduce  the  actual 
part  of  the  creator  in  the  myths  to  a  very  slight  element  In  all 
cases,  however,  at  least  in  northern  centnd  California,  there  seems 
to  be  a  conception  of  a  single  supreme  or  original  creator,  however 
much  or  little  he  may  appear  in  the  myths,  and  this  conception  can 
be  said  to  be  totally  wanting  among  the  northwestern  tribes.  In 
addition  to  his  other  r61es,  Coyote  invariably  appears  in  the  cen- 
tral region  as  a  trickster  and  a  butt  for  ridicule.  The  myths  of 
central  Caliiornia  that  do  not  refer  to  the  origin  of  things  may  be 
characterized  as  danger  stories.  Sometimes  the  life  of  the  hero  is 
attempted  by  his  father-in-law,  or  by  the  enemies  that  have  killed  all 
his  family ;  sometimes  he  is  of  supernatural  birth  and  powers,  and 
his  achievements  consist  in  destroying  numerous  monsters  and  evil 
beings  and  overcoming  a  hostile  supernatural  gambler.  In  very 
many  cases  the  characters  in  the  myths  are  animals.  A  very  favorite 
and  typical  story  found  over  the  greater  part  of  California  is  that  of 
the  two  deer  children  whose  mother  had  been  killed  by  a  grizzly 
bear  and  who  in  revenge  killed  the  bear's  two  children,  and  then 
fled  and  finally  escaped  from  their  pursuer.  The  idea  of  a  previous 
race  occurs  in  central  California,  as  pointed  out  by  Curtin,  but  di£fers 
from  the  conception  of  the  northwestern  tribes.  The  individuals  of 
this  race  generally  turn  to  animals,  and  very  frequen  tly,  as  they  ap])ear 
in  the  myths,  have  animal  qualities  even  before  the  transformation 
which  marks  the  close  of  this  earlier  period  On  the  whole,  the 
idea  of  such  a  previous  race  is  much  more  clearly  defined  among 
the  northwestern  Indians,  but  does  not  affect  their  myths ;  in  cen- 
tral California  the  idea  is  less  dear,  but  is  more  frequently  used  to 
systematize  the  myths  of  a  tribe. 
In  summary,  the  mythologies  of  the  two  ethnographical  regions 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


j  go  yournal  of  American  Folh-Lori^ 

can  be  contrastingly  characterized  as  follows.  In  northern  California 
there  prevail  conceptions  of  an  earlier  race  parallel  to  mankind  and 
of  origin  by  growth  or  appearance,  culture-heroes,  human  hero  stories, 
and  the  explanation  of  the  origin  chiefly  of  human  institutions.  In 
central  California  the  mythologies  show  a  creator,  accounts  of  the 
creation  of  nature  and  of  physical  rather  than  of  social  man,  Coyote 
as  a  trickster  and  marplot  to  the  creator  or  as  a  supplemeotaiy  cul- 
ture-hero-creator, numerous  animal  talea»  and  supernatural  hero  or 
danger  stories.  In  both  regions  historical  or  pseudo-historical  tradi- 
tions and  migration  legends  are  lacking. 

The  mythology  of  the  tribes  immediately  adjacent  to  the  Wishosk 
is  very  little  known.  On  the  north  the  Wishosk  are  bordered  by  the 
Coast  Yurok,  who  hold  a  strip  of  shore  line  as  narrow  as  the  Wishosk. 
The  mythology  of  the  Coast  Yurok  in  great  part  lacks  the  cultore-hero 
stories  of  the  Klamath  River  Yurok,  and  seems  to  be  characterized 
even  more  strongly  by  their  peculiar  type  of  human  hero  stories.  On 
all  other  sides,  except  the  ocean,  the  Wishosk  are  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  Athabascan  tribes*  which  extend  from  immediately  south 
and  west  of  the  Hupa  as  far  as  to  the  Wailaki,  who  are  in  Mendocino 
County  in  contact  with  the  Yuki.  Almost  all  the  tribes  in  this  group 
inhabit  the  interior  rather  than  the  immediate  coast,  and  are  as  much 
reduced  in  numbers  as  the  Wishosk  themselves.  They  arc  very  little 
known.  In  their  general  material  culture  they  undoubtedly  resemble 
to  a  considerable  dei^ree  the  more  highly  organized  Yurok,  Karok, 
and  Hupa,  with  allowance  for  such  differences  as  are  directly  due  to 
a  different  natural  environment.  In  their  beliefs,  however,  so  far  as 
known,  they  appro.ximate  the  tribes  of  the  central  region.  It  is  certain 
that  the  ideas  of  a  creator  and  of  Coyote  in  his  antithetical  relation 
to  the  creator,  as  they  exist  among  the  central  tribes,  are  found  at  least 
among  the  more  southerly  of  these  Indians,  being  known  to  occur  as 
far  north  as  lower  Eel  River ;  and  in  accord  with  this  circumstance 
there  does  not  seem  to  exist  among  the  Indians  in  this  place  any 
strongly  developed  idea  of  a  previous  race. 

The  Wishosk  myths  here  presented  give  but  a  broken  idea  of  what 
the  beliefs  of  these  people  must  have  been  fifty  years  ago.  Even  as 
they  are,  however,  they  bring  out  several  salient  characteristics  of  this 
mythology.  The  collection  is  too  incomplete  to  allow  of  deductions 
based  on  the  absence  of  any  mythical  incidents  or  conceptions ;  but 
it  suffices  for  certain  comparisons  with  other  tribes. 

The  stories  were  obtained  from  the  following  informants :  Nos.  i 
to  6  from  a  man  named  Bob ;  Nos.  7  to  8  and  10  to  19  from  an  old 
man  called  Bill;  No. 9 from  an  old  woman;  Nos.  20^  21,  23,  and  25 
from  Jennie;  and  Nos.  22 and  24 from  her  husband,  Aleck.  The 
first  informant  was  utterly  unable  to  give  any  connected  accounts ; 


L-iyui^uO  by  Google 


Wiskosk  Myths.  91 


the  material  presented  in  the  first  creation  myth  has  been  collected 
from  incoherent  statements  which  occupied  him  the  greater  part  of  a 
day  to  make  and  in  part  were  not  to  the  point  This  man  had  been 
somewhat  influenced  by  the  religious  ideas  of  the  whites.  For  this 
reason  the  information  obtained  from  him  has  been  separated  from 
that  of  the  other  informants*  but  on  the  whole  it  is  undoubtedly  good 
Wtshosk.  This  is  evident  from  a  comparison  of  his  account  of  the 
creation  as  given  in  Na  i  with  that  told  by  Bill  in  No.  7.  Nos.  2 
and  10  also  show  considerable  nmHarity,  with  some  differences. 

Perhaps  the  most  marked  characteristic  of  these  myths  is  the  im- 
portant r61e  assigned  to  the  creator  and  supreme  deity,  Gudatriga> 
kwitl,  ^  Above-old-man."  Sometimes  he  is  also  called  Guruguda- 
trigakwitl, "  That-above-old-man."  It  will  be  seen  that  he  represents 
a  well-developed  idea  of  true  creation.  He  cannot  be  included  in 
the  class  of  culture-heroes,  but  is  distinctly  a  deity.  The  general 
Statements  made  by  other  informants  confirm  the  conception  of  this 
character  as  he  appears  in  the  two  creation  stories  and  leave  no  doubt 
that  the  idea  of  him  is  purely  aboriginal  In  accord  with  this  occur- 
rence of  a  creator  deity  is  the  absence  among  the  Wishosk,  so  far  as 
known,  of  the  typical  northwestern  conception  of  the  previous  race. 

The  presence  of  a  creator  should  naturally  reduce  the  functions 
of  a  culture-hero,  and  to  a  certain  extent  this  is  the  case  among  the 
Wishosk.  Nevertheless,  their  culture-hero-trickster,  Gatswokwire, 
corresponds  quite  closely  to  the  chief  culture-hero  of  the  Yurok, 
Karok,  and  Hupx  Like  these  characters,  he  is  responsible  for  the 
origin  of  birth  and  of  the  distribution  of  fish,  and  is  carried  across 
the  ocean  by  a  woman.  The  Wishosk  myth  material  obtained  is  as  a 
whole  so  fragmentary  that  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
tales  dealing  with  this  character  are  not  exhausted,  and  it  seems  very 
probable  that  if  more  myths  are  obtained  further  incidents  told  of 
him  by  the  other  tribes  will  come  to  light  Coyote  also  appears  in 
the  Wishosk  myths,  but  only  in  his  lower  character. 

The  Wishosk  myths  not  connected  primarily  with  the  origin  of  the 
world  and  culture  can  best  be  characterized  as  animal  stories.  The 
incidents  in  them  are  frequently  trivial,  but  almost  always  show  char- 
acter. The  number  of  animals  appearing  as  personages  in  this  small 
collection  of  myths  is  rather  remarkable^  reaching  thirty  besides 
Coyote^  namely :  the  spider,  otter,  frog,  mole,  panther,  fisher,  fox, 
raccoon,  wildcat,  civet  cat,  dog,  blue  jay,  meadowlark,  bladsbird,  robin, 
sea  lion,  grizzly  bear,  crow,  eagle,  eel,  sea  otter,  porpoise,  raven,  peli- 
can, skunk,  flies,  elk,  chicken-hawk,  and  abalon^  besides  the  insect 
spinagaralu.  All  the  tales  other  than  the  creator,  culture-hero,  and 
C<^ote  m3rths  belong  to  this  class  of  animal  stories,  except  the  last 
two  given,  which  are  human  hero  stories.  These  two  stories  are  very 


Digitized  by  Go 


92 


yourtuUof  American  Foik^an. 


similar  in  their  ideas  and  tone  to  those  most  characteristic  of  the 
Hupa,  Yurok,  and  Coast  Yurok.  It  will,  however,  be  observed  that 
both  of  them  also  contain  animals  as  characters. 

Passing  now  to  specific  comparisons  between  myths  of  the  Wishosk 
and  other  tribes,  tales  I  and  ;  are  without  parallel  among  the 
northwestern  tribes,  because  these  lack  creation  myths.  Of  the  two 
Wishosk  versions  of  the  origin  of  death,  No.  2  resembles  closely  that 
of  the  Yurok,  while  No.  lo  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Yuki,  Maidu,  and 
other  tribes  of  central  California.  The  Athabascan  Sinkine  of  Eel 
River  also  tell  the  story  in  similar  form.  No.  3,  the  flood,  also  finds 
analogues  to  the  south,  rather  than  on  the  Klamath  or  Trinity.  The 
typical  northwestern  conception  is  that  one  survivor  was  saved  from 
the  flood  in  a  boat  or  box,  with  his  dog.  The  Sinkine,  however,  say 
that  a  couple  was  saved  on  a  mountain-top,  and,  according  to  Ban- 
croft,^ the  Mattole,  an  Athabascan  tribe  still  nearer  the  Wishosk,  had 
a  similar  belief.  Nos.  4,  5,  and  6,  dealing  with  Gatswokwire,  are  all 
told  of  the  northwestern  culture-heroes.  No.  8  is  without  an  exact 
parallel,  but  the  idea  of  the  spider  reaching  the  sky,  or  descending 
from  it,  by  the  string  which  he  makes,  occurs  among  the  Sinkine 
and  certain  of  the  tribes  of  the  northern  Sacramento  vallev  rcL^ion. 
The  idea  of  No.  1 1,  that  the  mole's  forefeet  are  turned  from  having 
ylield  the  sky,  is  again  a  central  Califomian  conception  not  known  to 
I  /  occur  in  the  northwestern  region.  The  Yuki  and  other  tribes  tell 
1/  the  incident.  No.  12,  in  which  the  culture-hero-trickster  changes  his 
shape  in  order  to  be  given  food  several  times,  is  widespread  in  North 
America.  Nos.  13  and  14,  telling  of  Coyote's  attempts  to  marry, 
show  character  rather  than  well-defined  incidents.  No.  15,  in  which 
the  Coyote  breaks  his  leg  in  supposed  imitation  of  the  panlher, 
has  partial  parallel  among  some  of  the  northwestern  tribes,  but  simi- 
lar ideas  occur  among  Indians  far  east  of  California.  No.  16,  in  which 
Coyote  is  stuck  in  a  stream  of  pitch,  is  without  known  specific  parallel. 
No.  15  is  evidently  a  fragment  of  a  longer  myth.  The  Yurok  and 
Karok  tell  a  form  of  the  widespread  story  of  the  origin  of  fire  by 
theft.  The  Hupa  deny  this,  and  it  is  seen  that  the  Wishosk  agree 
with  them.  The  idea  of  the  dog  having  fire  and  of  his  refusing  it  to 
the  panther  is  related  to  a  Yurok  and  Karok  conception,  according  to 
which  the  dog  surpassed  both  the  deer  and  the  panther  in  a  contest 
of  powers,  thereby  obtaining  for  mankind  the  bow  with  which  to  kill 
animals.  The  idea  of  something  distinctly  human  as  opposed  to  ani- 
mal faculties  having  its  origin  from  the  one  domestic  animal  in  oppo- 
sition to  other  animals,  is  what  is  common  to  this  Yurok  and  Karok 
myth  and  the  present  Wishosk  fragmenii  Nos.  18,  19,  and  aoare 
as  yet  all  without  parallels,  though  their  general  character  distinctly 

^  Naiivt  Races,  iii.  86. 


Digitized  by  Google 


93 


resembles  that  of  myths  from  central  California.  No.  21,  in  which 
the  raven  catches  a  woman,  is  a  distant  approach  to  the  swan-maiden 
story.  No.  22  is  again  an  animal  character  tale.  The  idea  of  No.  23, 
that  the  skunk  pretends  sickness  and  shoots  the  summoned  medicine- 
man, has  parallels  outside  of  California.  As  yet  the  conception  is 
not  known  to  have  been  utilized  by  the  northwestern  tribes.  No.  24, 
telling  of  an  oppressed  boy  who  became  powerful,  is  more  similar  in 
general  character  than  in  specific  incidents  to  Yurok  tales.  No.  25, 
telling  of  a  man  who  was  carried  across  the  ocean,  is  very  similar  to 
a  number  of  northwestern  versions  even  in  details.  For  instance,  the 
Yurok  tell  of  ten  men  crossing  the  ocean  nightly  in  a  boat,  and  the 
idea  that  the  world  across  the  ocean  Is  one  of  unceasing  dances  is 
deep^eated  among  them. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  mythology  of  the  Wishosk  occupies  a 
place  between  the  mythologies  of  central  and  those  of  north- 
western California,  sharing  with  one  a  considerable  development  of 
creation  myth  and  animal  tales,  and  with  the  other  especially  certain 
episodes  of  a  specific  culture-hero  cycle.  The  greater  number  of 
actual  parallels  seem  to  be  with  the  central  tribes.  The  general 
character  of  the  mythology  and  the  conceptions  underlying  it  are 
also  more  closely  akin  to  those  found  in  central  California  than 
those  among  the  distinctly  northwestern  tribes.  The  occurrence 
of  almost  exact  parallels  between  the  Wishosk  and  the  Yurok, 
Karok.  and  Hupa  culture-hero  stories  can  be  explained  by  the  great 
importance  of  these  myths  among  the  latter  tribes  and  the  close 
geographical  proximity,  and  in  part  contiguity,  of  these  to  the 
Wishosk.  Altogether  it  would  seem  that  this  tribe,  although  in  its 
material  life  and  in  its  social  structure  clearly  most  nearly  related 
to  the  other  northwestern  tribes,  is  in  its  religious  beliefs  so  far 
different  from  them  as  to  be  closer,  all  in  all,  to  the  great  central 
group  of  stocks  occupying^  the  larger  part  of  the  State.  The  extreme 
localization  of  the  typical  northwestern  culture  is  thus  apparent,  and 
it  is  evident  that  unless,  as  docs  not  seem  probable,  its  culture  has 
close  affiliations  with  the  Athabascan  tribes  along  the  immediate  coast 
northward  from  the  mouth  of  the  Klamath,  its  most  characteristic 
development  is  con&ned  to  the  Yurok,  Karok,  and  Hupa. 

I.   GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  THE  CREATION. 

At  first  there  were  no  trees  nor  rivers  and  no  people  on  the  earth. 
Nothing  except  ground  was  visible.  There  was  no  ocean.  Then 
Gudatrigakwitl  was  sorry  that  it  was  so.  He  thouL!;ht,  "How  is  it 
that  there  are  no  animals.^"  He  looked,  but  he  saw  nothing.  Then 
he  deliberated.  He  thought,  "  I  will  try.  Somebody  will  live  on  the 
earth.    But  what  will  he  use  ? "   Then  he  decided  to  make  a  boat 


Digitized  by  Google 


94 


J<mmalof  American  Folk-Lore. 


for  him.  He  made  things  by  joining  his  hands  and  spreading  them. 
He  used  no  tools.  In  this  way  he  made  people.  The  first  man  was 
wat,  the  abalone.  The  first  people  were  not  right.  They  all  died. 
Gudatrigakwitl  thought  that  they  were  bad.  He  wanted  good  people 
who  would  have  children.  At  first  he  wanted  every  man  to  have  ten 
lives.*  When  he  was  an  old  man  he  was  to  become  a  boy  again. 
Afterwards  Gudatrigakwitl  found  that  he  could  not  do  this.  He  gave 
the  people  all  the  game,  the  fish,  and  the  trees.  He  said  :  "  As  long 
as  people  live,  if  an  old  man  will  tell  his  boy  about  me  it  will  be  as  if 
I  were  there,  for  he  will  tell  him,  '  Do  not  do  so  and  so.' " 

In  other  places  there  are  different  people,  but  they  were  all  made 
by  Gudatrigakwitl  at  one  time,  all  over  the  world.  That  is  why  there 
are  different  tribes  with  different  languages.  So  the  old  men  used 
to  say. 

When  Gudatrigakwitl  wanted  to  make  people,  he  said,  "  I  want 
fog."  Then  it  began  to  be  foggy.  Gudatrigakwitl  thought:  "No 
one  will  see  it  when  the  people  are  horn."  Then  he  thought :  "Now 
I  wish  people  to  be  all  over,  broadcast.  I  want  it  to  he  full  of  people 
and  full  of  game;"  Then  the  fog  went  away.  No  one  had  seen 
them  before,  but  now  they  were  there 

Gudatrigakwitl  used  no  sand  or  earth  or  sticks  to  make  the  people ; 
be  merely  thought  and  they  existed.   (In  answer  to  a  question.) 

Gudatrigakwitl  thought:  "When  something  is  alive,  like  a  plant, 
it  wUl  not  die;  It  will  come  up  again  from  the  roots  and  grow  again 
and  again.  So  it  will  be  with  men  and  animals  and  everything  alive." 

Gudatrigakwitl  said  to  the  people :  "This  kind  of  plant  is  medicine 
for  you.  When  something  is  wrong,  or  when  a  person  is  sick,  call 
to  me."   Whatever  he  made  is  good. 

Gudatrigakwitl  said :  "  I  want  it  to  be  that  there  will  be  dances. 
When  they  begin,  people  will  call  me.  I  want  them  to  call  me  then. 
At  that  time  I  will  make  them  have  a  dance."  That  was  the  word 
that  h€  left  to  the  people.  That  is  why  the  people  dance  near  the 
mouth  of  Mad  River. 

Gudatrigakwitl  said :  "  If  it  is  warm  and  you  are  hot  and  the  water 
is  cold,  do  not  drink  or  you  will  die.  Drink  only  a  little  of  it." 
Therefore  the  people  say,  "  Do  not  drink  too  much."  They  say 
the  same  about  food.  Gudatrigakwitl  told  them:  "Do  not  forget 
my  instructions." 

Gudatrigakwitl  made  string  for  people.    String  is  a  person. 

Gudatrigakwitl  thought:  "How  shall  I  make  deer?  I  think  I 
will  make  them  like  this."    Then  he  made  deer. 

At  first  there  were  no  acorns  growing.  Gudatrigakwitl  made 
them  also. 

^  Cf.  Nos,  2,  7, 10. 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


Wtskask  Myths. 


95 


GudatrigakwiU  also  made  it  that  people  pay  when  some  one  is 
killed. 

At  first  there  was  no  fire.  Gudatrigakwitl  thought :  "  What  shall 
we  do  ?  There  is  no  fire."  He  took  a  stick,  spat  on  it,  and  it  began 
to  burn.^ 

Gudatrigakwitl  left  the  people  all  kinds  of  dances.  He  said : 
"When  there  is  a  festivity,  call  me.  If  some  do  not  like  what  I  say, 
let  them  be.  But  those  to  whom  I  leave  my  instructions,  who  will 
teach  them  to  their  children,  will  be  well.  Whenever  you  are  badly 
off,  call  me.  I  can  save  you  in  some  way,  no  matter  how  great  the 
difficulty.  If  a  man  does  not  call  me,  I  will  let  him  go."  So  he  left 
dances  and  good  times.  That  is  why  the  people  dance.  They  used 
never  to  miss  making  a  dance. 

Gudatrigakwitl  went  all  over  the  world  looking.  Then  he  made 
everything.    When  he  had  finished  everything  he  made  people. 

Gudatrigakwitl  is  not  called  on  every  day.  He  is  called  only 
when  a  man  is  in  difficulty. 

Whatever  things  must  not  be  said  or  done  axe  forbidden  because 
Gudatngakwitl  so  directed  in  the  beginning. 

Gudatrigakwitl  is  alive  to^ay.  He  does  not  die.  He  does  not 
become  sick.  He  is  the  same  as  formerly.  As  long  as  the  world 
exists  he  will  live.  The  reason  some  people  (Indians)  are  still  alive 
is  because  some  of  them  still  follow  his  word  a  little.  Therefore 
they  tell  their  children:  **Do  not  do  so  and  sa"  Gudatrigakwitl 
has  a  good  place  to  live  m,  where  it  is  shining  and  light.  There  is 
no  darkness  there.  It  is  white  there^  but  never  black.  He  does  not 
like  the  dark.  There  are  flowers  there.  He  is  alone.  Whatever 
he  thinks  exists. 

Gudatrigakwitl  said :  '*This  sort  of  cloud  will  make  rain ;  this  kind 
will  make  snow ;  when  there  is  this  kind  it  will  be  very  warm."  That 
is  how  the  people  know  the  weather. 

Gudatrigakwitl  made  everything  by  wanting  it  He  did  not  work 
with  his  hands. 

When  a  man  wants  to  go  on  the  ocean  and  it  is  rough,  he  takes 
a  stick  and  strikes  the  water  several  times  and  says :  "  Gudatrigakwitl, 
you  made  people  be  bom  long  ago.  You  made  it  that  they  go  on 
the  water.  I  want  it  to  be  calm  now."  Then  he  launches  his  boat. 
When  he  is  going  to  land  again,  he  says :  **  Stop  the  waves  for  a 
litde  while." 

2.  GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  SPINAGAR-\LU. 

Gudatrigakwitl  said  :  "  I  want  people  to  live  so  that  an  old  man 
unll  be  a  boy  again  over  and  over  again,  and  everybody  will  live  ten 

>  Cf.  Mo.  17. 


Digitized  by  Google 


96 


youmal  of  American  Folh'Lore* 


times."  One  who  was  evilly  disposed  said:  "Ha!  I  do  not  want 
them  to  live."  Gudatrigakwitl  said  :  **  I  do  not  want  that,  I  want  it 
only  as  I  say.  I  want  them  to  have  ten  lives."  The  one  who  wanted 
people  to  die  is  called  Spinagaralu.  He  is  one  of  the  vakirashk,  the 
bad  ones.  He  is  an  insect  that  lives  in  the  ground.  It  is  wingless 
and  dark  and  has  long  arms  like  a  spider.  People  kill  it  when  they 
see  it   It  is  bad  and  must  not  be  played  with. 

3.  GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  THE  FLOOD. 

Gudatrigakwitl  thought :  "  I  do  not  know  what  people  will  da" 
He  made  a  great  flood.  He  wanted  to  destroy  the  people^  to  sweep 
them  off,  so  that  there  would  be  new  people,  better  ones.  The  first 
people  were  bad.  That  is  why  he  made  the  flood.  Then  he  made 
people  again.  Only  three  mountain  peaks  projected  above  the  water. 
One  was  Yerded'hi,  Bald  Mountain  near  Redwood  Creek;  another 
was  Shdton  Butte  (a  not  very  high  but  prominent  peak  on  the  Kla- 
math River,  between  Orleans  and  Weitchpec) ;  the  third  was  Bear 
River  Mountain  (or  a  peak  in  that  vicinity).  From  this  flood  are  the 
lakes  in  the  mountains  and  the  plants  in  the  lakes.  From  it  also  are 
the  shells  in  the  mountains.  Before  the  flood  the  earth  was  smooth 
and  flat  without  mountams. 

4.  GATSWOKWIRE, 

After  the  world  was  made  by  Gudatrigakwitl  and  there  were  many 
people,  Gatswokwire,  or  Rakshuatlaketl,  went  about  He  was  foolish. 

He  made  women  pregnant  by  his  supernatural  power.  Gudatriga- 
kwitl made  the  world  and  Gatswokwire  went  about  afterwards.  He 

was  not  bad  ;  he  did  not  kill  people,  but  sometimes  he  thought  about 
a  woman  :  "  I  wish  you  were  pregnant,"  and  then  she  was  prec^nant. 

Gatswokwire  always  wanted  to  sec  the  people  dance.  He  helped 
them  make  their  dance,  then  went  on.  He  had  many  medicines. 
Most  medicines  (probably  formulas)  belong  to  him.  If  he  was  drowned 
he  came  to  life  again.  People  would  tell  him  :  "  Do  not  go  there," 
He  would  say  :  "  I  can  go  there ;  they  cannot  harm  me."  Then  he 
would  go. 

Gatswokwire  was  always  following  women.  The  first  time  he  went 
about  he  found  no  women.  Later  he  found  many  women.  As  he 
went  about  he  would  see  people  holding  a  small  child,  but  there 
never  was  a  mother.  He  saw  this  often.  Then  he  thought:  "What 
is  the  matter  that  the  babies  have  no  mothers  ?"  He  came  to  the 
middle  of  the  world.  Then  he  saw  a  woman  being  held  by  the  arms. 
A  man  had  a  flint  and  was  ready  to  cut  her  open  to  take  out  her 
child.  In  this  way  people  were  bom.  Gatswokwire  did  not  like 
this.  Itwasthefirsttimethathesawit  He  said:  "Stop!  Wait  I'* 


Digitized  by  Google 


WUhosk  Myths. 


97 


He  thought :  "  I  know  why  it  is  that  the  children  have  no  mothers." 
He  went  outside  and  sat  down.  He  thought :  "  It  is  too  had  that 
they  do  like  that  to  women.  They  kill  too  many."  He  looked 
and  saw  a  plant  He  took  it  He  threw  it  into  the  house  and  at 
once  the  baby  cried. ^  So  now  children  are  bom  and  women  are  no 
longer  cut  open.   Therefore  women  in  labor  call  Gatswokwire. 

5.  GATSWOKWIRE  AND  THE  ORIGIN  OF  SALMON. 

Gatswokwirc  took  seeds  of  the  madrofia  that  look  like  salmon  eggs. 
There  were  no  fish  in  the  world.  Gudatrigakwitl  had  not  let  them 
out.  He  wanted  to  keep  them  a  little  longer,  Gatswokwire,  carry- 
ing the  dry  seeds,  came  to  where  the  fish  were  kept.  There  he  took 
them  out.  Then  the  one  that  was  keeping  the  fish  thought :  "  Oh, 
they  are  already  out.  They  are  about  the  world."  The  fish  were 
kept  in  a  hollow  rock,  all  kinds  of  them.  Gudatrigakwitl  had  made 
them.  Gatswokwire  came  there  because  he  wanted  the  fish  t'o  be  all 
over  the  world.  Gudatrigakwitl  thought :  "  Well,  let  it  be.  Let  him 
make  them  be  all  over  the  world."  Then  it  was  fogg:y  and  no  one 
saw  how  the  fish  went  out.  Then  the  sun  shone  again.  Gatswok- 
wire went  on  and  came  to  a  place  and  saw  fish.  He  came  to  another 
place  and  saw  many  fish  there  too.  Some  of  the  people  had  spears, 
some  had  set  nets,  some  dip  nets.  Then  he  was  glad.  But  Guda- 
trigakwitl had  done  It.  Some  say  that  the  person  who  kept  the  fish 
was  a  woman,  some  say  that  it  was  a  man. 

d  GATSWOKWIRE  CARRIED  ACROSS  THE  OCEAN. 

When  Gatswokwire  first  went  about  he  found  no  women.  Then 
later  he  found  ralowitlikwi  (a  flat  fish,  probably  the  skate).  She  lay 
on  the  beach  with  her  legs  spread.  Gatswokwire  thought  he  could 
use  her.  He  began  to  have  intercourse  with  her,  when  she  turned 
over  and  carried  him  off  across  the  sea.  She  took  him  to  the  other 
side,  and  left  him  there.  Then  Gatswokwire^  regaining  conscious- 
ness, thought :  "  What  place  is  this  ?  Where  have  I  gone  to  ? " 
He  started  back,  walking  on  the  water.  So  he  came  to  this  world 
again.  Then  he  went  about  as  before,  looking  for  women.  The 
skate  had  lain  there  to  carry  him  ofi(  but  did  not  succeed  in  keep- 
ing him  away  from  this  world. 

7.  GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  THE  CREATION. 

Everything  was  water.    Gurugudatrigakwitl  thought :  "  It  is  bad 
that  there  is  no  land,  but  all  water."    That  is  why  he  made  this  earth. 
'  He  took  a  little  dust  and  blew  it.  Then  there  was  land  all  about.  He 
looked  over  it  and  nobody  was  there.  Then  he  thought  He  thought : 
^  Having  been  bora  immediately  through  the  power  el  the  medicine. 


Digitized  by  Google 


y<mmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


"I  will  make  some  one  to  be  about."  He  made  a  man.  His  name 
was  Chkekovvik.  When  he  was  finished  he  let  him  go.  He  gave 
him  bow  and  arrow.  It  did  not  look  well  to  Gunigudatrigakwitl  to 
see  the  man  going  about  alone.  He  thought  again  and  said  :  '*  I  will 
make  another  one."  Then  he  made  a  woman.  When  she  was  grown 
he  let  her  go  and  gave  her  to  the  man  to  go  with  him.  Then  they 
went  together,  the  man  first,  the  woman  behind.  Therefore  women 
follow  men.  Then  Gurugudatrigakwitl  thought :  "  What  will  he  kill 
to  eat } "  Then  he  made  elk  for  him.  He  made  two  female  elk  and  a 
bull  elk.  Then  Chkekowik  saw  them.  He  thought :  "  There  are  elk ; 
I  will  kill  tbem.**  Gurugudatrigakwitl  gave  them  to  him  to  kill  and 
he  thought :  I  wOl  kill  them«"  J  ust  as  boys  want  to  kill  everything 
they  see,  so  Chkekowik  was. 

Gurugudatrigakwitl  made  all  fishes,  birds,  and  animals.  He  had 
them  covered  up  in  a  round  basket,  dalitlen.  He  took  them  out  one 
by  one^  'set  them  down,  and  they  ran  off. 

Gurugudatrigakwitl  makes  snowstorms  in  winter  by  shaking  his 
head.  Snow  comes  out  from  his  hair  and  there  is  snow  over  the 
world. 

He  made  old  people  young  again  by  sneezing.  He  thought:  *'I 
want  them  to  be  young,"  and  sneezed,  and  they  were  young.  He 
sneezed  and  made  old  clothing  and  skins  new.^ 

He  can  make  all  the  deer  come  to  him.  He  makes  the  white  deer 
by  chewing  deer  tendon.  It  swells  and  grows  in  his  mouth.  He 
spits  it  out  and  says:  "  Hello,  white  deer."  Soon  he  raises  it  up  on 
the  end  of  a  stick.  Then  it  goes  off  as  a  white  deer.  He  keeps  it  in 
the  sky.  Therefore  a  poor  man  does  not  kill  it  If  a  man  is  rich, 
Gurugudatrigakwitl  may  let  him  see  the  white  deer  and  kill  it 

8.  GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  THE  SPIDER. 

The  Spider  was  here  on  this  earth  without  any  way  of  catching 
flies  and  other  insects.  He  went  up  to  Gurugudatrigakwitl.  He 
asked  him  to  make  him  a  means  of  catching  them.  Gurugudatrigak- 
witl told  him :  "  Sit  here  for  a  time  and  work  for  me."  Then  he 
gave  him  a  string  to  make.  The  spider  put  some  into  his  mouth  and 
swallowed  it.  He  continued  to  swallow  string.  He  kept  it  in  his 
large  belly  until  he  had  a  great  quantity.  Gurugudatrigakwitl  saw 
him  and  knew  what  he  was  doing,  but  thought :  "  Let  him  keep  it  if 
he  wants  it  so  much."  Then  the  spider  thought :  "  There  is  no  way 
to  get  down  from  here."  So  he  drew  the  end  of  the  string  from  his 
mouth,  tied  it  fast,  and  then  let  himself  down,  going  farther  and  far- 
ther. When  he  reached  the  earth  here  he  made  his  webs  and  caught 
flies  and  lived. 

*  Cf.  NOS.  I,  2,  10. 


Digitized  by  Google 


msAasi  Myiks. 


99 


9.    GUDATRIGAKWITL  AND  THE  OTTER. 

The  otter  ate  Gurugudatrigakwitl's  fish.  Gurugudatrigakwitl  knew 
it  was  he  who  had  done  it.  He  told  him :  "  Now  live  in  the  water 
and  eat  fish." 

10.  THE  FROG  AND  SPIMAGARALU. 

The  frog  had  a  single  child.  Spinagaralu  had  one  child.  The 
frog's  child  became  sick.  It  died.  The  frog  saw  that  it  was  dead. 
He  went  to  Spinagaralu  and  said  :  "  What  do  you  think  ?  My  child 
is  dead."  Spinagaralu  said:  "  Well,  let  it  be  dead."  The  frog  was 
sorry.  He  did  not  want  to  see  his  child  dead.  After  a  time  the 
child  of  Spinagaralu  became  sick  too.  Then  he  too  saw  his  child 
dead.  Then  he  came  to  the  frog's  house.  He  said  :  "Well,  what  do 
you  think  ?  "  The  frog  said  :.  •*  It  is  all  right.  Let  it  be  d^ad,"  and 
Spinagaralu  went  into  the  fire  and  burned  himself  dark ;  then  he 
went  into  the  ground. 

If,  when  the  frog's  child  died  and  he  went  to  Spinagaralu,  the 
latter  had  said :  '*  It  is  too  bad  that  your  child  is  dead ;  let  it  live," 
then  people' would  not  die*  but  all  would  live.  But  Spinagaralu  said : 
"  Let  it  die,"  and  then  when  his  own  child  died,  the  frog  said  the 
same.  That  is  why  people  die,  di^  die^  and  do  not  come  back. 

II.  THE  MOLE  AND  THE  SET. 

The  mole  is  ashamed  to  come  out  in  the  daytime:  Once  the  sky 
fell  and  it  held  it  up  with  its  hand.  Under  the  weight  of  the  sky  ita 
hand  turned  bottom  up.  Hence  its  hand  is  twisted  now. 

12.  GATSWOKWIRE  EATS. 

Gatswokwire  as  he  was  going  met  a  woman  carrying  a  basket  full 
of  bodenish  roots.  Gatswokwire  asked  for  some  of  them,  and  she 
gave  them  to  him.  They  tasted  good  to  him,  so  he  made  a  circuit 
and  headed  ofif  the  woman  so  as  to  meet  her  again.  This  time  he 
looked  different.  The  old  woman  again  gave  him  some  roots.  He 
ate  all  she  gave  him  and  then  went  on  fast  so  as  to  meet  her  again. 
Again  he  had  a  different  appearance  and  she  thought  him  another 
man  and  gave  him  some  more.  After  a  time  all  her  roots  were  gone. 
But  it  was  he  who  had  eaten  them  all.  Then  the  old  woman  got 
home.  Gatswokwire  came  to  her  house  and  said  :  "  I  am  sick.  I  ate 
too  many  boderush."  The  woman  said  :  But  I  gave  you  only  a  few." 
"You  gave  me  all  you  had,"  he  said.  "Ohl  you  were  the  same 
man  ? "  she  said.   "  Yes,  I  was  the  one." 

13.  GATSWOKWIRE  AND  COYOTE. 

Two  girls  were  living  on  top  of  a  high  hill   The  hiil  was  as  steep 


Digitized  by  Google 


100 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


as  a  tree.  The  girls  did  not  want  anybody  to  come  to  them.  They 
did  not  like  men.  Gatswokwire  went  to  the  hill.  He  failed  to  climb 
to  where  they  were,  and  returned.  Coyote  was  going  about,  always 
inquisitive.  He  came  to  where  Gatswokwire  lived  and  said  to  hira  : 
"  I  hear  you  would  like  to  get  those  girls."  *' Yes,  I  tried  to,  but  I 
cannot  get  up.  I  cannot  get  close  to  them,"  said  Gatswokwire.  "I 
will  go  with  you,"  said  Coyote.  Next  day  Gatswokwire  said  :  "  Let 
us  start.  I  want  to  see  you  climb  up  there,"  "  Very  well,  I  will  go 
with  you,"  said  Coyote.  When  they  reached  the  mountain.  Coyote 
went  ahead  singing.  He  sang  as  he  went  on  up.  His  song  became 
broken  by  gasps.  At  last  he  fell  over.  He  rolled  down  like  a  stone, 
and  lay  at  the  bottom.  Gatswokwire  started  slowly.  He  reached 
the  top.  He  took  one  of  the  girls  and  came  down.  Coyote  was  ly- 
ing there  asleep;  Gatswokwixe  prodded  him  with  a  stick.  Coyote 
awoke.  •*  Well,  did  you  get  a  girl  ? "  "  Yes,  I  got  one."  "  Are 
there  any  more  ? "  Yes,  the  prettiest  one  is  still  there."  <*  I  will 
go  to  get  her."  "Yes,  go  on.  You  can  reach  the  place  easily.'* 
Then  Coyote  started  to  go  up;  He  was  part  way.  Then  he  began 
to  dig  in  the  ground ;  he  saw  mice.  Gatswokwire  called  to  him : 
"What. is  there  down  there  ?  Do  you  see  any  girls  down  there  V* 
Coyote  said :  *'  Yes,  there  are  girls."  The  girl  who  was  with  Gata-  ' 
wokwire  said  to  him :  "  I  think  he  is  no  man."  Gatswokwire  said  : 
"  Oh,  he  goes  everywhere.  He  has  no  home.  He  is  always  travel- 
ling looking  for  pleasure." 

14.  COYOT£  MARRIES. 

Coyote  went  north.  He  found  a  woman.  He  said :  "  I  am  very 
anxious  to  have  a  woman."  The  girl  said:  "I  want  a  man."  Coyote 
said:  "You  can  have  me.  I  am  a  fine  man."  The  woman  said  : 
"Yes,  you  look  like  a  fine  man."  Coyote  said  to  her  :  "  I  will  take 
you  to  my  house."  So  they  went.  Coyote  said :  "  Far  off  there, 
where  you  can  see,  is  my  house."  The  woman  thought :  "We  will 
soon  be  there."  They  reached  that  place  and  Coyote  said  :  "  Oh, 
my  house  is  farther  on."  They  were  going  along  near  the  beach  and 
Coyote  told  her:  "Sit  down  here."  She  sat  and  he  went  down  to 
the  beach.  When  he  came  back  he  said  :  "  Come,  let  us  go  on. 
There  is  my  house."  When  they  came  to  that  place  Coyote  said  : 
"  Oh.,  my  house  is  farther  on."  The  woman  became  very  tired. 
Soon  Coyote  said  to  her  again  :  "  Sit  down  here  and  rest."  Then 
he  went  down  to  the  beach.  This  time  she  watched  him  from  hid- 
ing, thinking  :  "  What  does  he  do  when  he  goes  off  ? "  He  was  on 
the  beach  snapping  at  sand  fleas  and  digging  in  the  sand,  seizing 
and  eating  what  he  found.  She  thought:  "Oh,  it  is  too  bad!  I 
thought  he  was  a  good  man."   Coyote  came  back  and  they  went  on. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Wiskosk  Myths. 


lOI 


He  kept  saying  to  her,  "  My  house  is  farther  on."  It  became  night 
and  they  made  a  fire  in  the  open  and  lay  down.  The  woman  did  not 
sleep.  Coyote  snored.  She  got  up  and  laid  a  rotten  log  on  his  arm 
and  went  off.  In  the  morning  Coyote  awoke  and  thought  he  had  the 
woman  in  his  arm.  He  saw  it  was  wood.  Then  he  wanted  to  look 
for  her.  He  spoke  to  his  foot.  "Where  did  that  woman  go  V  he 
asked.  He  asked  sticks  :  "  Where  is  that  woman  ?"  The  sticks  did 
not  answer  him.  He  asked  everything.  The  woman  came  back  to 
her  home.  "  What  is  wrong  that  you  have  come  back  ?  "  asked  her 
parents.  "  I  am  ashamed  to  tell  you,"  she  said.  "  Well,  I  did  not 
think  to  have  you  come  back,"  said  her  father.  But  Coyote  sat  on 
a  sandhill  He  dug  in  the  ground  looking;  for  food,  and  cried  and 
cried. 

15.  COYOTE  BREAKS  HIS  LEG. 

Coyote  asked  the  panther :  "  Of  what  do  you  make  your  salmon 
harpoon?*'  The  panther  said:  **\  make  it  of  deer  leg  bones." 
Coyote  said  Do  not  lie  to  me.  I  don't  believe  it"  He  kept  ask^ 
ing  the  panther.  At  last  the  panther  said  :  "  Well,  break  your  leg 
and  use  the  bone  for  your  harpoon."  Coyote  went  home  to  his 
grandmother.  He  said :  "  I  am  going  to  break  my  leg  to  make  a 
salmon  harpoon.  The  panther  told  me  how  to  do  it."  His  grand* 
mother  told  him :  **  He  did  not  tell  you  that  You  cannot  do  that" 
*' Yes,  he  told  me  how  to  do  it  and  I  am  going  to^"  he  said.  Then 
he  broke  his  leg  for  a  salmon  harpoon.  That  is  why  Coyote's  right 
leg  now  is  thin. 

16.  COYOTE  STUCK  IN  THE  PITCH. 

Fisher,  fox,  panther,  raccoon,  civet-cat,  and  wildcat  used  to  jump 
across  a  small  ravine.  The  stream  in  this  was  not  of  water  but  of 
pitch.  One  after  the  other  they  would  all  jump  across.  Coyote 
said  :  "  I  want  to  go  with  you.  I  want  to  jump  also."  They  told 
him  :  "  You  cannot  do  it."  But  he  said  :  "  I  can."  Fisher  said : 
"You  cannot  run  up  a  tree  as  I  can,  going  around  and  around  it." 
But  Coyote  said  again  that  he  could  jump  the  stream.  Wildcat 
said  :  "You  will  not  be  able  to  do  it.  Let  mc  see  how  far  you  can 
jump."  Then  Coyote  ran  for  him  and  jumped.  "You  will  not  be 
able  to  do  it,"  said  Wildcat.  But  Coyote  insisted.  When  they  went 
to  jump  again,  Coyote  said  :  "  I  will  jump  with  you,"  and  accompanied 
them.  When  they  came  to  the  place  Coyote  said  :  "  My  family  used 
to  do  that."  Then  he  jumped.  He  went  well  over  the  ravine.  Then 
he  turned  and  immediately  jumped  back  across  it.  At  once  he  jumped 
across  it  again,  and  just  cleared  it  ;  jumping  again  he  landed  in  the 
middle.    He  stuck  fast  and  could  not  get  out    Fisher  said  :  "  You 

▼OZm  3CVIIL«>N0.  69.  8 


Digitized  by  Google 


102 


yaumal  of  American  Folh-Lon. 


will  not  get  off.  I  will  not  stay  here  waiting  for  you.  It  is  no  use. 
You  will  stay  there."  Coyote  said  :  "  No,  ray  friends,  do  not  leave 
rne.  I  think  I  will  get  loose  somehow."  Fisher  told  him  :  "  No,  you 
will  not  get  free.  You  will  be  bom  again."  Then  they  all  went  off. 
Next  day  they  came  back.  Coyote  was  gone ;  only  bones  and  fur  were 
in  his  place.  Fisher  said  :  Where  is  Coyote  >  He  is  gone."  Then 
from  a  little  distance  Coyote  said  :  "  Wo,  I  have  been  lying  here 
sleeping."  Then  they  asked  him  to  jump  again.  But  Coyote  would 
not  do  it.  He  said:  "You  got  the  best  of  me."  Fisher  said  :  "I 
did  not  deceive  you.  I  told  you  you  would  not  do  it.  When  one 
jumps  across  he  should  rest.  Then  after  a  while  he  can  jump  back. 
But  you  jumped  back  and  forth  and  back.   That  is  why  you  fell  in." 

17.  THE  DOG*S  FIRE. 

The  panther  asked  the  dog  where  he  got  fire.  The  dog  said  that 
he  had  no  fire.  He  denied  until  the  panther  became  angry.  Then 
the  dog  became  angry  too,  and,  although  he  knew,  wouki  not  tell  the 
panther.  So  when  the  panther  killed  deer  he  ate  them  raw.  The 
dog  had  two  sticks.  One  of  them  had  holes  in  it  In  these  he  bored 
with  the  other  stick.  Even  though  there  might  be  wind  and  rain  he 
got  fire: 

18.  THB  BLUE  JAY  AND  THE  OTHER  BIRDS. 

The  blue  jay  lived  in  the  mountains  on  acorns.  She  gathered 
many  acorns,  and  in  winter  constantly  pounded  them.  The  meadow- 
lark,  robin,  and  blackbird  also  lived  on  acorns,  but  when  spring  came 
they  had  nothing  to  eat  The  blue  jay  put  acorn  meal  on  all  her 
feathers.  When  she  wanted  to  eat  she  would  shake  out  a  feather 
over  a  basket,  and  the  basket  filled  with  meal.  When  it  was  spring, 
and  the  meadowlark,  the  robin,  and  the  blackbird  looked  about  and 
could  see  nothing  to  eat,  they  went  to  the  blue  jay's  house  and  each 
asked  her :  "  Where  do  you  keep  your  acorns  all  winter  ? "  Then  the 
blue  jay  said  :  "  I  will  tell  you  where  I  keep  my  acorns.  Look." 
Then  she  lifted  a  feather.  It  was  full  of  acorn  meal.  She  lifted 
another,  and  it  was  full  of  meal.  Ever}'  feather  on  her  body  was 
full.  Then  she  shook  some  out,  cooked  it,  and  gave  it  to  them  to  eat. 
The  three  others  went  to  their  houses  and  pounded  acorns.  They 
pounded  a  large  quantity.  Then  they  stood  up  and  put  the  meal  over 
their  body.  The  meadowlark's  little  daughter  became  hungry.  The 
meadowlark  told  her  :  "Heat  the  rocks."  Then  she  took  a  basket, 
put  it  to  her  body,  lifted  a  feather,  shook  it,  and  nothing  came.  Then 
she  shook  another  and  another  but  got  nothing.  The  meal  had  all 
fallen  off.  Then  the  three  went  to  the  blue  jay  and  asked  her  : 
**  How  do  you  make  the  acorn  meal  stick  to  your  feathers  ?  What 


Digitized  by  Google 


IVisAosJk  Myihs. 


103 


myth  (medicine  formula)  makes  it  so?"  Blue  jay  said  :  "You  are  not 
able  to  do  it.  Even  if  I  told  you  the  myth  you  would  not  be  able  to 
do  it."    Then  she  gave  them  food  again. 

The  three  women  also  asked  the  blue  jay  how  she  made  her  acorn 
meal  without  leaching  it.  She  said  :  "  I  take  a  handful  of  meal  and 
rub  it  against  my  elbow."  The  birds  went  home,  took  freshly 
pounded  meal,  and  cooked  it  without  leaching  it ;  but  when  they 
went  to  eat,  it  was  stiE  bitter. 

19:  THB  SEA  UON  AND  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR. 

The  sea  lk>n  lay  on  the  beach  asleep.  The  grizzly  bear  came  along 
the  beach  looking  for  something  to  eat  He  saw  the  sea  lion  lying 
immovable  and  the  flies  gomg  into  his  nostrils.  He  thought  him 
dead  and  went  to  bite  a  piece  off  him.  The  sea  lion  jumped  up. 
Seizing  the  grizzly  bear  by  the  back  of  the  neck,  he  shook  him  to 
death.  Then  he  went  off  into  the  ocean.  The  bear  lay  on  the  beach. 

2a  THE  CROW,  THE  EAGLE,  AND  THE  PORPOISES. 

The  crow  was  married  to  the  eagle.  He  went  off  across  the  ocean 
to  visit  his  niece,  the  eel,  who  was  married  there.  He  took  his  two 
children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  the  porpoises,  with  him.  Out  in  the  ocean 
he  put  them  on  a  rock  and  left  them.  Then  he  came  back.  "What 
did  you  do  with  the  children  V  the  eagle  asked  him.  "  They  are  in 
their  grandmother's  house,"  the  crow  told  her.  At  night  the  boy 
came  back.  The  crow  ran  off.  The  eagle  asked  her  son  how  he 
had  come  back,  and  the  boy  told  his  mother :  "  My  father  put  us  on 
the  rocks  and  left  us.  The  sea-otter  took  me  and  brought  me  to  land. 
My  sister  is  dead."  The  eagle  pursued  the  crow.  She  caught  him 
and  brought  him  back.  She  put  him  into  the  fire  and  burned  him 
until  he  died. 

21.  THE  R.-WEN  CATCllLS  A  WOMAN. 

The  raven  went  to  get  a  woman  for  another  man.  She  was  bath- 
ing and  did  not  see  him  coming.  While  she  swam  he  went  on  the 
sand  and  took  her  dress.  When  she  came  out  she  asked  for  her 
dress  but  he  did  not  give  it  to  her.  She  would  go  up  to  him  to  take 
it  as  he  held  it,  but  he  would  pull  it  away  and  she  would  follow  him 
to  get  it.  Thus  they  went  until  they  came  to  where  the  people  were. 
The  raven  sat  down  in  the  middle  and  the  woman  sat  down  opposite 
him.  Then  he  said  :  "  I  do  not  want  you."  Then  she  went  lo  an- 
other house  where  the  man  was  who  married  her.  When  she  had 
lived  there  some  time  her  husband  told  her  to  go  back.  Her  rela- 
tives, thinking  her  dead,  had  mourned  for  her,  but  when  they  saw 
her  alive  they  were  glad.     It  is  good.  We  are  satisfied,"  they  said. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


I04 


Journal  of  AmerUan  Folh-Lan. 


11.  THE  PELICAN  AND  THE  EAGLE. 

The  pelican  used  to  catch  fish  where  others  caught  them.  He 
would  take  away  their  catch.  For  one  year  he  took  it.  Then  the 
eagle  came.  He  thought :  "  It  is  not  right  to  do  that.  I  will  look 
for  him,"  They  were  catching  surf  fish  with  dip  nets  :  and  when  the 
pelican  took  what  they  caught,  the  eagle  came  and  said  :  "  Why  do 
you  do  that.^  You  shall  not  do  it  any  longer."  He  went  out  into  the 
water  to  where  the  pelican  was,  seized  him,  and  tore  him  to  pieces. 
Then  the  others  caught  fish  without  being  afraid, 

33.  THE  SKUNK  AND  THE  ELK. 

The  skunk  pretended  he  was  sick.  The  flies  went  to  get  the  c]k 
to  doctor  him.  "The  skunk  is  sick.  The  pain  is  in  bis  anus,"  they 
said.  The  elk  came  and  danced  for  him.  He  sang :  "  Delekotin,  . 
delekotinin."  He  began  to  suck  him.  Then  the  skunk  shot  and 
killed  him.  The  flies  wore  glad  and  rubbed  their  hands.  '*  I  am  glad. 
I  will  eat  dk,"  they  said.  They  cut  the  elk  up  with  their  knives  and 
ate.  The  skunk  had  done  it  Now  he  was  welL  When  they  had 
eaten,  the  flies  went  home. 

24.  LAKtmOWOVITKATL. 

Whenever  a  whale  came  ashore  and  there  were  many  fires  (of 
people)  on  the  beach,  Lakunowovitkatl  always  came,  hoping  to  get 
food,  but  they  always  beat  him  away.  All  the  time  he  asked  for 
meat  and  tried  to  get  it  but  they  would  not  let  him  have  it.  Thus 
it  always  went.  He  came  but  they  beat  him  and  never  fed  him. 
Then  Lakunowovitkatl  thought:  "  They  have  done  it  to  me  often. 
What  shall  I  do?  I  will  go  off  to  train  myself."  Then  he  went  off 
to  train.  He  went  to  a  lake,  where  the  spirits  (yagalichirakw),  who 
had  seen  him  maltreated,  helped  him.  Then  he  came  back.  Again 
a  whale  came  ashore.  He  went  to  see  if  he  could  get  food.  He 
began  to  cut  off  from  the  whale.  He  stood  in  the  water.  One  of 
them  went  up  to  him,  but  Lakunowovitkatl  pushed  him  away.  Again 
he  went  up.  Lakunowovitkatl  pushed  b.im  so  that  he  fell  down  at  a 
distance.  Then  he  saw  the  dog  coming  to  him,  and  pushed  him  so 
that  he  broke  in  two.  Another  dog  came  and  he  pushed  him  too 
and  broke  him.  The  chicken-hawk  came,  saying  :  "  What  is  the  mat- 
ter with  you  }  You  are  very  strong.  What  have  you  been  practising.' " 
He  broke  him  in  two  also.  Another  one  came.  "Where  have  you 
trained.'"  he  asked.  Him  also  he  pushed  and  broke.  Then  they 
had  enough  and  were  afraid.  They  maltreated  him  no  more.  Now 
he  would  have  a  whale  for  himself.  Whatever  came  ashore  he  owned. 
They  were  afraid  of  Lakunowovitkatl  (also  called  Lakunowovitkats) 
and  troubled  him  no  more. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Wishosk  Myths,  105 

25.  DIKWAGITERAI. 

At  Twutka  dalagerili,  on  Eel  river  opposite  Table  Blu£f»  lived 
Dikwagiterait  an  old  man.  He  was  not  really  old.  He  was  alone 
and  poor,  and  supported  himself.  Every  night  ten  rich  men  went  by 
in  a  boat  down  the  river.  They  were  the  WatsayigeritL  They  went 
in  a  large  boat  across  the  ocean,  where  they  danced  every  night  for 
a  girl.  Every  night  they  said  in  ridicule  to  Dikwagiterai  :  "  Come 
along.  Come  with  us."  He  always  thought  to  himself:  "Why  do 
you  do  that  ?    You  should  not  say  that."    He  sang  :  — 

"Shoungin  dawitl  rematvin,  do  not  tell  me  to  come  with  you." 

Every  night  as  they  went  by  they  said  the  same  thing.  Then  he 
•sang :  — 

"  Shoungin  tlilevilewal." 

Then  at  last  he  said  :  "  Well,  stop.  I  am  going  with  you."  He 
shook  his  hair,  and  spread  it  out.  It  was  combed  fine.  He  was 
naked  on  account  of  being  poor.  Only  he  took  down  a  belt  from 
the  corner  of  the  house  and  put  it  on.  Then  they  went  across  the 
ocean  to  Shure.  The  name  of  the  girl  for  whom  they  danced  was 
Hi-wat,  abalone.  She  was  also  called  Watswukerakvvi.  She  was 
smooth  and  shiny  like  shell  all  over  her  body.  Her  father's  name 
was  llaleptlini.  She  was  in  a  large  house  on  a  high  rock,  hidden 
by  tule  mats.  She  sat  inside  them  as  on  a  shelf,  and  did  not  move. 
All  the  rich  men  went  into  the  house  dressed  up  their  finest  with 
woodpecker-heads  and  dentalia.  The  Watsayigeritl  went  in,  and 
after  them  Dikwagiterai,  now  the  finest  of  all  with  woodpecker 
heads  and  dentalia.  Then  they  danced.  The  ten  Watsayigeritl 
danced  like  a  party  from  one  place  competing  against  another, 
namely,  Dikwagiterai  While  they  danced,  singing,  the  girl  did  not 
stir.  TThen  Dikwagiterai  stood  up  and  danced.  He  sang  :  <*Hiloni 
wengiwin,"  and  the  girl  jumped  down  from  her  place.  The  Watsayi- 
geritl, ashamed  at  being  surpassed,  hurried  out  and  went  off  in  their 
boat  Dikwagiterai  came  after  them  and  called  to  them :  "  Why  do 
you  go  away  without  me?  Stop.   Come  nearer/'  He  told  the  girl : 

Hold  my  belt  behind."  When  the  boat  approached,  he  jumped 
into  it,  the  woman  holding  behind.  Then  they  went  over  the  ocean. 
When  they  came  into  the  river  and  to  the  place  where  he  lived,  he  told 
them :  "Let  me  out"  When  they  approached  the  shore,  he  jumped 
to  land,  the  woman  holding  to  him  by  his  belt.  The  Watsayigeritl 
went  on  up  the  river.  Then  Dikwagiterai  was  afraid  that  they  would 
kill  him  and  went  to  Dapeletgek,  Areata  Bottom.  There  he  made 
a  good,  smooth,  grassy  place  to  live.  From  there  he  went  away  to 
get  dentalia  to  pay  for  his  wife.  He  told  her:  "Look  over  the  hill 
every  morning  for  a  large  light,  the  morning  star.  This  will  be  a 
sign  that  I  am  coming  back  that  day."   When  he  came  back  he 


Digitized  by  Google 


io6  journal  of  American  Folk- Lore, 

brought  many  dentalia.  Then  he  went  across  the  ocean  to  livCi  to 
Shure,  where  hia  wife  was  from,  and  paid  for  her  in  dentalia. 

ABSTRACTS. 

1.  Above-old-m.in  makes  water,  vegetation,  animals,  and  man,  and  in- 
structs man  as  to  life. 

2.  He  wants  men  to  live  ten  times,  but  is  unable  to  prevail  agaiDSt  the 
underground  insect  spinagaralu,  so  that  men  die  without  returning. 

3.  Above-old-man  destroys  people  with  a  flood,  which  covers  ail  except 
thiee  mountain  peaks,  and  then  makes  a  new  race^ 

4.  The  culture>hero-trickster  Gatswokwire  makes  medicine  which  ena- 
bles women  to  bear  children  without  being  themselves  killed. 

5.  He  comes  to  the  keeper  of  fish,  and  by  pretending  to  have  fish  eggs 
secures  the  release  of  fish  into  the  world. 

6.  He  is  carried  across  the  ocean  by  a  woman  he  finds  on  the  beach, 

7.  Above-old-man  makes  the  earth,  man,  and  animals. 

8.  The  spider  descends  from  the  sky  by  string  he  has  made  for  Above- 
old-man  and  swallowed. 

9.  The  otter  eating  Above-old-man's  fish  is  told  by  him  to  live  in  the 
water. 

10.  The  frog's  child  dying,  the  insect  spinagaralu  reuses  to  let  It  come 
to  life  again,  and  thus  causes  permanent  death.  When  spinagaralu's  child 
dies,  the  frog  is  obdurate. 

1 1 .  The  sky  falb  and  the  mole  supports  it  with  its  hand,  which  becomes 
twisted. 

12.  The  culture-hero-trickster  Gatswokwire  changes  his  form  in  order 

to  obtain  food  from  the  same  person  repeatedly. 

13.  He  and  Coyote  go  to  get  women.  He  succeeds  but  Coyote  fails 
and  looks  for  food. 

•  14.  Coyote  marries  and  takes  away  his  wife.  He  has  no  home,  but  de- 
ceives the  woman.    She  sees  him  looking  for  food  and  leaves  him. 

15.  Coyote,  troubling  the  panther  as  to  the  making  of  his  harpoon  point, 
is  told  to  break  his  leg,  whidi  he  does. 

t6.  Coyote  leaps  widi  other  animals  across  a  stream  of  pitch.  Overdo- 
ing the  feat,  he  falls  in.  Sticks,  and  dies.    He  returns  to  Ufe. 

17.  The  dog  makes  fire  with  the  fire  drill.  He  refuses  to  give  it  to  the 
panther. 

18.  The  blue  jay  has  the  power  of  shaking  acorn  meal  from  her  feathers, 
and  of  leaching  it  supematurally.  Other  women  try  to  imitate  her  but 
fail. 

19.  The  grizzly  bear  thinks  the  sea  lion  dead,  but  is  killed  by  him. 

so.  The  crow  crosses  the  ocean  and  abandons  his  children  on  a  rock. 
One  of  them  returns,  and  the  crow's  wife,  the  eagle,  bums  him. 

31.  The  raven  takes  a  bathing  woman's  dress,  and  thus  makes  her  follow 
him  to  the  man  who  is  to  marry  her. 

22.  The  pelican  deprives  otiiers  of  their  catch  of  fish  trntil  he  is  killed 
by  the  eagle. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Wiskosk  My  Iks. 


107 


93.  The  skunk  pretending  to  be  sick,  the  elk  is  called  as  doctor,  but  is 

shot  and  killed  by  the  skunk. 

24.  A  poor  boy  is  oppressed  and  starved.  The  spirits  give  him  power 
and  he  overcomes  his  oppressors  and  is  a  prominent  man. 

25.  A  poor  man  accompanies  ten  rich  men  who  cross  the  ocean  niglitly 
to  dance.  He  surpasses  them  and  wins  a  wife.  After  his  return  he  pro- 
cares  dentalia  to  pay  for  her  and  goes  back  across  the  ocean  ivith  her  to 
Uve. 

A,  Z»  Knebir. 


I 


Digitized  by  Google 


io8 


yaumal  of  American  Folk^Larg. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  SEATTLE  TOTEM  POLE. 

T 

Every  visitor  to  Seattle,  Washington,  has  been  attracted  and  more 
or  less  interested  by  the  great  totem  pole  that  adorns  its  main  square, 
but  until  recently  no  authentic  explanation  of  the  carvings  upon  it 
had  been  obtained. 

During  the  last  year,  however,  Professor  Edmond  S.  Meany  of  the 
University  of  Washington  interested  himself  in  the  matter,  and  after 
much  correspondence  obtained  an  account  of  it  from  a  Tlingtt  Indian 
of  Ketchikan,  David  E.  Kintnnook,  which  was  published  in  the  Seattle 
'**Post>Intell^ncer"  of  September  4,  last 

Recently  Professor  Boas  has  received  from  Mr.  George  Hunt  much 
longer  versions  of  the  myths  here  illustrated  and  has  transmitted 
them  to  me,  suggesting  that  I  extract  the  essential  portions  and  send 
them  to  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  for  publication,  along 
with  a  reproduction  of  the  pole.  The  accounts  were  obtained  by 
Mr.  George  Hunt  from  its  former  owner,  Mrs.  Robert  Hunt,  and 
ttherefore  ought  to  be  reliable.  It  seems  that  the  pole  belonged  to 
the  Ganaxa'dl  (People  of  Ga'nax),one  of  the  principal  Tliogit  families 
belonging  to  the  Raven  clan. 

At  the  top  of  this  pole  is  Raven  himself  in  the  act  of  carrying  off 
the  moon  in  his  mouth.  The  story  told  about  this  is  the  familiar 
northwest  coast  tale  of  the  being  at  the  head  of  Nass,  who  kept  day- 
light and  the  moon  in  boxes  in  his  house,  and  of  how  Raven  stole  these 
by  assuming  the  form  of  a  hemlock  needle,  letting  himself  be  swal- 
lowed by  that  chiefs  daughter  and  being  born  again  through  her. 
But  after  recounting  in  the  usual  manner  how  the  disguised  Raven 
obtained  the  daylight  and  moon  by  crying  for  them,  this  version  con- 
cludes in  the  Nass  fashion,  c.  Raven  lets  out  the  light  to  obtain 
olachen  from  the  ghosts  who  are  fishing  from  canoes  made  of  grave- 
boxes.  In  the  Wrangel  version  these  fishermen  appear  as  the  ori- 
ginal animals  who  were  then  in  human  shape  but  fled  to  the  woods 
and  into  the  sea,  and  became  the  kinds  of  animals  whose  skins  they 
happened  to  be  wearing  at  the  time.  Mr.  Hunt's  version  also  makes 
the  home  of  the  keeper  of  daylight  in  a  cave,  and  presents  Raven's 
quest  as  the  result  of  a  council  to  which  he  had  called  aU  of  his 
people. 

The  next  two  figures  are  said  to  be  a  woman  and  a  frog  illus- 
trating the  familiar  story  of  the  woman  who  teased  a  frog  and  was 
carried  off  to  the  frog  town,  where  she  married.  To  recover  her, 
the  lake  in  which  the  frog  town  stood  was  drained.  According  to 
Mr.  Hunt  the  woman  whose  stoiy  is  related  here  was  one  of  the 
Ganax^'d!  called  GatlS'i^  but  it  is  generally  told  of  the  Ktksa'dt 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


TOTKM  rOI.E  AT  SKATTLE 


Explanation  of  the  Seattle  Totem  Pole.  109 

Aiide  from  this  it  differs  from  other  tales  of  the  sort  only  In  making 
the  heroine  send  her  two  little  sons  back  to  her  father's  house  after  ja 
bone  to  pierce  holes  in  skins,  and  in  making  her  father's  people  break 
a  dam  in  order  to  drain  the  lake  and  kill  all  of  the  frogs  except  her 
children  after  they  had  done  so. 

Below  the  frog  carving  comes  another  episode  from  the  story  of 
Raven.  First  is  a  carving  of  Mink,  then  Raven,  next  a  common 
whale,  and  at  the  bottom  "the  chief  of  all  birds."  It  is  the  familiar 
tale  relating  how  Raven  was  swallowed  by  a  whale  and  lived  on  its 
insides  until  he  killed  it  and  drifted  ashore,  but  the  version  is  very 
elaborate  and  differs  in  many  particulars  from  any  heretofore  pub- 
lished. In  the  first  place  Raven  is  represented  as  taking  Mink  along 
with  him  as  his  companion.  This  is  an  incident  of  the  tradition  of 
the  Kimkink.^  Secondly,  the  whale  is  asked  to  take  them  across  a 
bay  or  strait  as  a  favor,  and  himself  directs  Raven  to  cut  out  and  cat 
portions  of  his  fat  if  he  will  be  careful  not  to  touch  his  heart.  After 
the  people  outside  had  cut  a  hole  in  order  to  liberate  them,  it  is  said 
that  Mink  jumped  out  all  oily  and  rolled  in  rotten  wood,  giving  his 
fur  the  appearance  it  has  to-day,  and  that  Raven  did  likewise. 

The  conclusion  is  quite  new  to  me.  According  to  this  the  whale 
drifted  ashore  at  Naikun  or  Rose  Spit  on  the  northeastern  end  of 
the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  and  afterwards  Raven  and  Mink  started 
to  walk  around  them.  "One  day  he  [Raven]  found  a  great  house, 
and  then  he  thought  to  himself,  '  I  will  go  and  see  whose  house  it  is  ? ' 
And  wiien  he  went  into  it  there  he  saw  a  great  man  with  a  bird  beak 
on  him,  and  as  soon  as  Yatl  [the  Raven]  saw  him  he  knew  who  it  was. 
And  then  Yatl  called  him  by  his  name.  His  name  is  Nasak  Yale  or 
Chief  of  all  Birds.  Now  he  [Raven]  was  the  chief  of  the  Raven  tribe." 
Because  this  person  was  chief  of  all  the  birds,  Y&tl  had  a  long  talk 
with  him  and  told  him  eveiything  that  he  had  done.  The  chief 
of  all  the  birds  was  not  pleased  with  those  things,  however,  so  he 
turned  Raven  into  the  bird  we  see  to^y  and  Mink  into  a  corre- 
sponding animal. 

There  is  substantial  agreement  between  these  explanations  and 
those  given  by  Mr.  Kininnook.  In  the  second  episode,  however,  the 
latter  makes  it  a  man  who  married  a  frog  woman,  and  he  weaves  the 
whole  story  into  the  myth  of  Raven  by  making  Raven  tell  this  man 
to  do  sa  He  also  seems  to  identify  Mink  with  I^w-Tide-Woman, 
whom  he  makes  Raven  marry  in  order  to  obtain  things  found  at  low 
tide.  In  the  version  of  the  Raven  story  which  I  collected  at  Wrangel, 
Mink  also  appears  in  the  tale  of  Low-Tide- Woman  but  is  not  identified 
with  hen  Again,  Mr.  Kininnook  calls  this  whale  a  killer  instead  of 
a  common  whale,  and  makes  Raven  marry  it  in  order  to  get  more 
*  Boss,  ItuBamtelU        von  dtr  Nmrd-Pueyudim  KUtU  Awurikas, 


Digitized  by  Google 


no 


yimtmai  ofAmmean  Folk-Lere. 


food,  while  the  lowest  figure  he  identifies  with  the  keeper  of  the  day- 
light, whom  he  calls  the  father,  instead  of  the  grandfather  of  Raven. 

This  last  being  is  worthy  of  special  attention.  The  native  name 
that  Mr.  Hunt  gives  him,  Nasak  Yale,  and  which  I  write  Nas-ca^- 

yctl,  means  Raven-at-the-Head-of-Nass  and  was  given  by  my  Wrangel 
informant  as  the  name  of  the  keeper  of  the  daylight,  moon,  etc.  He 
was  furthermore  asserted  to  be  the  supreme  deity  of  the  Tlingit  and 
the  special  object  of  their  prayers.  I  had  supposed  this  view  of  him 
to  have  arisen  under  missionary  stimulus,  but  what  Mr.  Hunt  says 
would  suggest  that  there  was  some  aboriginal  foundation  for  it. 
Perhaps  he  was  the  Tlingit  equivalent  for  the  Tsimshian  and  Haida 
heaven  gods,  Laxha'  and  Sins  sga^nagwal^ 

yohn  R,  Swanton. 

'  Respecting  the  pole  figured  on  the  frontispiece  Mr.  Hunt  writes :  "  This  is 
the  totem  pole  at  Fort  Rupert,  imitation  of  that  taken  from  Alaska  and  now 
in  Seattle,  put  up  by  its  true  owner,  Mrs.  Robert  Hunt,  who  put  it  over  her  dead 
mother  as  a  tombstone."  He  adds  that  its  uue  history  will  be  found  in  the  paper 
wiitten  by  him,  sod  signs  hiaseU  *'Geo.  Hiiiit»  Histcwy  Collector." 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


MyUiology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico.      1 1 1 


MYTHOLOGY  OF  INDIAN  STOCKS  NORTH  OF 

''MEXICO. 

I. 

The  following  notes  are  intended  as  a  brief  guide  to  the  principal 
literature  of  the  mytholog}'^  of  the  Indian  stocks  north  of  the  Mexi- 
can boundary  line.  The  arrangement  is  the  linguistic  one  of  the 
late  Major  J.  VV.  Powell  and  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
with  a  few  modifications  in  spelling. 

Of  works  of  a  general  nature  on  the  mythology  of  the  American 
Indians,  or  certain  large  sections  of  them,  there  may  be  mentioned 
here  :  Muller's  "  Amerikanische  Urreligionen  "  (Basel,  1855)  ;  Boas's 
"Indianische  Sagen  von  der  Nord-Pacifischen  Kiiste"  (Berlin,  1895) ; 
Brinton's  "American  Hero-Myths"  (Phila,  1882),  "Essays  of  an 
Americanist"  (Phila.  1890),  "Myths  of  the  New  World"  (new  ed. 
Phila.  1896).  "The  American  Anthropologist,"  "The  Journal  of 
American  Folk-Lore,"  and  "  The  American  Antiquarian,"  besides 
the  extensive  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  con- 
tain many  monographs  and  articles. 

Of  the  following  stocks,  some  of  which  are  altogether  extinct,  and 
others  nearly  so,  no  considerable  body  of  mythological  data  has  been 
published,  or  is  known  to  exist : — 

I.  Adaizan,  2.  Attacapan,  3.  Beothukan,  4.  Cbtmakuan,  5.  Chima- 
rikan,  d  Chitimachaii,  7.  Chumasban,  8.  Coabuiltecan,  9.  Costanoan, 
la  Esselenian,  11.  Kalapooian,  12.  Karankawan,  13.  Kusan,  14. 
Natcbesan,  15.  Salman,  i&  Sastean,  t/.  Takilman,  18.  Timuquanan; 

Tonikan,  2a  Tonkawan,  21.  Waiilatpuan,  2Z  Washoan,  23.  >A^sb- 
oskan.* 

The  amotmt  of  material,  published  or  in  existence  in  MSS*,  con- 
cerning the  following  stocks  is  not  very  extensive : — 

1.  Kukmapan,  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  of  the 
PomOk  Gallinomero,  Kabinapek,  Senel,  Yokaia,  etc,  of  this  stock  are 
given  by  Powers  in  his  "Tribes  ol  California*'  (Contrib.  N.  Amer. 
EthnoL  1877,  ^  ui).  The  basketry  designs  of  the  Pomo  tribes  are 
discussed  at  pages  20-24  ^  Dixon's  work  on  this  subject. 

2.  Mariposan.  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  of  the 
Yokuts,  etc.,  of  this  stock  are  given  by  Powers  {pp.  cit^.  Mr.  J.  W. 
Hudson  (Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1902,  vol.  xv.  pp.  I04'-I06)  has  pub- 
lished a  Mariposan  myth  of  the  San  Joaquin  basin. 

3.  Moquelumnait,  Some  legends,  etc.,  from  the  Chokoyem,Miwok, 

^  Since  this  was  written  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber  has  published  in  the  flmrmal  of 
AmtrkanFeik'lMn^ytlL  Jtvii.  pp.  8S-107,  Wisbosk  Myths,**  embodjiflg  English 
test!  and  ahttiacts  of  twentjr-five  talei,— >a  vahaUe  contribatioii. 


Digitized  by  Google 


112  youmal  of  Amerkan  Folh'LorB^ 

etc.,  of  this  stock  are  given  by  Powers  {op.  cit.).  A  few  basket- 
designs  of  the  Moquelumnan  Indians  of  Amador  and  Calaveras 
counties  are  described  by  Dixon  {op.  cit.  p.  19). 

4.  Palaihnihan.  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  from 
the  Achomdwi,  etc.,  of  this  stock  are  given  by  Powers  {op,  cit.). 
The  basketry  designs  of  the  Pit  River  Indians  of  this  stock  are  dis- 
cussed by  Dixun  {pp.  cit.  pp.  14-17).  The  shamans  of  the  Acho- 
m&wi  are  briefly  described  by  Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon  (Journ.  Amcr.  Folk- 
Lorc,  1904,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  24,  25). 

5.  Piman.  The  existence  among  the  tribes  of  this  stock  of  a 
method  of  recording  events  by  means  of  notched  sticks  was  discov- 
ered by  the  late  Dr.  Frank  Russell,  who  has  given  a  brief  account 
of  these  "Pima  Annals"  (Amer.  Anthrop.  igoj,  tl  s.  vol  v.  pp.  76- 
80).  Details  will  appear  in  bis  monograph  on  the  Indians  of  this 
region  to  be  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Aimerican  Ethnology.  The 
narratives  accompanying  these  annals  "  contain  many  mythological 
items.  According  to  Mr.  Mooney  (Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn. 
1892-93,  p.  805)  the  Pima  were  unaffected  by  the  "  ghost  dance"  of 
189a  The  Papago  branch  of  the  Piman  stoclc  were  visited  by 
Dr.  W  J  McGee  in  1894-95,  but  the  results  of  the  investigation 
have  not  yet  appeared  in  detail. 

6.  Quomtean*  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  from 
the  Karok,  of  this  stock,  are  given  by  Powers  (cp,  dt), 

7.  Shahaptian.  Some  "  Notes  on  the  Mythology  and  Religion  of 
the  Nez  Perc^,"  of  this  stock,  were  published  by  R.  Packard  in 
1 89 1  (Journ.  Amer.  Folk-Lorc,  vol.  iv.  pp.  327-330).  The  subjects 
dealt  with  are  the  stealing  of  fire  by  the  beaver  from  the  pines  and 
the  obtaining  of  the  sacred  or  vigil  name  by  children.  According 
to  Mr.  James  Mooney  (Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn.  1892-93,  p.  805) 
the  "ghost  dance"  excitement  of  1890  touched  very  slightly,  if  at 
all,  the  Shahaptian  tribes  of  the  Columbia  basin.  In  the  "Ameri- 
can Anthropologist"  (19CO,  vol.  ii.  n.  s.  pp.  779,  780)  Mrs.  R.  S. 
Shackelford  published  a  brief  "  Legend  of  the  Klickatat  Basket." 

8.  Uchean.  In  the  American  Anthropologist"  (1893,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  279-282)  Dr.  A.  S.  Gatschct  published  "  Some  Mythic  Stories  of 
the  Yuchi  Indians."  Abstracts  are  given  of  myths  relating  to  origin 
of  dry  land,  making  of  first  land,  origin  of  red-cedar,  sun  myths, 
etc.  The  Algonkian  diving  episode  appears  in  the  myth  relating  to 
the  discovery  of  dry  land. 

9.  Weitspekan.  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  from 
the  Yurok,  of  this  stock,  are  given  by  Powers  {op.  cit.). 

10.  Yakonan.  In  1900  Dr.  Livingston  Farrand  visited  the  Alsea 
Indians  of  Oregon,  who  belong  to  this  stock,  and  obtained  "a  series 
of  connected  texts  and  translations."    The  result  of  the  investiga- 


Digitized  by  Google 


Mythology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico.      z  1 3 

tion  is  rdsum^d  in  an  article,  "Notes  on  the  Alsea  Indians  of  Ore- 
gon" (Amer.  Anthrop.  1901,  n.  s.  iii.  pp.  240-247).  General  be- 
liefs about  the  world,  past  and  present,  shamanism,  tribal  stories, 
traditions,  etc.,  are  briefly  considered.  The  "Transformer"  or 
"  Wanderer"  is  the  central  figure  of  these  legends.  Another  sub- 
ject is  the  adventures  of  five  brothers ;  the  youngest  is  the  cleverest 
and  deviser  of  means  of  escape  from  danger  and  difficulty. 

II.  Yanan.  At  pages  279-484  of  Mr.  Curtin's  ** Creation  Myths 
of  Primitive  America''  (Boston,  1898)  are  given  the  English  texts  of 
thirteen  tales  and  legends  of  the  Yanas,  cosmogonic  and  animal, 
including  myths  of  the  hero^hild,  finding  of  fire,  the  first  battle, 
star-lore,  etc. 

13.  Yuman,  The  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  some  of  the  tribes 
of  this  stock  are  but  little  known.  '*  A  Yuma  Cremation,"  as  wit- 
nessed by  him  in  1893^  has  been  described  by  Mr.  G.  R.  Putnam 
(Amer.  Anthrop.  1895,  vol  viil  pp.  264-267).  In  the  *'  California 
Medical  Journal"  (1896,  vol  xviil  pp.  135-140)  Mr.  W.  T.  Heffer- 
mann  discusses  "  Medicine  among  the  Yumas." 

The  mythology  of  the  Diegueflos  or  Mission  Indians  of  San  Diego 
has  been  studied  by  Miss  C.  Du  Bois,  who  has  published  several  brief 
articles  in  the  "  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore "  and  elsewhere. 
''The  Mythology  of  the  Diegueflos"  (1901,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  1 81-185) 
gives  cosmogonic  and  animal  myths. 

Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber's  "  Preliminary  Sketch  of  the  Mohave  Indi- 
ans" (Araer.  Anthrop.  1902,  n.  s.  vol.  iv.  pp.  276-285)  contains  notes 
on  religion,  mythology,  ceremonies,  folk-lore.  The  "  younger  bro- 
ther "  myth  is  prominent.  Mohave  mythology  *'  in  its  fundamental 
nature  resembles  closely  the  mythologies  of  the  Zufii,  Sia,  and 
Navaho.  Dreams  are  of  great  importance  in  Mohave  religion,  and 
individual  experience  rules.  Mohave  cosmogonic  and  animal  lore 
are  resumed  in  Lieutenant  J.  G.  Bourke's  "  Notes  on  the  Cosmogony 
and  Theo<;ony  of  the  Mojave  Indians  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  Arizona" 
(Joiirn.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1889,  vol.  ii.  pp.  170-189).  The  Mohave 
creator  is  Mustam-ho,  whose  resistance  to  being  born  is  the  cause  of 
the  labor  of  women  in  childbirth.  The  Mohave  Venus  is  Cathefla. 
The  fire  stealer  is  the  coyote.  The  first  man  was  made  of  Mustam* 
ho's  body. 

Some  data  conceminc^  the  mythology  of  the  Wallapai  and  Hava- 
supai  Indians  of  the  Yuman  stock  are  to  be  found  in  G.  W.  James's 
"The  Indians  of  the  Painted  Desert  Region*'  (Boston,  1903),  which 
contains  chapters  on  "The  Advent  of  the  Wallapai  "  (pp.  188-198, 
creation  legend),  "The  Hava.su|)ais  and  their  Legends"  (pp.  209- 
219,  origin  of  race),  and  "The  iiavasupai's  Religious  Dances  and 
Beliefs  "  (pp.  24S-264). 


Digitized  by  Google 


114  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 

Of  the  stocks  included  in  the  next  group  we  possess  more  mytho* 
logical  and  folk-lore  material,  published  and  in  MSS,  or  are  confi- 
dent of  its  existence  and  probable  record  in  the  future.  For  some 
of  these  tribes  (as  for  the  eastern  and  northern  Algonquians)  sur- 
prisingly little  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  recording  the  native  texts 
of  important  myths  and  legends. 

I.  Caddoan,  The  mythological  data  concerning  the  Pawnee, 
Arikara,  and  Wichita  branches  of  this  stock  have  grown  to  consider* 
able  dimensions  during  the  past  few  years,  owing  to  the  activity  of 
specialists,  like  Grinnell,  Dorsey,  and  Miss  Fletcher.  The  "  Ghost 
Dance"  excitement  of  1890,  according  to  Mr.  James  Mooney  (Ann. 
Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn.  1892-93,  p.  927),  affected  the  Caddo, 
Wichita,  and  Pawnee  so  that  it  "  has  become  a  part  of  the  tribal 
life."  The  part  played  by  the  Caddo  in  the  "Ghost  Dance"  is 
described  by  Mr.  Mooney  {pp.  cit.  pp.  1092-1103).  Miss  Alice  C. 
Fletcher  has  written  about  "  A  Pawnee  Ritual  used  when  Changing 
a  Man's  Name"  (Amer.  Anthr.  1899,  n.  s.  vol.  i.  pp.  82-97),  "Star 
Cult  among  the  Pawnees"  {tbid.  1902,  vol.  iv,  pp.  730-736),  "Paw- 
nee Star  Lore"  (Journ.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1903,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  10-15), 
etc.  Her  investigations,  the  results  of  which  have  been  published 
only  in  small  part,  have  revealed  the  possession  by  the  Pawnees 
of  a  deep  religiousness,  which  expresses  itself  in  such  forms  that 
some  authorities  have  been  tempted  to  see  in  them  the  effect  of 
contact  with  the  white  man.  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey  has  published 
•'Wichita  Tales  "  (Journ.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1902,  vol^X!^i5-239 ; 
1903,  vol  xvi.  pp.  l6Qra^9),  —  the  story  of  tribal  origins  and  a 
boy-hero  legend  are  given  in  detail, — and  "How  the  Pawnee  cap- 
tured the  Cheyenne  Medicine  Arrows"  (Amer.  Anthr.  1903,  n.  s. 
vol  V.  pp.  644-658).  As  vol  viil  of  the  **  Memoirs  of  the  Amer- 
ican Folk-Lore  Society"  (Boston,  1904,  pp.  320)  appeared  Dr.  Dor- 
sey's  "  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee."  A  valuable  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  the  mythology  of  the  Caddoan  stock  is  Mr.  G.  B. 
Grinneirs  "Pawnee  Hero-Stories  and  Folk-Tales"  (N.  Y.  1889). 
Mr.  Grinnell  has  published  since  several  articles,  one  of  which  is  a 
general  discussion  of  "Pawnee  Mythotogy"  (Journ.  Amer.  Folk- 
Lore,  189S1'  vol  vi-  pp.  1 1 3-1 39).  According  to  Mr.  Grinnell,"  nearly 
all  the  ancient  stories  told  in  the  tribes  convey  some  religious  lesson." 
In  fact,  "  the  mythology  of  the  Pawnees  is  founded  almost  entirely 
on  their  religion."  Dr.  Dorse/s  "  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee  " 
records  some  ninety  tales  (cosmogonic,  boy  heroes,  medicine,  animal 
tales,  etc.).  In  Pawnee  mythology  the  stars  play  a  very  important 
r6le,  and  the  concept  of  Tirawa,  the  chief  deity,  is  a  remarkable  one 
for  an  uncultured  Indian  people.  The  Pawnee  origin-myth  is  very 
interesting.  The  Skidi  traditions  must  rank  among  the  notable  con- 
tributions to  the  literature  of  aboriginal  mythology. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Mythology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico.     1 15 


Since  this  article  was  in  preparation  has  appeared  Miss  Fletcher's 
fine  monograph  on  "The  Hako:  A  Pawnee  Ceremony,"  forming 
pt.  ii.  (pp.  5-372)  of  the  "  Twenty-second  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  American  Hihnolo^y,"  1900-1901  [Washington,  i^jo^]. 

The  Hako  "  is  essentially  a  prayer  for  offspring,  but  is  also  of  deep 
social  import,  and  has  made  use  of  many  very  ancient  and  unrelated 
ideas  and  ceremonies.  It  is  very  expressive  of  primitive  life  and 
thought.  This  monograph  is  discussed  at  some  length  elsewhere  in 
this  Journal. 

2.  CkinookatL  Our  knowledge  of  the  mythology  of  this  stock  is 
due  to  Dr.  Franz  Boas,  the  results  of  whose  mvestigations  in  1890- 
1891  and  1894  have  been  published  by  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology.  As  »  Bulletin  20,"  appeared  "  Chinook  Texts  "  (Wash- 
ington, pp.  278),  and  as  "Bulletin  26^"  was  issued  "Kathlamet 
Texts"  (Washington,  1901,  pp.  261).  The  first  contains  the  native 
text,  interlinear  translation,  and  free  English  version  of  eighteen 
myths  (cosro<^onic  and  animal),  two  historical  tales,  and  tfauteen  be- 
lies, customs,  and  tales  (spirits,  birth,  marriage,  death,  hunting,  pot- 
latch,  eta).  The  last  few  tales  relate  to  the  Clatsop  of  the  Chinoo- 
kan  stock  The  blue  jay  is  a  very  prominent  iig&e  in  Chinookan 
mythology.  The  "  Chinook  Texts  "  cover  a  wide  range  of  folk-lore 
and  are  of  especial  value  both  to  the  linguist  and  to  the  mythologist 
The  "  Kathlamet  Texts  "  contains  native  text,  interlinear  transla- 
tion, and  free  English  version  of  seventeen  myths  and  sixteen  tales  in 
the  Kathlamet  or  Upper  Chinook  dialect,  —  cosmogonic,  observation- 
myths,  animal  stories,  etc.  The  Kathlamet  deluge  legend  has  an  Al- 
gonquian  aspect,  while  the  raccoon  Story  resembles  "  Uncle  Remus." 
The  panther  and  lynx  tale  is  a  typical  elder  and  younger  brother 
story.  A  large  number  of  the  myths  have  an  observational  charac- 
ter. Some  are  of  a  social  type,  as  is  the  case  with  many  of  the 
myths  of  the  peoples  of  the  North  Pacitic  coast,  among  whom  grades 
or  classes  prevail.  The  crow,  the  blue  jay,  and  the  coyote  are  promi- 
nent figures.  Elsewhere  (Journ.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  i?t93,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  39-43)  Dr.  Boas  has  specially  discussed  "  The  Doctrine  of  Souls 
and  of  Disease  among  the  Chinook  Indians." 

3.  Copehan.  Some  mythological  data  concerning  theWintun  and 
Patwin  of  this  stock  are  given  by  Powers  in  his  "  Tribes  of  Califor- 
nia" (Contr.  N.  Am.  Ethn.  1877,  vol.  i"-)-  Curtin  devotes  pages 
3-278  of  his  "Creation  Myths  of  Primitive  America"  (Boston,  1898) 
to  the  Wintun,  the  English  text  only  of  nine  myths  being  given. 
The  chief  figures  in  Wintun  mythology  are  Olelbis  (who  is  now  in 
the  sky),  Winishuyat  (a  sort  of  Tom  Thumb),  W'okwok  (son  of 
Olelbis  and  source  of  power  and  wealth),  Norwan  (food-giving  hero- 
woman),  Hawt  (the  musician  and  water-spirit),  Kele  (the  wolf).  At 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 16  y<mmal  of  American  Folklore, 

pages  511-516  U  described  ''the  making  of  doctors  among  the 
Wintuns."  The  basketry  dedgns  of  the  V^tun  have  been  briefly 
treated  by  Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon  (Mem.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat  Hist  1903,  vol 
xvii.  pp.  17-18). 

4.  Eskmoan,  The  literature  of  the  mythology  of  the  Eskimoan 
stock  includes  a  number  of  excellent  monographs  and  special  articles. 
Greenland  is  represented  by  Dr.  H.  Rink's  "  Tales  and  Traditions 
of  the  Eskhno"  (London,  1875.  Danish  ed.  1866-1871),  and  G. 
Holm's  *'Sagn  og  Fo^ltngerfra  Anmagralik"  (Meddelser  cm  Groii- 
land,  vol  x) ;  the  Smith  Sound  Eskimo  by  A.  L.  Kroeber^s  "Tales 
of  the  Smith  Sound  Eskimo"  (Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore^  1899,  vol 
xii  pp.  166-182);  the  Eskimo  of  Baffin  Land  and  Hudson  Bay  by 
the  data  in  Boas's  "The  Central  Eskimo"  (Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn. 
1881^5,  pp.  561-658)  and  his  noteworthy  monograph  on  "The 
Eskimo  of  Baffin  Land  and  Hudson  Bay "  (Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat 
Hist,  N.  Y.,  1901,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  1-370),  —  in  the  latter  the  English  ver- 
sions of  81  tales  from  Cumberland  Sound  and  30  from  the  west  coast 
of  Hudson  Bay  are  given,  the  native  texts  of  a  number  from  Cumber- 
land Sound ;  those  of  Labrador  by  the  data  in  L.  M.  Turner's  "  Eth- 
nology of  the  Ungava  District"  (Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn.  1889-90); 
the  Eskimo  of  the  Mackenzie  by  the  data  in  £.  Petitot's  "  Traditions 
indiennes  du  Canada  nordouest"  (Paris,  1886),  "Monographie  des 
Esquimaux  Tchiglit  du  Mackenzie  etde  I'Anderson  "  (Paris,  1876), — 
these  two  works  contain  a  few  native  texts  with  interlinear  transla- 
tions,—  and  "  Lcs  Grands  Esquimaux"  (I'aris,  1SS7)  ;  Alaskan 
Eskimo  by  the  data  in  Murdoch's  "A  Few  Legendary  Fragments 
from  the  Point  Barrow  I'Zskimo  "  (Amer.  Naturalist,  1886,  pp.  593- 
599),  his  "  Ethnological  Results  of  the  Point  Barrow  Expedition " 
(Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn.  1887-88,  pp.  3-441),  E.  W.  Nelson's  "The 
Eskimo  about  Bering  Strait"  {ibid.  1896-97,  pp.  309-518  espec), 
and  F.  Barnum's  "Grammatical  Fundamentals  of  the  Innuit  Lan- 
guage" (Boston,  1901).  Nelson,  at  pages  450-518,  gives  the  English 
texts  of  some  30  folk-tales,  including  the  creation  legend,  animal 
myths,  etc.,  —  the  Eskimo  text  with  interlinear  translation,  of  the 
tale  "The  One-who-finds-nothing "  is  also  given  (pp.  475-479).  The 
stories  (native  text  and  translation)  recorded  by  Father  l^arnum  are 
in  the  Tununa  dialect  of  Nelson  Island.  The  Eskimo  of  Kadiak  are 
represented  by  the  10  legends  in  Mr.  F.  A.  Golder's  "Tales  from 
Kodiak  Island"  (Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1903,  pp.  16-31,  85-103), 
— chiefly  animal  and  hero  stories.  In  the  mythology  of  the  Akskan 
Eskimo  the  raven  hgures  prominently.  The  mythologic  and  folk-lore 
relations  of  the  Eskimo  with  the  peoples  of  N.  E.  Asia  have  recently 
been  discussed  in  admirable  scientific  fashion  by  Mr.  W.  Bogoras,  in 
his  monograph  The  Folk-Lore  of  Northeastern  Asia  as  compared 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Myikology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico.  117 

with  that  of  Northwestern  America"  (Amer.  Anthrop.  1902,  vol.  iv. 
n,  s.  pp.  S77~^^Z)>  based  on  personal  investigations  (500  tales  from 
the  peoples  of  N.  E.  Asia,  including  the  Asiatic  Eskimo,  were  col- 
lected) under  the  auspices  of  the  Jesup  North  Pacific  Expedition. 
According  to  Mr.  Bogoras,  the  folk-lore  of  the  "West  liering" 
tribes,  except  the  Chukchcc,  "shows  comparatively  much  greater 
similarity  with  Indian  than  with  Eskimo  tradition."  The  raven  tales 
of  the  Alaskan  Eskimo,  he  thinks,  were  probably  borrowed  from  the 
Indians  of  Alaska,  who  have  deeply  influenced  Eskimo  religious  and 
social  customs.  The  r^e  of  the  Eskimo  in  tlie  ethnological  develop- 
ment  of  the  Bering  Sea  area  has  yet  to  be  studied  out 

Of  essays  of  a  general  character  on  Eskimo  mythology  may  be 
mentioned  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber's  "Animal  Tales  of  the  Eskimo" 
(Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1899,  ^  PP*  IT-^S)*  Dr.  F.  Boas' 
**  Eskimo  Tales  and  Songs  "  {iHiL  1894,  vol.  vii.  pp.  45-50),  and  H. 
Newell  Wardle's  "The  Sedna  Cyde:  A  Study  in  Myth  Evolution'* 
(Amer.  Anthrop.  1900^  vol  il  a  s.  pp.  568-580), — the  last  treats 
of  the  old  woman,  mistress  of  the  lower  world.  In  an  able  and 
suggestive  article  on  *'  The  Folk-Lore  of  the  Eskimo  "  (Joum.  Amer. 
Folk-Lore,  1904,  vol  xvii  pp.  1-13)  Dr.  Boas  sketches  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  mythology  of  this  stock.  The  most  character- 
istic part  of  Eskimo  folk-lore  is  the  hero  tales  which  "reflect  with  « 
remarkable  faithfulness  the  social  conditions  and  customs  of  the 
people,"  but  indicate  no  great  power  of  imagination.  These  tales 
treat  of  visits  to  fabulous  tribes,  encounters  with  monsters,  quarrels 
and  wars,  shamanism  and  witchcraft  Eskimo  tales  present  the 
sexual  element  very  slightly.  The  great  mass  of  Eskimo  folk-lore 
consists  of  hero  tales  in  which  "  the  supernatural  plays  a  more  or 
less  important  r61e."  Another  fundamental  characteristic  feature  is- 
"the  limitation  of  the  field  of  animal  tales,"  —  the  animal  myth- 
proper,  Dr.  Boas  thinks,  "  was  originally  foreign  to  Eskimo  folk-lore." 
In  Eskimo  myths  there  is  a  "  complete  absence  of  the  idea  that 
transformations  or  creations  were  made  for  the  benefit  of  man  during 
a  mythological  period,  and  that  these  events  changed  the  general* 
aspect  of  the  world."  Indeed,  the  most  striking  feature  of  Eskimo- 
folk-lore  is  "its  thoroughly  human  character."  In  general  the  sub- 
ject of  tradition  is  "the  events  occurring  in  human  society  as  it 
exists  now." 

5.  Kiowan.  The  mythology  of  the  tribes  of  the  Kiowan  stock  has 
been  studied  by  Gatschet  and  Mooney.  The  former  published  in 
"Das  Ausland  "  (November  17,  1890),  under  the  title,  "Sinti,  dcrerste 
Mensch,"  the  creation  legend  of  the  Kayowe  (Kiowa).  The  latter 
has  also  discussed  (Ann.  Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn.  1892-93,  pp.  1078- 
1091)  the  share  of  the  Kiowa  and  Kiowa  Apache  in  the  "Ghost 

VOL.XVm.  — HO.  69.  9 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 18  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 

Dance"  rdigion* — texts  and  explanations  of  15  songs  are  given.  In 
"Urqaell**  (N.  F.  vol  i  pp.  329-333)  Mr.  Mooney  describes  **The 
Kiowa  Peyote  Rite."  It  was  tlurough  Mr.  Mooney's  Kiowa  studies 
largely  that  the  real  importance  of  "  mescalism  "  (see  Havelock  Ellis 
in  Fop^  ScL  Mo.,  1902,  vol  Ixi  pp.  52-71)  among  these  and  other 
Indian  tribes  was  demonstrated.  The  historical-ethnographical  mo- 
nograph of  Moon^,  **The  Calendar  History  of  the  Kiowa  Indians" 
(Ann,  Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Hthn.  1895-96,  pp.  129^445),  contains  some 
mythological  data,  besides  a  section  (pp.  237-244)  on  "  the  religion 
of  the  Kiowa."  The  sun,  according  to  Mr.  Mooney,  is  the  chief 
deity  of  these  Indians,  —  "  by  him  they  swear,  to  him  they  make 
sacrifice  of  their  own  flesh,  and  in  his  honor  they  held  the  great 
annual  k'ado  or  sun-dance."  After  the  sun  come  the  buffalo  and 
the  peyote  plant.  The  rain  and  the  serpent  are  of  little  importance. 
The  Sun-boy  and  Sinti  are  the  chief  supernatural  heroes.  The 
worship  of  the  peyote  (comparatively  modern)  has  been  adopted  from 
-.the  southern  tribes.    The  "ghost  dance"  is  also  an  exotic. 

The  "mescal  rattle"  of  the  Kiowa  has  been  described  by  Mooney 
.(Amer.  Anthrop.,  1893,  vol.  v.  pp.  64,  65). 

6.  Kitunahan.  Our  knowledge  of  the  mythology  of  this  stock  is 
due  to  Dr.  Franz  Boas  and  Dr.  A.  F.  Chamberlain,  the  former  of 
whom  visited  them  in  1889,  the  latter  in  1891.  Besides  his  notes  on 
religion,  shamanism,  customs,  etc.  (Rep.  on  N.  W.  Tribes  of  Can- 
ada, 1889),  Dr.  Boas  published  "Sagen  der  Kootenay  "  (Verb.  d. 
Berl.  Ges.  f.  Anthr.  1 891,  pp.  159-172),  —  six  legends  (chiefly  ani- 
mal tales),  including  the  making  the  sun  and  the  ascent  of  the 
animals  into  the  sky,  are  given.  In  the  "American  Antiquarian" 
(1895,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  68-72)  Dr.  Chamberlain  discussed  in  general 
terms  Kootenay  "Mythology  and  Folk-Lore,"  and  a  general  account 
of  "Kootenay  'Medicine  Men'"  has  also  been  published  by  him 
(Journ.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1901,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  95-99).  In  his  "Re- 
port on  the  Kootenays"  (Rep.  on  N.  W.  Tribes  of  Canada,  1892) 
Dr.  Chamberlain  gave  brief  abstracts  of  numerous  cosmogonic  tales 
and  animal  stories,  including  the  deluge  legend,  and  several  tales  of 
the  coyote-cycle  (the  coyote  is  the  chief  figure  in  Kootenay  mytho- 
logy) appeared  as  "The  Coyote  and  Owl "  (Mem.  Intern.  Congr. 
Anthr.,  Chicago,  1894,  pp.  282-284).  In  the  possession  of  the  same 
writer  are  the  Kootenay  texts  and  translations  of  a  large  number  of 
myths  and  legends  (in  large  part  animal  tales)  collected  by  him  dur* 
ing  his  visit  of  1891.  The  affinities  of  Kootenay  mythology  are 
with  the  coyote-cycle  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  tribes  and  the  British 
Columbian  cycle  of  animal  tales.  The  sun  and  moon  myths  suggest 
comparison  with  those  of  some  of  the  Califomian  tribes. 

7.  KotuHkan,  Some  items  of  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  the 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


Mythology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico,  119 

Tlingit  are  given  by  Boas  (Rep.  on  N.  W.  Tribes  of  Canada,  1889) 
and  Niblack  in  his  "The  Coast  Indians  of  Southern  Alaska  and 
Northern  British  Columbia"  (Rep.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  1888).  In  his 
"Indianischc  Sagen  von  der  Nord-Pacifischen  Kiiste  Araerikas" 
(Berlin,  1895)  Dr.  Boas  gives  (pp.  311-328)  the  German  texts  of  10 
Tlingit  legends,  besides  19  other  brief  tales  about  the  raven,  who  is 
the  chief  figure  in  the  m3rthology  of  these  Indians.  A.  Krause's 
"Die  Tlinkit-Indianer"  (Berlin,  1885)  contains  also  some  folk-lore 
and  mythologic  material  A  work  of  general  interest  is  F.  Knapp 
and  R.  L.  Childe's  "Thlinkets  of  Southeastern  Alaska"  (Chicago, 
1896).  Lieut.  G.  T.  Emmons's  ^'TheBasketry  of  the  Tlingit "  (Mem. 
Amen  Mtis.  Nat  Hist.  N.  Y.,  1903,  vol.  iiL  pt.  ii.  pp.  229-277)  treats 
of  animal  and  other  ornamentad  motifs^  many  of  which  have  their 
inner  meanings,  although  the  author  notes  "the  absence  of  a  totem 
significance  of  these  forms.  The  mythology  of  the  Tlingit,  etc,  is 
compared  with  that  of  the  peoples  of  N.  E.  Asia  by  Bogoras  (Amer. 
Anthrop.  1902,  n.  s.  vol.  iv.  pp.  636-668). 

8.  Lutuamiasi,  Of  the  two  sections  of  this  stock,  Modoc  and 
Klamath,  the  latter  has  been  more  studied.  Besides  the  few  data 
in  Joaquin  Miller's  "Life  among  the  Modocs"  (1873),  we  have  Gat- 
schet's  "Songs  of  the  Modoc  Indians"  (Amer.  Anthrop.  1894, 
voL  viL  pp.  26-31)  and  the  Modoc  material  in  his  Klamath  volumes. 
Gatschet's  notable  monograph,  "  The  Klamath  Indians  of  South- 
western Oregon"  (Washington,  1890,  2  pts.),  forming  vol.  ii.  of 

'  "Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology/'  published  by  the 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  contains  considerable  mythologic 
and  folk-lore  data,  including  many  brief  texts  (creation,  cosmogonic, 
animal  tales).  Natural  philosophy,  elementary  deities,  spirit  deities, 
animal  deities,  principles  of  mythification,  etc.,  are  discussed.  The 
chief  figure  in  Klamath  mythology  is  K'miikamtch,  "  The  Old  Man 
of  the  Ancients,"  creator,  namer,  ruler,  transformer.  He  has  begun 
to  have  a  grotesque  and  popularly  comic  character  like  the  Cree 
Wisketchak  and  the  Ojibwa  Naniboju.  The  companion  and  rival  of 
K'mukamtch  is  Afshish,  his  son,  of  whom  several  beautiful  myths 
are  related.  The  "  five  thunders "  are  also  important  characters. 
Texts,  with  annotations,  arc  given  of  a  number  of  incantation  songs  of 
the  shamans  of  the  Klamath  and  Modocs.  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey 
has  described  certain  "Gambling  Games  of  the  Klamath  Indians" 
(Amer.  Anthr.,  1901,  n.  s.  vol.  iii.  pp.  14-27). 

9.  Pujumin.  Some  legends  and  other  mythological  data  from  the 
Maidu  and  Nishinam,  of  this  stock,  are  given  by  Powers  {op.  cit.). 
The  basketry  designs  of  the  Maidu  are  discussed  by  Dixon  \op.  cit, 
pp.  2-14).  The  most  important  work  on  the  mythology  of  this  stock 
is  Dizon'i  *« Maidu  Myths*'  (Bull  Amer.  Mus.  Nat  Hist,  N.  Y., 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


imo  youmai  of  Ameman  Folh'Lon^ 


1902,  vol.  xvii.  pt.  ii.  pp.  33-118),  giving  the  English  texts  of  22 
myths  and  legends.  Among  them  arc  myths  of  creation,  cosmo- 
gonic  talcs,  observation  myths,  animal  tales,  etc.  In  the  last  the 
coyote  is  prominent  The  "  Earth-Namer  "  resembles  the  "  Trans- 
former" of  the  N.  W.  coast  The  deluge  legend  has  the  diving 
incident  80  well  known  from  Algonldan  mythology.  The  miracu- 
lous twins  appear  alsa  Some  of  the  animal  tales  have  British  Colum- 
bian analogues.  In  a  later  publication  Dr.  Dixon  discusses  "  System 
and  Sequence  in  Maidu  Mythology"  (Joum.  Amer.  Folk-Lore,  1903, 
vol  xvL  pp.  32-36),  showing  mythologies  of  both  the  N.  E.  and  the 
N.  W.  sections  of  the  Maidu  to  possess  "  a  notable  system  and 
sequence"  expressed  with  a  certain  literary  charm  and  power.  The 
Maidu  shamans  are  briefly  described  by  Dr.  Dixon  in  his  article 
on  "Some  Shamans  of  Northern  California"  {^Hd,  1904,  voL  xvil 
pp.  25,  36).  In  the  same  journal  (1900^  vol.  xiii.  pp.  267-270)  he  pub- 
lished "  Some  Coyote  Stories  from  the  Maidu  Indians.*' 

la  SHttag$ta»  (Hmdari^,  The  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  the 
Haida  Indians  has  been  studied  by  Deans,  Boas,  Dawson,  and  Swan> 
ton.  Besides  several  brief  articles  in  the  American  Antiquarian*' 
and  the  "Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore/'  Mr.  James  Deans  has 
published  "Tales  from  the  Totems  of  the  Hidery"  (Chicago,  1899, 
vol  ii  of  Arch,  of  Int.  Folk-Lore  Assoc.),  containing  many  cos- 
mogonic  and  animal  legends  and  myths  (creation,  sun,  moon,  flood, 
fire,  eta),  English  text  only.  Dr.  Boas,  besides  notes  in  the  "  Re- 
port on  the  Northwestern  Tribes  of  Canada  for  1889,"  has  published 
at  pages  306-311  of  his  "  Indianische  Sagen  von  der  Nord-Pacifi- 
achen  Kiiste  Amerikas"  (Berlin,  1895),  the  German  texts  of  8  brief 
raven  legends  and  the  story  of  the  frog-woman.  His  Facial  Paint- 
ings of  the  Indians  of  Northern  British  Columbia"  (Mem.  Am.  Mus. 
Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.  1898,  pp.  1-24)  may  be  mentioned  here,  as  it  deals 
with  a  collection  of  facial  paintings  obtained  from  a  Haida  chief  of 
Masset.  Dr.  Dawson's  work  on  the  Haida  Indians  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte Islands  appeared  as  an  appendix  to  the  "  Report  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Survey  of  Canada  for  1878-1879,"  pp.  103-189.  Dr.  Swanton's 
recent  (1900-1901  and  subsequently)  visits  to  the  Haida  country 
have  resulted  in  the  securing  of  considerable  textual  material  (myths, 
legends,  etc.),  of  which  only  a  brief  specimen  (Amer.  Anthr.  1902, 
vol.  iv.  n.  s.,  p.  401)  has  yet  been  published.  The  subject  of  the 
"Haida  Calendar"  has  been  treated  by  Dr.  Swanton  (Amer. 
Anthrop.,  1903,  vol.  v.  n.  s.  pp.  331-335),  who  is  also  preparing  for 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  (N.  Y.)  a  monograph  on 
the  llaida. 

II.  Tsimshian  {Chimmesyati).  The  most  accurate  data  concern- 
ing Tsimshian  mythology  are  the  result  of  the  investigations  of  Dr. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Mythology  of  Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico^  121 

Franz  Boas,  who  visited  the  tribes  of  this  stock  in  1886  and  1894. 
Besides  the  notes  on  Tsimshian  mythology  contained  in  the  "  Re- 
ports on  the  N.  W.  Tribes  of  Canada"  for  1889  and  1895,  Dr.  Boas 
has  published  German  texts  of  19  myths  and  talcs  of  the  Tsimshian 
at  pages  272-305  of  his  "  Indianische  Sagen  von  der  Nord-Paci- 
fischen  Kiiste  Amerikas  "  (Berlin,  1895),  —  cosmogonic  and  animal 
tales,  including  sun  myths,  ascent  to  sky,  deluge  legend,  fire-making, 
etc.  As  "Bulletin  27"  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology 
(Washington,  1902,  pp.  244)  appeared  Dr.  lioas's  "  Tsimbluan  Texts," 
embodying  native  text,  interlinear  translation,  and  free  rendering  into 
English  of  23  tales  and  legends  in  the  Nass  River  dialect,  or 
Nisqae,  —  cosmogonic  tales,  observation  myths,  animal  stories,  etc. 
The  raven  figures  prominently.  Some  of  the  legends  are  almost 
fairy-tales.  Tsimshian  mythology  reflects  Tsimshian  society  and 
class  distinctions.  Count  v.  d.  Schulenburg's  *'Die  Spniche  der 
Zimshian-Indianer"  (Braunsdiweig,  1894)  also  contains  some  my- 
thological data. 

12.  Wakaskan  {Kivakiutl-NooM^,  Of  the  mythology  and  folk* 
lore  of  some  of  the  peoples  of  this  stock  not  much  is  known,  while  the 
Kwakiutl  is  represented  by  a  rather  laige  body  of  material  Con- 
ceming  the  Makahs  of  Cape  Flattery  we  have  some  items  relating 
to  mythology  at  pages  61-76  of  J.  G.  Swan's  monograph  on  these 
Indians  (Smiths.  Contr.  to  Knowl  1868,  na  220). 

The  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  the  Kwakiutl  Indians  have  been 
given  special  attention  by  Dr.  Franz  Boas.  Besides  the  data  given 
in  the  "Reports  on  the  Northwestern  Tribes  of  Canada"  for  1889 
and  1890  (religion  and  secret  societies)  and  some  lesser  articles.  Dr. 
Boas  has  published  "Songs  of  the  Kwakiutl  Indians"  (Int.  Arch.  f. 
Ethn.  1896,  suppl.  pp.  1-9),  "Songs  and  Dances  of  the  Kwakiutl" 
(Journ.  Amer.  Folk- Lore,  1888,  vol.  i.  pp.  49-64).  His  monograph 
on  "The  Social  Organization  and  Religious  Ceremonials  of  the 
Kwakiutl  Indians"  (Rep.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  1895,  pp.  311-733)  is  the 
standard  work  on  the  Kwakiutl.  Special  chapters  are  devoted  to 
The  Clan  Legends  (pp.  366  ff.),  The  Spirits  Presiding  over  Reli- 
gious Ceremonial  and  their  Gifts  (pp.  393-418),  The  Dances  and 
Son^'f,  of  the  Winter  Ceremonial  (pp.  431-500),  The  Winter  Cere- 
monial of  the  Kwakiutl  (pp.  500-544),  The  Winter  Ceremonial  at 
Fort  Rupert,  1895-96  (pp.  544-606),  Ceremonials  of  Other  Tribes  of 
Kwakiutl  Lineage  (pp.  606-620),  The  Lad'la.xa  (pp.  621-632).  An 
Appendi.K  (pp.  665-733)  gives  native  text  and  interlinear  translation 
of  many  legends  and  songs.  Another  valuable  publication  is  Dr.  F. 
Boas  and  George  Hunt's  "  Kwakiutl  Texts  "  (Mem.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat. 
Hist.  1902,  vol.  V.  pp.  1-402),  which  gives  in  parallel  columns  the 
native  texts  and  English  versions  of  a  large  number  of  cosmogonic 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


132 


youmal  of  American  Foik-Lore. 


legends,  animal  toles*  etc.  The  late  Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson's  "  Notes 
and  Observations  on  the  Kwakiool  People,  etc"  (Trans.  R.  Soc 
Can.,  1888,  vol  V.  sect  ii.  pp.  63-98)  contains  a  few  items  relating 
to  traditions,  religion,  folk-lore.  In  his  "  Indianische  Sagen  von 
der  Nord-Pacifischcn  Kiiste  Amcrikas "  (Berlin,  1895),  Dr.  Boas 
published  the  German  texts  of  a  number  of  Kwakiutl  cosmogonic 
and  animal  myths  (pp.  157-169). 

Concerning  the  Heiltsuk  people  of  the  Wakashan  stock  and  their 
mytholon^y  and  folk-lore,  we  have  the  notes  of  Boas  in  the  Report 
on  the  Northwestern  Tribes  of  Canada  for  1889,"  and  the  texts  of  a 
number  of  cosmogonic  (several  raven  myths)  tales  and  animal  stories 
given  by  the  same  author  at  pages  232-241  of  his  "  Indianische 
Sagen  von  der  Nord-Pacifischen  Kiiste  Amerikas "  (Berlin,  1895). 
Some  data  concerning  the  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  the  Nootka 
Indians  are  given  by  Dr.  F.  Boas  in  the  "  Report  on  the  Northwest- 
em  Tribes  of  Canada"  for  1890  (pp.  32-52),  and  the  same  writer  has 
described  their  religious  ceremonials  (Rep.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.  1895, 
pp.  632-644).  A  considerable  section  (pp.  98-128)  of  his  "Indian- 
ische Sagen"  (Berlin,  1895)  is  devoted  to  myths  and  legends  (cos- 
mogonic and  animals)  of  the  Nutka.  Of  earlier  works  must  be  men- 
tioned J.  R.  Jewitt*8  "Narrative  of  Adventures  and  Sufferings" 
(Middletown,  1S15),  and  G.  M.  Sproat's  *' Scenes  and  Studies  of  Sav- 
age Life"  (London,  1868). 

Alexander  F,  ChmHberkMu 

Clark  UmvEitSRV,  Wohcbstbi,  Mass. 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Traditional  BaUads  in  New  Englatid, 


123 


TRADITIONAL  BALLADS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

T  T 

I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Unrecognized  in  its  extent,  if  not  indeed  unknown  as  an  element 
in  American  literature^  is  a  widespread  undercurrent  of  traditional 
folk-song.  Popular  poetiy,  even  of  the  better  sort,  is  by  no  means 
yet  dead ;  it  lives  on  in  every  part  of  our  broad  land*  as  well  in  the 
heart  of  the  populous  city  as  on  the  lonely  hillside. 

My  researches,  during  the  past  two  years,  have  been  for  the  most 
part  limited  to  a  special  field  of  activity,  —  the  gathering  of  the 
remains,  scanty,  it  seemed  at  first,  of  the  older  strata  of  the  tra- 
ditional folk-song,  represented  by  the  English  and  Scottish  ballad. 
Scattered  over  the  country,  versions  of  several  ballads,  notably  *'  Lord 
Randal,"  "The  Elfin  Knight,"  "Henry  Martin,"  and  two  or  three 
others,  have  been  known  to  collectors  for  some  time,  supposed  to  be 
the  last  fading  flowers  of  popular  poetry  in  the  New  World.  It  seems, 
however,  not  to  have  occurred  to  the  collectors  to  draw  an  inference 
from  the  excellent  condition  in  which  they  found  them  preserved. 
A  ballad,  extinct,  or  nearly  so,  appears  in  a  short  and  mutilated  form  ; 
if  it  still  retains  the  main  facts  of  the  story,  and  especially  if  the 
air  has  been  preserved,  its  life  is  not  yet  ended,  or  near  an  end. 

New  England,  the  oldest  portion  of  our  country,  contrary  to  what 
has  been  supposed,  is  still  the  home  of  a  large  amount  of  traditional 
folk-song,  much  of  it  of  the  best  order.  In  all,  sixty-six  versions  of 
fourteen  of  the  ballads  represented  In  Professor  Chfld's.  volumes  have 
come  to  my  notice  in  the  past  two  years.  And  of  these  a  very  few 
come  from  early  broadside8»  hitherto  unrecorded,  representing  a 
tradition  now  extinct ;  the  great  majority,  however,  are  still  sung  by 
elderly,  or  in  some  cases  by  young  people^  and  are  derived  from  purely 
oral  sources,  uncontaminated  by  hack-balladry.  The  best  of  them, 
those  whose  antiquity  is  most  clearly  attested,  come  from  Vermont ; 
the  greater  number  are  from  Massachtisetts. 

At  present— for  augmentations  will  come  in  from  time  to  time 
— the  complete  list  of  the  ballads  recovered  by  me  in  New  England 
is  as  follows :  — 

The  Elfin  Knight, 

Lady  Isabel  and  the  £lf-Knight» 

The  Twa  Sisters» 

Lord  Randal, 

Young  Beichan, 

Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet^ 

The  Gypsy  Laddie, 


Digitized  by  Google 


124 


ycmmal  of  Ameruan  FoU^Lon. 


The  Demon  Lover, 
Henry  Martin, 
Our  Goodman, 

The  Georf^e  Aloe  and  the  Sweepstake^ 

The  Golden  Vanity, 

Captain  Ward  and  the  Rainbow, 

The  Mermaid. 

Nearly  half  of  these  are  preserved  in  their  entirety  as  folk-songs, 
that  is,  with  the  original  airs.  Collectors  iiave  not  always  noted  the 
importance  of  the  air  as  a  means  of  preserving  the  baiiad.  Oiicn  it 
happens  that  persons  who  can  sing  a  ballad  of  twenty  or  more  stanzas, 
without  a  break,  will  be  unable  to  recite,  apart  from  the  tune,  more 
than  three  ocmMctitive  ttanzaa*  and  seldoni  these  correctly.  This 
flliistrates  an  important  point  in  connection  with  the  transmisaon  of 
ballads,  namely,  that  the  words  constitute  but  one  half  of  a  folk-song ; 
the  air  is  no  lest  an  essential  part 

The  origin  of  these  ballads  in  New  England  and  elsewhere  is  a 
question  to  be  considered.  There  are  two  possible  sources, im- 
dUioH  and  caiitamimUed  tnuHtwm,  as  it  may  be  called.  Pure  tradi- 
tion, the  source  of  the  best  ballads,  as  "Lord  Randal,**  '"The  Twa 
Sisters,"  and  others,  peipetuates  itself  oraUy,  unassisted  by  the  baser 
art  of  broadside  hack-balladry.  It  may  be  early,  going  back  to  the 
time  of  the  first  settlers,  as  is  the  case  with  **  The  Elfin  Knight" 
and  "  The  Golden  Vanity,"  or,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  more 
recent  This  recent  tradition  may  come  either  direct  from  the  old 
countries,  or  by  way  of  the  British  provinces.  The  best  version  of 
"  The  Gypsy  Laddie  "  comes  from  Nova  Scotia. 

Contaminated  tradition  occurs  when  the  direct  line  of  transmission 
is  for  the  time  interrupted  by  a  printed  form  of  the  ballad,  which 
may  or  may  not  pass  again  into  oral  circulation,  and  its  ultimate 
origin  be  forgotten  with  the  perishing  of  the  broadside.  "  Young 
Beichan  "  and  "  Captain  Ward  and  the  Rainbow  "  were  printed  in 
Boston  by  Coverly,  during  the  first  decade  of  the  last  century,  and 
seem  to  have  met  their  death  at  the  hands  of  the  printer,  though 
there  is  evidence  that  "Young  IJeichan  "  at  least  was  in  oral  circu- 
lation as  late  as  1790.  On  the  other  hand,  "Lord  Lovell,"  one  of 
the  best  known  of  ballads,  in  its  many  versions  differing  from  each 
other  very  slightly,  must  go  back  to  print,  perhaps  a  lost  broadside 
by  Coverly.  The  same  printer  issued  a  broadside  of  "  Chevy-Chase," 
differing  only  in  eccentric  spelling  from  the  textiis  rtceptus. 

In  the  case  where  contaminated  tradition  is  suspected,  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  say  just  how  much  the  broadside  affected  the  pre- 
existing oral  tradition. 

The  subject-matter  of  the  present  article  will  for  convenience  be 


Digitized  by  Google 


TradUioHal  Ballads  in  New  England,  125 


divided  into  parts.  The  £irst  part  will  include  versions  of  the  follow- 
ing ballads :  — 

1.  The  Golden  Vanity. 

2.  Lord  Thomas  and  Fair  Annet. 

3.  The  Twa  Sisters. 

4.  Lady  Isabel  and  the  Elf-Knight. 

5.  The  George  Aloe  and  the  Sweepstake^ 

6.  Henry  Martin. 

7.  The  Mermaid. 

8.  Captain  Ward  and  the  Rainbow. 


I.   THE  GOLDEN  VANITY. 
A. 

"  The  Little  Cabin  Roy."    Recorded  January  1J»  1905,  bj  U.  £.  B.,  Imbuig,  Vt,  from 

the  singing  of  an  aged  man  born  in  Giover,  Vt 


Them    «m     a    afaip     in     tha    North  •  «m  C0110  •  tilt* 


AH    ta     tlw  Low- land  low,     TlMnanie    of  tho  aUp    was  the 


5 


Gold  Chi-naTrae,    All    in    the  Low  •  land,    low,    low,  low. 


i 


Sail  •  ing  the  Low^land,  low,  low,  low,     SaU-ing  the  Low-Und  low. 

I  There  was  a  ship  in  the  Northern  Countrie, 

An  in  the  Lowland  low, 
The  name  of  the  ship  was  the  "Gold  China  Tree," 

All  in  the  Lowland  low,  low,  low. 

Sailing  the  Lowland,  low,  low,  low, 
SaiUng  the  Lowland  low. 

s  She  had  not  sailed  past  leagues  two  or  three^ 
All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
She  had  not  sailed  past  leagues  two  or  three 
Before  she  espied  a  French  Galilee. 

3  The  first  that  spoke  was  the  ship  Captain's  man, 
All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
Saying,  "Master,  O  Master,  we  're  all  undone, 
All  in  the  Lowland,  low,  low,  low  1 " 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


journal  of  Ammean  FM'Lon^ 


4  Next  spoke  up  was  the  little  Cabin  Boy, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
Saying,  "  Master,  O  Master,  what  will  you  give  to  me, 
If  1  will  sink  the  French  Galilee  ? " 

5  **0h,  I  will  give  you  gold,  and  I  will  give  you  fec^ 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
And  my  eldest  daughter  your  bride  shall  be, 
All  in  the  Lowland  low,  low,  low." 

6  He  smote  upon  his  bccast,  and  away  swung  he, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
He  smote  npon  his  bieast,  and  away  swung  he, 
And  he  swung  till  he  came  to  the  French  Galilee. 

7  Then  he  espied  a  little  augur  that  came  from  a  nun, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
Then  he  espied  a  little  auger  that  came  from  a  nun, 
And  boied  holes  with  it;  twenty  and  one. 

8  Some  threw  their  hats,  and  some  threw  their  C^pS, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
Saying  "  For  the  Lord's  sake,  stop  up  the  salt  water  gaps! 
AU  in  the  Lowland  low,  low,  low  1 " 

9  He  smote  upon  his  bresst;  and  away  swung  he, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
He  smote  upon  his  breast,  and  away  swung  he^ 
Until  he  came  to  the  **  Gold  China  Tree." 

10  Then  all  around  the  ship  this  little  boy  did  swim, 
All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
Saying,  "  Master,  O  Master,  won't  you  take  me  in  ? 
Or  I H  serve  you  as  I  Ve  served  them  I  ** 

XX  They  threw  out  a  rope,  and  they  slic^y  drew  him  in. 
All  in  the  Lowland  low, 

They  threw  out  a  rope,  and  they  slightly  drew  him  in. 
And  then  he  b^an  to  dance  and  sing, 

12  Saying,    Master,  O  Master,  what  will  you  give  to  me. 

All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
Saying,  Master,  O  Master,  what  will  yon  give  to  mef 
For  I  have  sunk  the  French  Galilee  1 " 

13  "  Oh,  I  '11  give  you  gold,  and  I  '11  give  you  fee^ 

All  in  the  Lowland  low. 
Oh  ni  give  you  gold,  and  I  *11  give  you  fee, 
And  I  '11  give  you  the  land  of  North  Amerikee  I " 


Tradifumal  Ballads  m  Nltw  England,  1 2/ 

14  "  Oh,  I  '11  have  none  of  your  gold,  or  none  of  your  fee^ 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
Oh,  I  '11  have  none  of  your  gold,  or  none  of  your  fee, 
But  your  eldest  daughter  my  bride  shall  be ! " 

15  Ho  manied  the  daughter  in  spite  of  them  all, 

All  in  the  Lowland  low, 
He  married  the  daughter  in  spite  of  them  all, 
May  the  Devil  take  the  Captain,  sailois  and  all  1 

B. 

I 

Taken  down  by  me,  October  a,  1904,  from  the  tinging  ot  J.  G.      Newbuiy,  Vt 

I; 


J  J  J  J 


Onoe  there 


ebip 


the  North-em  Cotm  -  ter  -  ee, 


T 


;j    ;  4     *     #  9 

^ — .  

The     ti  -    tie     she    went    un  -  der   was    the    Gold  -  en     Van  •  1 


-sr. 


ty,    Siq>iweed  to    have  been  tak  •  en    by     a    Tark-ish    ca  • 


8>  J.  J  ^-i-^ 


5 


noe,    And  rank  •  ea     la    the  Low  •  laade  low. 


liow  -  lendi^ 

/IN 


Z^ow  •  landa   kiWt     And  eank-ea 


the  Low  -  lands  low. 


I  Once  there  was  a  ship  in  the  Northern  Counteree, 
The  title  she  went  under  was  the  Golden  Vanity, 
Supposed  to  have  been  taken  by  a  Turkish  canoe, 

And  sunken  in  the  Lowlands  low. 

Lowlands,  Lowlands  low, 

And  sunken  in  the  Lowlands  low. 

a  The  first  on  the  deck  was  the  little  Cabin  Boy, 

Saying,  "  Master,  what  *11  you  ^ive  me,  if  the  ship  I  will  destroy  ?  *' 
"  My  gold  I  will  give  you,  my  daughter  for  a  bride, 
.  If  you  '11  sink  her  in  the  Lowlands  low  1 " 


bored  holes  three  times  three, 
And  sunk  her  in  the  Lowlands  low. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


12$ 


youmal  of  Ameriean  Folh-Lon. 


IL  LORD  THOMAS  AND  FAIR  ANNET. 

A. 

"  Little  Eleanor."  Recorded  February,  1905,  by  M.  E.  B,  Iratbuigt  Vt,  from  tlie 
■ii^g  of  ao  aged  man  bom  in  Glover,  Vt 


N  f— I  — ^— &  


Lord  Thorn  •  a»»  •  , 


bold       of  •   fi  •  cer, 


-h  — 


lieep  •  er    of     a  Kin^deer. 


Fair    El  •  ean  -  or 


gay     La  •  dy,     Lord  Thorn  •as     lio    lov«d  her     dear,  Fair 


El  •  ean>or,    a  gaj    La-dy;  Lord  Thom^aa  Ikekredher  deai; 

X  Lord  Thomas  a  bold  officer, 
A  keeper  of  a  King's  deer, 
Fair  Eleanor  a  gay  Lady, 
Lord  Thomas  he  loved  her  dear. 

RSFRAIN,  —  Fair  Eleanor  a  gay  Lady, 

Lord  Thomas  be  loved  her  dear. 

3  *•  Come  riddle  tu,  riddle  us,  mother/'  he  said. 
Come  riddle  us  both  as  one, 
Had  I  better  many  Fair  Eleanor, 
Or  bring  the  brown  girl  home  ? " 

3  *'  The  brown  girl,  she  has  houses  and  landSy 

Fair  Eleanor,  she  has  none, 
So  now  I  will  advise  you,  as  a  blessing. 
Go  bring  the  brown  girl  home  I  " 

4  He  dressed  himself  in  his  best  attire^ 

His  clothing  all  in  white, 
And  every  city  that  he  rode  through. 
They  took  him  to  be  some  knight. 

5  And  when  he  crime  to  Fair  Eleanor's  door, 

He  knocked  so  hard  on  the  ring, 
There  was  none  so  ready  as  Fair  KleaiMira 
To  arise  and  let  him  in. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TradUianal  BaUads  in  New  EngiawL 


129 


6  "  What  now,  what  now?  "  Fair  Eleanor  cried, 
**  What  news  do  you  bring  unto  rac  ?  ** 
"  I  have  come  to  invite  yon  to  my  wedding  1  * 
<* That's  very  bad  news ! "  said  she. 

2  "  Come  riddle  us,  riddle  us.  mother,"  she  said, 
*'  Come  riddle  us  both  as  one, 
Had  I  better  go  to  Lord  Thomas's  wedding, 
Or  had  I  better  stay  at  home  ? " 

8  "Theie  are  few  would  piove  your  friends,  daughter, 

There  are  many  would  prove  your  foes, 
So  now  I 'd  advise  you  as  a  blessing, 
Lord  Tiiomas's  wedding  don't  go  1 " 

9  "  There 's  few  would  prove  my  friends,  mother, 

There 's  many  would  prove  my  foes, 
Betide  my  life^  betide  my  death, 
Lord  Thomas's  wedding  I  will  go." 

10  She  dressed  herself  in  her  best  attire, 

Her  clothing  all  in  green. 
And  every  city  that  she  rode  through, 
They  took  her  to  be  some  queen. 

11  And  when  she  came  to  Lord  Thomas's  door, 

She  knocked  so  hard  on  the  rii^g, 
There  was  none  so  ready  as  Lord  Thomas  himself 
To  arise  and  let  her  in. 

12  "  Is  this  your  bride  ? "  Fair  Eleanor  cried, 

"  To  me  she  looks  wondrous  wan, 
You  might  have  had  me,  as  gay  a  lady. 
As  ever  the  sun  shone  on  I " 

13  The  brown  girl,  she  had  a  knife  in  her  hand, 

It  was  both  long  and  sharp, 
She  placed  it  against  Fair  Eleanor's  side. 
And  pierces  it  to  her  heart 

14  "  What  ails  you,  what  ails  you  ? "  Lord  Thomas  cried, 

«  To  me  you  look  wondrous  wan, 
The  blood  that  was  in  your  cherry  red  cheeks 
Is  all  faded  away  and  gone ! " 

15  "  Oh,  where  are  your  eyes  ? "  Fair  Eleanor  cried, 

"  Can't  you  but  skim  the  seas  ? 
The  blood  that  was  in  my  cherry  red  cheeks 
Is  trickling  down  my  knees  I  ** 


Digitized  by  Google 


I30 


y<mrual  of  Anurkan  Folk-Lore* 


16  Lord  Thomas,  he  had  a  sword  in  his  hand, 

It  was  botb  sharp  as  an  awl, 
And  with  it  he  cut  the  brown  girl's  head  off» 
And  threw  it  against  the  wall. 

17  He  laid  the  sheath  down  on  the  ground, 

He  put  the  point  through  his  own  heart, 
Did  you  ever  see  three  lovers  so  soon  met. 
That  were  so  soon  apart  ? 


I^MstannofaYctsioa  of  tfaiilidIad,saiigbyayoungiiianaboiUi86a  Coatribmed 
by  L  L.  M«  Vladtod,  N.  J.,  od^bia%  ftom  I^nnn,  Man. 

*'  Now  dig  a  grave,"  Sir  Thomas  cried, 

"  And  dig  it  wide  and  deep, 
And  place  Fair  Elinor  at  my  side. 
And  the  brown  girl  at  my  leetl" 


UL  THE  TWA  SISTERS. 
A. 

RMoQected  June,  190},  by  W.  1L|  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  m  tmf  Ibv^  years  ago  by  the 

I  at  JMewport,  K.  I. 


J  J  u  J  ;  J.  I 


There  was 


a    man     lived  in 


the  West,     Bow  dowTi, 


« — # 


bow  dowAfTlMra-was  a 


Kved  ia     lhaWast,  Bow   obm  to 


n 


i 


Hved  ia 


the  Wool,  And  ho 


had    two  daagh'teit  Juat   of    tho  hast. 


it^  lU     bo  traab 


_A  A,  A, 


true    to     my   love,   and   my     love  wUI     be    tnie      to  me. 

I  There  was  a  man  lived  in  the  Wes^ 
Bow  down,  bow  down, 
There  was  a  man  lived  in  the  West, 
Bow  once  to  me. 


1 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


TradUioHal  Baliads  in  Nm  EnglantL 

There  was  a  man  lived  ia  the  West, 
And  he  had  two  datigfaters  just  of  the  best 
So  it's  I  '11  be  true,  true  to  my  lo^ 
And  my  love  will  be  true  to  mel 

a  The  miller,  he  loved  the  youngest  on^ 
But  he  was  loved  by  the  eldest  one. 

3  He  gave  the  youngest  a  gay  gold  rmg, 
But  he  gave  the  eldest  never  a  thing; 

4  He  gave  the  youngest  a  satin  hat, 
But  the  eldest^  she  got  mad  at  that 

5  They  took  a  walk  by  the  river  side, 
Alas  1  I  must  tell  what  did  betide. 

6  The  eldest,  she  pushed  the  youngest  in, 
And  all  for  the  sake  of  the  gay  gold  ring. 

7  "  Oh,  sister,  oh,  sister,  oh,  save  my  life  I 
And  you  shall  be  the  miller's  wife  1 " 

8  She  swam  till  she  came  to  the  miller's  pond, 
And  there  she  swam  around  and  around. 

9  The  miller,  he  took  his  hook  and  lin^ 
And  caught  her  by  her  hair  so  fine. 

B. 

Tiikan  down  by  PI.  M.  R.,  in  Calaiiy  llaine. 
I  There  was  a  man  lived  in  the  Wes^ 
Bow  down,  bow  down, 
There  was  a  man  lived  in  the  Wes^«» 

The  bow  is  bent  to  me,  — 
There  was  a  man  lived  in  the  West, 
He  loved  his  youngest  daughter  best. 
Prove  true,  prove  tme^ 
Oh,  my  love^  prove  true  to  me  t 

8  One  day  he  gave  her  a  beaver  ba^ 
Her  sister,  she  did  not  like  that 

3  As  they  were  walking  on  the  green, 
To  see  their  father's  ships  come  in. 

4  As  they  were  walking  on  the  whar^ 
Her  nster,  she  did  push  her  off. 


youmal  of  Ameruan  Folh'Lan. 


5  **  Oh,  dear  sister,  give  me  your  hand, 
And  you  shall  have  my  bouse  and  land  I " 

6  "  No,  I  ivill  not  give  you  nj  hand, 
Bat  I  will  have  your  house  and  land." 

7  Sometimes  she  sank,  sometimes  she  swam. 
Until  she  came  to  a  miller's  dam. 

8  The  miller,  he  put  in  his  hook, 
And  ^hed  her  out  by  her  petticoat 

9  He  stripped  her  off  from  toe  to  chin, 
And  then  he  threw  her  in  agin. 

10  Sometimes  she  sunk,  sometimes  she  swum, 
Until  she  came  to  her  long  home. 

11  Her  sister  was  hanged  for  her  sake, 
And  the  miller  he  burned  at  the  stake. 


IV.  LADY  ISABEL  AND  THE  ELF-KNIGHT. 


A. 

Contributed  by  L.  W.  R,  Cambridge^  Mats.,  in  wkote  family  it  has  been  traditional  for 

three  generations. 


i 


Psat  •      Pol  -  ly,    Ae  novnt  •  ed    her  nOk  -  iridte 

3^ 


i 


ho       the  am 


And 


i 


the     am  •  bling     gray,        And    they      came  to 


the 


-1  r  -1 

»-!  «  , 

broad 
A 


•  tar     aide,     Full     an  hour     be  •  fore 


]  J  7  J,  I  |J.  J'  J   ;  ^  l-t-ll 

day. 


day,    day,    Fnl     an    hour    be  -  fore     it     wtt  day. 

Pretty  Polly,  she  mounted  her  milk-white  steed, 

And  he  the  ambling  gray, 
And  they  came  to  the  broad  water  side, 
Full  an  hour  before  it  was  day,  day,  day, 
Full  an  hour  before  it  was  day. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TradHiautU  Ballads  in  New  England. 


133 


2  "  Now  light  you  down,  Pretty  Polly,"  he  said, 

"Now  light  you  down,"  said  he, 
"For  six  Pretty  Follies  have  I  drownded  here, 
And  the  seventh  you  shall  be." 

3  "  Take  off  your  dothes,  so  costly,  so  fine, 

And  eke  your  velvet  shoon, 
For  I  do  think  your  clothing  is  too  good. 
For  to  lie  in  a  watery  tomb." 

4  "Won't  you  stoop  down  to  pick  that  brier, 

That  grows  SO  near  the  brim  ? 
For  I  am  afraid  it  will  tangle  my  hair, 
And  rmnple  my  lily-white  skin." 

5  So  he  stooped  down  to  pick  that  brier, 

That  grew  so  near  the  brim, 
And  with  all  the  might  that  the  Pretty  Polly  had, 
She  did  tumble  the  false  knight  in. 

6  "Lie  there,  lie  there  false  knight^"  she  said, 

**  Lie  there  all  in  my  room. 
For  I  do  not  think  your  dothing  is  too  good. 
For  to  lie  in  a  watery  tomb  1 " 

7  Pretty  Polly,  she  mounted  her  milk-white  steed. 

And  led  the  ambling  gray, 
And  she  came  to  her  father's  stable  door. 
Full  an  hour  before  it  was  day. 

S  Then  up  and  spoke  her  pretty  panot, 

And  unto  her  did  say, 
"  Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  Pretty  Polly, 
So  long  before  it  was  day  ? " 

9  "  Oh,  hold  your  tongue,  you  prattling  bird, 
And  tell  no  tales  of  me^ 
And  you  shall  have  a  cage  of  the  finest  beaten  gold. 
That  shall  hang  on  the  front  willow-tree  t " 

10  Then  up  and  spoke  her  father  dear. 
And  unto  the  bird  did  say, 
"Oh,  what  makes  you  talk,  my  pretty  parrot, 
So  long  before  it  is  day  ? " 

IX  "The  old  cat  came  to  my  ca^e  door, 
And  fain  would  have  eaten  me, 
And  I  was  a-calling  to  Pretty  Polly, 
To  drive  the  old  cat  away." 
VOL.  xvni.  «^Ha  691.  10 


Digitized  by  Google 


134  yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 


V.  THE  GEORGE  ALOE  AND  THE  SWEEPSTAKE. 

Recollected,  Juae^  1904*19  W.  H,  of  die  U.  S.  Navy,  as  song  over  lortj  yean  ago  by  an 
andent  mariner. 


---4--- 

 \  z 

'^^S-T — 

Once  there  were   two   ships,  and  two  ships  they  were    of    fame,  Blow 


f  • 

i 

'  •  > 

a-^ — 

4 

 ~  

high»blowlow,  for  alow    eaitt  •  ed    we^     And  one  wastheKing  of 


Pma  •  aiat    and    one     vaa    Arch  •  to     of     Spain,  Crais  -  ing 

down     the      lone    -   ly      coast      of     the    high      lia.r  •    bar  -  ee. 

1  Once  there  were  two  ships,  and  two  ships  they  were  offame. 
Blow  high,  blow  low,  for  slow  sail-ed  we,  — 
And  one  was  the  King  of  Prussia  and  oV»e  was  Archie  of  Spain, 
Cruising  down  the  lonely  coast  of  the  high  Barbary. 

s  "  Now  dof there  aloft  1  ^  our  gallant  oommander  cried, 
**  Look  ahead,  look  astern,  look  to  windward  and  to  lee  I " 

3  **0h,  there's  nothing  ahead,  and  there 's  nothing  astern, 

But  there 's  a  lofty  frigate  to  windward,  and  another  on  our  lee."  * 

4  "  Now,  hail  her,  oh,  hail  her  !  "  our  gallant  commander  cried, 
"Oh,  I  am  the  salt  sea  pirate,  as  this  night  you  soon  shall  see  I " 

5  Then  broadside  forbroadnde  this  daring  dog  did  pour, 
Till  the  man  at  the  helm  shot  the  pirate's  mast  away. 

6  Then  for  mercy,  for  mercy  this  daring  dog  did  cry, 

"  Oh,  the  mercy  I  will  give  you,  I  will  sink  you  in  the  seal" 

.7  "  Your  ship  shall  be  your  coffin,  and  your  grave  shall  be  the  sea. 
Your  ship  shall  be  your  coffin,  and  your  grave  shall  be  the  sea  1 " 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


TradUunuU  Ballads  m  New  Eitglatul*  1 35 


VL  HENRY  MARTIN. 

Commttoicated  by  S.  C.  G.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  as  sung  over  Eity  years  ago. 


^ — 


In    Scot  -  land  there  dweh  three  broth  •  eit     of    late.  Three 


i 


broth -ers    of   late,  broth -ers      three.       And    they    cast  lots,  to 


•ee  which   of    them  Should  go    rob-faing   all     on    the  salt 


Salt  .  .  . 


And   they  cast   lots*  to 


i 


ace  which  of  them  Should  go  lob  •Ung  all    on    the  aalt 

I  In  Scotland  there  dwelt  three  brothers  d  late, 

Three  brothers  of  late,  brothers  three. 
And  they  cast  lots,  to  see  which  of  them 
Should  go  robbing  all  on  the  salt  sea. 
Salt  sea ! 

And  they  cast  lots,  to  see  which  of  them 
Should  go  robbing  all  on  the  salt  sea. 


3  The  lot  it  fell  on  Henry  Martin, 

The  youngest  of  these  brothers  three. 
That  he  should  go  robbing  all  on  tiie  salt  sea, 
To  maintain  his  two  brothers  and  he. 

3  He  had  scarce  sailed  one  long  winter's  night, 

One  long  winter's  night  on  the  sea, 
Before  he  espied  a  lofty  brave  ship, 
A-sailing  iSSL  over  the  sea. 

4  *'  Put  back  1 "  he  cried,  **  and  square  your  main  tack,  — 

Come  sail  down  under  my  lee, 
Your  gold  we  11  take  Irom  you,  your  ship  we  11  let  drift. 
And  your  bodies  we  11  sink  b  the  sea  I " 


Digitized  by  Google 


136 


Jcumalof  American  Folh-Lan. 


5  Broadsides,  broadsides  they  gave  to  each  other, 
Tbey  fought  for  hoars  full  three, 

Till  Henry  Martin  received  his  death  wound. 
And  his  body  did  sink  in  the  sea. 

6  Bad  news,  bad  news  I  bring  to  old  England, 

Bad  news  I  bring  unto  the^ 
Your  rich  merchant  ship  is  now  cast  away. 
And  your  mariners  sunk  in  the  sea. 

yU  THE  MSRBCAID. 
Hecoidedliy  me  OctalMr  it,  1904,  fram  dw  singing  of  J.  G.     Ncwbofy,  Vt. 

J   j  ^   ^TTJ  J  J   /  J- 

The     rig  •  iog     s«a      goes    rosr,    roar,  roar.  And  die 
atonn  •  y    winds  they  do  blow.  While    we    poor   sail  -  oct  are 


fc=J 

drown-ing  in   the  deep,And  the  pret  -  ty  girls  are  etaad-ing  on  the  shore. 


I  The  first  came  up  was  the  carpenter  o£  the  ship, 
And  a  hearty  old  fellow  was  he, 
Saying,  "  I  have  a  wife  in  old  England, 
And  a  widow  I 'm  afraid  she  will  be  I " 

Rkfrain,  —  For  the  raging  sea  goes  roar,  roar,  roar. 
And  the  stormy  winds  they  do  blow, 
While  we  poor  sailors  are  drowning  in  the  deep, 
And  the  pretty  girls  are  standing  on  the  shore. 

a  The  next  came  up  was  a  little  cabin  boy, 
And  a  nice  little  fellow  was  he, 
Saying, — **  I 'd  give  more  for  my  daddy  and  my  ma, 
Than  I  would  for  your  wives  idl  three  I " 

3  The  next  came  up  was  a  feir  pretty  maid, 
With  a  comb  and  a  glass  in  her  hand, 
Sayiqg,  •  


Digitized  by  Google 


TradUianal  Ballads  in  New  England.  1 37 


VIII.    CAPTAIN  WARD  AND  TIIK  RAINBOW. 

**  Captain  Ward,  the  Pirate,  with  an  account  of  his  famous  fifjoi  with  the  Raintww,sbip 
of  war.   Nathaniel  Coverly,  jun..  Printer,  Boston." 

Br<Mdside»  prtnted  not  later  tiian  1814,  <A  wludi  two  copies  are  known  to  nie»— one  m 
the  Isaiah  Thomas  collection  of  the  Anericui  Antiquarian  Sociely»  Worcester,  Bfaai.,  the 
other  in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

1  Strike  op  you  brave  and  lusty  gallants,  wiA  music  sound  of  drum, 
For  we  liave  espied  a  rover,  which  to  our  seas  have  come. 

His  name  you  know  is  Captain  Ward,  right  well  it  doth  appear, 
There  has  not  been  such  a  rover  found  out  this  thousand  year. 

2  For  he  has  sent  unto  our  King,  on  the  fifth  of  January, 

Desiring  that  he  mij^ht  come  in  with  all  his  company, 
And  if  you  will  let  me  come,  till  1  my  tale  have  told, 
I  will  bestow  for  my  ransom  full  thirty  tons  of  gold. 

3  First  he  deceived  the  wild  Turk,  and  then  the  King  of  Spain, 
Pray  how  can  he  prove  true  to  us,  when  he  proves  false  to  them  ? 
■^Oh,  no,  oh  no,"  then  said  the  King,  '*for  no  such  thing  can  be, 
For  he  has  been  a  rank  robber  and  a  robber  on  the  sea.*' 

4  *'  Oh  then,"  says  Captain  Ward,  "  my  boys,  let 's  put  to  sea  again, 
And  see  what  prises  we  can  find  on  the  coast  of  France  and  Spain." 

Then  we  espied  a  lofty  ship  a-sailing  from  the  west, 

Slie  was  loaided  with  silks  and  satins  and  cambricks  of  the  best 

5  Then  we  bore  up  to  her  straightway,  they  thinking  no  such  thing. 
We  robbed  them  of  their  merchandise,  then  bade  them  tell  their  King. 
Now  when  their  King  did  hear  of  this,  his  heart  was  grieved  full  sore. 
To  think  his  ships  could  not  get  past,  as  tbey  had  done  before. 

6  Then  he  caused  built  a  worthy  ship  and  a  worthy  ship  of  fame, 
Oh,  the  Rainbow,  was  she  called,  and  the  Rainbow  was  her  name. 
Oh  he  rigged  her,  and  freighted  her,  and  sent  her  to  the  sea, 
With  five  hundred  and  fifty  mariners  to  bear  her  company. 

7  They  sailed  east;  they  sailed  west,  but  nothing  could  espy, 

Until  they  came  to  the  very  same  spot  where  Captain  Ward  did  ly« 
"  Who  is  the  owner  of  this  ship  ? "  the  Rainbow  then  did  cry, 
"  Here  am  1 1 "  says  Captain  Ward,  "  let  no  man  me  deny  1 " 

A       8  "  What  brought  you  here,  you  cowardly  dog,  you  ugly  wanton  thief? 
What  makes  you  lie  at  anchor,  and  keep  our  King  in  grief  ? " 
"  You  lie,  you  lie  !  "  says  Captain  Ward,  "  so  well  I  hear  you  lie, 
I  never  robbed  an  Englishman,  an  Englishman  but  three. 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 38  journal  of  Ameruan  Fotk-Lon. 

9  As  for  the  worthy  Scotchmen,  I  love  them  as  my  own, 
My  chief  delight  is  for  to  pull  the  French  and  Spaniards  down." 
"  Why  say'st  thou  so,  bold  robber?    We  '11  soon  humble  your  pride!  " 
With  this  tiie  gallant  Rainbow,  she  shot  out  of  her  side 

10  Fioll  fifty  good  bnsi  cannons,  well  cbaiged  00  every  side, 
And  they  iired  their  great  guns,  and  gave  Ward  a  broadside. 

Fire  on,  fire  on  1 "  says  Captain  Ward,  "  I  value  you  not  a  pin. 
If  you  be  brass  00  the  ontsid^  I 'm  good  as  steel  within  { " 

11  They  fought  from  eight  in  the  morning,  till  eight  o'clock  atnigh^ 
Till  at  once  the  gallant  Rainbow  began  to  take  to  flight. 

"  Go  home,  go  home,"  says  Captain  Ward,  "and  tell  your  King  from  me, 
If  he  reigns  King  upon  dry  land,  I  will  reign  King  at  sea  1 " 

la  With  that  the  gallant  Rainbow,  she  shot  and  shot  in  vain, 
Then  left  the  Rover's  company,  and  home  returned  again. 
To  tell  our  King  of  England,  his  ship 's  returned  again. 
For  Captain  Ward,  he  is  so  strong,  hie  never  irill  be  ta'en. 

13  "  Oh,  everlasting  shame  I "  said  the  King,  "  I  have  lost  jewels  three. 
Which  would  have  gone  unto  the  sea,  and  brought  proud  Ward  to  me. 
The  first  was  the  brave  Lord  Clifford,  great  Earl  of  Cumberland, 
The  second  was  the  Lord  Mountjoy,  as  you  shall  understand, 
The  third  was  the  brave  Lord  Essex,  from  the  field  would  never  flee, 
Who  would  have  gone  unto  the  sea,  and  brought  proud  Ward  to  me  1 " 

Phillips  Barry. 
Boston,  Mass.  * 


Digitized  by  Google 


Foik'Lore  of  the  Cm  Indians.  139 

FOLK-LORE  OF  THE  ^REE  INDIANS. 

It  was  upon  the  shores  of  James  Bay,  near  the  mouth  of  Pontiac's 
Creek,  that  I  witnessed  a  scene  which  is  most  vividly  impressed  upon 
my  memory. 

Seated  around  a  blazing  camp-fire,  a  group  of  Cree  Indians,  silent 
and  moody,  had  just  finished  supper,  and  were  enjoying  thoir  evening 
smoke.  The  night  was  cold  and  dark,  and  save  for  the  crackling  of 
the  fires  everything  was  as  still  as  death.  Suddenly  one  of  the  Indians 
be^an  to  relate  a  story.  At  first  his  voice  was  low  and  pleasing  ;  then 
as  he  spoke  of  fighting,  excitement  obtained  the  mastery  and  his 
narrative  was  accompanied  with  wild  but  appropriate  gestures.  The  • 
audience  occasionally  grunted  approval  There  was  not  a  sign  of 
incredulity,  although  to  me  the  tales  were  as  absurd  as  they  were 
interesting.  Since  that  memorable  night  I  have  tried  diligently  to 
add  to  the  collection  of  folk-lore  there  begun,  but  with  small  success. 
The  tales  are  told  only  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  Should  an  Indian 
relate  them  during  winter  or  summer,  the  belief  is  that  misfortune 
will  attend  all  his  endeavors  during  the  year.  If  told  In  fitting  sea* 
son,  however,  the  narration  will  bring  good  luck.  The  young  Indians 
do  not  take  the  trouble  to  learn  the  stories,  and  the  custom  of  story- 
telling in  the  autumn  is  kept  up  by  only  a  few  of  the  older  men,  who 
dread  the  ridicule  of  the  white  man  and  are  for  the  most  part  silent 
in  his  presence.  Owing  to  these  difficulties  the  few  simple  stories 
which  follow  represent  the  whole  of  my  folk-lore  gleanings  during 
seven  years*  intimate  association  with  Cree  Indians. 

I.  THE  CREATION. 

At  one  time,  long  ago^  the  world  was  covered  with  water,  and  the* 
animals  wished  for  some  dry  land.  The  muskrat  volunteered  to 
dive  down  and  see  what  he  could  bring  to  the  surface.  He  earned 
some  mud  on  his  tail,  but  there  was  not  sufficient,  and  it  immedi- 
ately sank.  Next  the  otter  made  an  attempt  and  failed.  Then  the 
beaver  tried  and  managed  to  bring  to  the  surface  enough  earth  to 
form  a  small  island.  .From  this  the  world  grew. 

2.  THE  BIRTH  OF  LAKE  MISTASSINI. 

Two  brothers  went  out  on  a  hunting  excursion.  They  separated 
at  a  certain  point,  and  each  took  a  different  route.  One  of  them 
came  to  a  small  pool  and  saw  in  the  water  an  enormous  otter.  He 
was  just  about  to  kill  it  when  several  young  otters  emerged  from  the 
pool.  He  noticed  that  they  were  of  different  colors,  some  red,  some 
blue,  and  some  green.  Amazed  at  the  unusual  sight,  he  ran  to  inform 


Digitized  by  Google 


140 


journal  of  Anuruan  Foik'Lore. 


his  brother  of  the  strange  occurrence.  The  brother  wished  to  go 
back  and  shoot  the  animals,  so  they  started  off  together.  As  soon 
as  the  old  otter  made  her  appearance,  one  of  the  brothers  firctl.  It 
dived,  and  immediately  the  water  of  the  pool  began  to  boil  and  foam 
and  flood  tb«  surrounding  land.  The  brothers  ran  in  opposite  direc- 
tions and  the  water  followed  them.  At  last  one  of  them  was  brought 
to  a  halt  at  some  high  rocks  near  the  post  of  Mistassini^  and  the  old 
otter  devoured  him.  The  waters  then  ceased  to  rise*  and  the  lake 
remained  as  it  is  to4ay. 

3.  THE  PAIKTED  CANOE. 

Long  ago  an  old  man  and  his  daughter  lived  by  the  shore  of  a 
river.  They  were  very  happy  untU  an  Indian  came  along  and  mar- 
ried the  daughter. 

The  old  man  resolved,  however,  not  to  be  so  easily  deprived  of  his 
only  comfort,  so  he  took  his  son4n*law  out  into  the  woods  and  left 
him  to  freeze  to  death. 

To  the  dismay  of  the  old  man  the  daughter  married  again,  so  he 
at  once  set  about  treating  this  young  man  as  he  had  done  the  other. 
In  the  spring  at  the  time  the  sturgeon  spawns  he  invited  his  son-in- 
law  to  go  out  with  him  to  spear  the  fish.  The  young  man  happened 
to  step  on  the  edge  of  the  canoe,  and  the  old  man,  taking  advantage  of 
the  chance  thrown  in  his  way,  jerked  the  canoe  to  one  side,  and  the 
young  man  fell  into  the  rapid.  When  he  came  to  the  surface  he  saw 
the  canoe  in  the  distance,  but  managed  by  swimming  hard  to  reach 
land  in  safety.  When  the  old  man  came  ashore  he  was  questioned 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  young  man,  and  replied  that  he  sup- 
posed his  son-in-law  must  be  drowned,  as  he  fell  out  of  the  canoe. 
To  his  astonishment  they  told  him  that  his  treachery  was  discovered 
and  that  the  young  man  was  alive  in  his  tent. 

The  old  man  next  invited  his  son-in-law  to  go  hunting  with  him, 
and  again  he  agreed.  They  journeyed  far  from  their  tent  and 
camped  in  the  woods.  At  nij^ht-time  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Indians 
to  hang  their  boots  before  the  fire  to  dry.  The  old  man  and  his  son- 
in-law  did  this,  but  the  young  man,  suspecting  treachery,  changed 
the  position  of  the  boots  and  hung  his  own  where  his  father-in-law's 
had  been  placed.  The  old  man  arose  in  the  night,  took  his  son-in- 
law's  boots  and  put  them  in  the  fire,  never  dreaming  that  he  was 
about  to  become  the  victim  of  his  own  treachery.  He  then  aroused 
the  young  man  and  told  him  his  boots  were  on  fire.  The  young 
man  on  coming  out  of  the  tent  said,  "  These  must  be  your  boots. 
Mine  are  on  your  poles  and  are  all  right."  He  then  put  on  his  boots 
and  left  his  father-in-law  to  freeze  to  death.  He  had  not  gone  far 
before  he  heard  footsteps  behind  him,  and  upon  waiting  saw  that 


Digitized  by  Google 


Folh-LoTB  of  the  Cru  Indiams* 


141 


the  old  man  had  tied  brush  (twigs  of  fir-tree)  upon  his  feet,  and  was 
all  right. 

The  young  man  saw  that  there  would  be  no  peace  until  he  could 
rid  himself  forever  of  his  father-in-law's  company.  He  made  a  canoe 
and  painted  the  inside  more  beautifully  than  any  canoe  had  before 
been  painted.  He  also  made  handsome  paddles  and  presented  these 
to  the  old  man,  who  was  delighted  and  became  so  anxious  to  try  the 
merits  of  his  new  canoe  tliat  he  went  out  without  noticing  the  threat- 
^  ening  weather.  He  was  so  taken  up  with  the  beautiful  way  in  which 
the  canoe  was  decorated  that  he  gave  no  heed  to  his  course.  A 
stonn  sprang  up,  and  he  was  never  seen  nor  heard  fom  again. 

4.  A  BIG  PERCH. 

Some  Indian  hunters  were  camped  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Mis- 
tassini.  As  fish  and  game  were  plentiful  they  were  happy  and  con- 
tented. One  evening  they  missed  one  of  their  number,  and  though 
they  searched  evetywhere  could  not  find  him.  Th^  had  many  days 
given  him  up  for  dead,  when  he  surprised  them  by  calmly  walking 
into  camp.  On  their  asldng  him  where  he  had  been  he  told  the 
following  story :  — 

*'  That  night  you  lost  me  I  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  where  I 
saw  all  kinds  of  fish,  some  pretty,  some  ugly,  and  some  savage. 
There  was  one  perch  so  large  that  he  could  not  turn  around  in  the 
lake,  but  had  to  swim  up  and  down  without  turning." 

The  above  story  has  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and 
even  to^ay  Indians  refer  to  the  "  big  perch,"  just  as  seriously  as  if 
it  really  existed.  Lake  Mistassini  is  120  miles  long  and  20  miles 
wide,  so  the  legend  far  eclipses  the  white  man's  story  of  the  sea 
serpent. 

5.  THE  STORY  OF  KATONAO. 

Katonao  was  a  great  warrior  who  was  always  seeking  for  glory. 
He  had  two  sons  who  were  very  much  like  him  in  this  respect. 
They  went  off  to  meet  some  other  warriors,  and  Katonao  followed  to 
help  them  fight.  When  he  had  gone  some  distance  he  saw  a  lot  of 
warriors  on  the  ground  dead,  and  he  knew  that  his  sons  had  passed 
that  way.  At  last  he  came  across  one  of  his  sons  who  was  lying 
wounded  on  the  ground,  pierced  by  a  number  of  arrows.  The  old 
man  pulled  the  arrows  from  his  son's  body  and  went  in  search  of  the 
other  son.  He  had  not  proceeded  far  when  his  wounded  son  over- 
took him  and  both  followed  the  tracks  of  the  other  son.  At  last 
they  came  across  him  fighting  desperately  with  hostile  warriors,  and 
they  ran  to  help  him.  Old  Katonao  tripped  on  his  snowshoes  and 
was  captured.    The  two  sons  tried  hard  to  save  their  father  and  en- 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


t 


142  yaumalof  American  Folk-Lore* 

deavored  to  pull  him  from  the  hostile  warriors,  but  be  asked  them 
to  let  him  be  taken. 

The  hostile  warriors  resolved  not  to  kill  Katonao  at  once,  but 
reserve  him  for  a  feast.  They  treated  him  with  great  cruelty  on  the 
journey,  sometimes  dragging  him  naked  through  the  snow  and  tying 
him  to  the  sled  exposed  all  night  to  the  cold.  They  gave  him  old 
skins  to  cat.  As  soon  as  the  warriors  arrived  home  they  tied  old 
Katonao  up,  and  resolved  to  sacrifice  him  on  the  morrow.  They 
placed  him  in  a  tent  with  an  old  man  as  guard.  Orders  were  given 
to  cook  Katonao  for  the  feast,  but  some  of  the  women  cried  out  that 
there  were  lots  of  partridges  in  the  woods.  The  old  man  then  asked 
the  warriors  If  Katonao  and  the  women  could  go  hunting  the  par- 
tridges, and  they  consented.  Katonao  then  took  up  his  bow  and  arrows 
and  killed  many  partridges^  In  hunting  these  birds  he  wandered- 
farther  and  farther  away  from  his  captors,  and  at  last  he  made  a  dash 
for  liberty.  He  was  still  naked  and  suffered  much  in  making  his 
escape.  He  had  not  gone  far  when  he  saw  the  warriors  in  full  chase^ 
so  he  hid  in  the  snow  and  killed  two  of  them  as  they  ran  past  him. 
He  then  took  off  their  clothes,  fixed  himself  up,  and  started  In 
search  of  his  sons. 

When  the  warriors  came  upon  their  dead  comrades,  they  returned 
to  the  camp  and  blamed  the  old  man  for  asking  Katonao  to  go  out 
hunting.  Then  they  called  him  and  killed  him  for  the  feast  When 
Katonao  arrived  at  the  tent  of  one  of  his  sons,  he  found  him  making 
snowshoes.  He  walked  on  farther  and  found  the  other  son  making 
a  canoe.  Katonao  shot  an  arrow  Into  him  and  chased  him  Into  the 
tent.  The  other  son  came  up,  and  seeing  what  Katonao  was  doing 
was  about  to  put  him  to  death,  but  the  wounded  boy  cried  out  for 
him  to  spare  his  father,  so  Katonao  was  spared  and  lived  with  his 
sons  for  a  long  time. 

6l  the  fisherman. 

An  old  man  and  his  two  sons  were  encamped  by  the  side  of  a  large 
lake.  One  day  the  wife  of  one  of  his  sons  saw  a  number  of  warriors 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  She  called  out,  as  she  knew  the  waniors 
were  waiting:  for  the  two  young  men  to  return  from  the  hunt. 

The  old  man  had  a  fish-hook  set  through  the  ice,  so  he  took  a 
small  bag  and  a  stick  pointed  at  both  ends  and  went  to  visit  his 
hooks. 

As  soon  as  the  strange  Indians  saw  the  old  man  at  his  hooks,  one 
of  their  number  went  to  push  him  under  the  ice.  As  the  warrior 
drew  near,  the  old  man  stabbed  him  with  the  sharp  stick.  His  com- 
rades seeing  this  sent  two  of  their  number  to  kill  the  old  man,  but 
these  were  killed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  first.   The  whole  band 


Digitized  by  Google 


Folh-Lor$  of  the  Cru  Indians.  143 


then  went  to  obtain  revenge.  They  fired  arrows,  but  these  fell 
harmlessly  into  the  old  man's  bag.  The  sons,  hearing  that  their 
father  was  in  danger,  came  up  and  killed  the  warriors.  The  old  man 
was  very  tired,  and  glad  to  get  a  rest  after  his  exertions. 

7.  THE  BITBR  BIT. 

There  was  once  an  old  man  who  had  an  only  daughter  to  look 
after  him.  One  day  the  daughter  was  married  to  a  young  Indian, 
and  this  so  anL'cred  the  old  man  that  he  put  the  husband  to  death. 

The  daughter  married  again,  and  again  the  old  man  made  away 
with  her  husband.  The  manner  in  which  he  killed  them  was  by 
coaxing  them  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  where  he  had  a  trap  placed  to  break 
their  backs. 

At  last  the  daughter  married  a  man  who  happened  to  be  a  little 
more  cunning  than  the  rest  He  ran  away  with  the  daughter  and 
went  off  to  hunt  bear.  That  winter  he  was  very  successful  and 
killed  many  bears.  He  made  a  large  roggan  or  btrchbark  basket  in 
which  he  put  the  bear's  fat  The  roggan  was  so  heavy  that  if  took 
four  men  to  cany  it 

In  the  spring  the  couple  returned  to  the  old  man's  wigwam,  and 
the  son-in-law  made  him  a  present  of  the  roggan.  The  old  man  was 
so  strong  that  he  lifted  the  roggan  easily.  The  old  man  then  coaxed 
the  son-in-law  to  go  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  intending  to  serve  him  as 
he  had  done  the  others,  but  the  young  man  proved  too  strong  and 
cunning  for  the  old  fellow,  and  in  wrestling  he  broke  the  old  roan*s 
back.  During  the  struggle  the  old  man  cried  out  to  his  daughter 
that  her  husband  was  killing  him,  but  she  had  no  sympathy  for  him, 
and  said  that  it  served  him  right 

Fnd  SwindUkurst 

MOMTRBAL,  CAMADA.  * 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


144 


yaumal  of  Ameruan  Folk-Lore. 


RECORD  OP  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

HORTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkian.  Blackfeet  At  pages  27^277  of  Professor  Ws»> 
ler's  monograph  on  the  "Decorative  Art  tk  the  Sbuz  Indians/' 
noticed  bdow,  are  some  items  concerning  the  **  Decorative  Art  of 
the  Blackfeet"  The  beaded  and  quill  work  of  the  Blackfeet  "are 
relatively  infrequent,  and  do  not  possess  the  variety  and  complexity 
of  those  of  the  Dakota."  ParfUcke  decoration  Is  known  as  '*  Gros 
Ventre  painting;"  this  probably  indicates  that  "the  whole  was 
copied  directly  from  that  tribe."  The  native  art  of  the  Blackfeet  is 
pictographies  and  "the  few  highly  conventionalized  forms  they  have 
adopted  are  important  reUgious  symbols."  In  general  it  may  be  said 
that  "  the  Sioux  show  a  tendency  to  love  art  for  art's  sake^  while  the 
Blackfeet  love  art  for  the  sake  of  thdr  religion."  — Musquakie  (Ouia^ 
gamit  Pox).  Volume  li.  (1902,  ix.  147  pp.  pL  1-8  and  64  figs.)  of 
the  Publications  of  the  Folk-Lore  Society  (London)  is  entitled 
"  Folk-Lore  of  the  Musquakie  Indians  of  North  America  and  Cata* 
logue  of  Musquakie  Beadwork  and  other  Objects  in  the  Collection 
of  the  Folk-Lore  Society,  by  Maria  Alicia  Owen."  Miss  Owen  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  and  has  contributed  to 
its  Journal  from  time  to  time.  The  monograph  now  under  consid- 
eration treats  of :  Mythical  origin,  achievements  and  fate  of  the 
brothers,  legend  and  history,  government,  beliefs,  dances,  birth  and 
infancy,  puberty,  courtship  and  marriage,  death,  burial,  and  ghost- 
carrying,  folk-tales,  etc.  Pages  95-147  are  occupied  by  a  descrip- 
tive list  of  one  hundred  and  nine  items  of  Musquakie  objects  pre- 
sented by  the  author  to  the  Society :  woman's  dance  costume  and 
ornaments  ;  man's  dance  costume  and  ornaments;  shaman's  costume, 
ornaments,  and  paraphernalia ;  musical  instruments ;  weapons,  imple- 
ments, etc. 

In  the  myth  of  origins,  He-nau-ee  (Mother),  who  came  down  from 
the  Upper  World  in  a  storm,  figures  with  her  two  children,  Hot 
Hand  and  Cold  Hand,  who,  after  a  number  of  adventures,  including 
the  killing  of  Black  Wolf,  fell  into  the  cave  of  Ancestors  (Ancestral 
Animals)  by  whom  they  were  made  nta-coupee  (full  of  magic),  and 
sent  back.  A  boy  and  a  girl  bom  of  lumps  on  the  side  of  the  Bro- 
thers were  the  ancestors  of  the  tribe  —  they  began  by  having  seven 
sons  and  seven  daughters,  from  whom  came  tlie  seven  clans  of  the 
Musquakies,  named  after  the  seven  ancestral  animals  (fox,  eagle,  bear, 
beaver,  fish,  antelope,  raccoon).  After  teaching  the  boy  and  girl,  the 
Brothers  went  away  to  kill  or  conquer  the  demons  and  devOs.  The 
Musquakie  tribe  is  '*a  limited  monarchy  with  an  hereditary  chief  of 


Digitized  by  Googlc 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


145 


the  Eagle  clan."  It  has  a  head-chief's  council,  councils  of  sub- 
chiefs  (of  the  seven  clans),  and  a  body  of  "  honorable  women."  The 
shaman  is  a  prominent  figure  in  the  councils  —  the  present  head- 
shaman  and  person  of  most  influence  had  the  advantage  of  studying 
medicine  with  a  white  man.  The  "  honorable  women  "  have  great 
power  to  turn  public  opinion.  In  their  religious  and  superstitious 
beliefs,  "  the  Musquakies  pay  homage  to  four  gods,  seven  totems,  or 
patron  saints,  and  an  uncountable  number  of  demons,  devils,  sprites, 
and  ghosts."  The  "gods  "  are  the  good  manito-ah  (in  the  sun),  the 
bad  maniUhoh  (lord  over  that  cold,  slippery,  wet  cavern  in  which  bad 
souls  are  imprisoned),  and  the  two  Brothers. 

The  chief  dances  are  the  religion  dance,  or  dance  of  remembrance 
{ie,ol**  unfoi^gotten  ways  of  their  lathers  with  a  subsequent  four- 
days'  Sabbath,  corn-planting  dance,  totem  dances  (like  the  religious 
dance,  but  with  no  dog  sacrifice),  green-corn  dance  ("what  Thanks- 
giving is  to  a  Yankee,  or  the  Feast  of  the  First  Fruits  to  a  Semite  "), 
the  woman  dance,  bear  dance  (by  young  men),  bufialo  dance  ("  both 
an  incantation  and  an  historical  drama"),  discovery  dance,  young 
dogs'  dance  (with  howling  and  barking),  horses'  dance,  scalp  dance 
('*now  only  a  bit  of  acting"),  dead  man's  medicine  dance^  the  young 
servant's  dance,  birds'  dance  (public  observance  by  members  of  a 
secret  society  of  reckless  young  men),  presents  dance  or  dower  dance 
(by  young  men  for  poor  marriageable  girls).  While  Musquakie 
infants  and  little  children  "are  indulged  and  petted  as  few  white 
children  are,"  they  have  few  toys  and  no  **  medicine  "  of  their  own, 
except  a  few  talismans,  more  for  the  sake  of  the  soul  than  of  the 
body.  Following  his  being  weaned  (at  four  or  five),  the  Musquakie 
boy  has  a  nine-years'  novitiate  till  after  the  midnight  dance  (Reli- 
gion) he  wakes  up  a  man.  The  girl's  training  is  not  so  severe. 
The  Musquakie  wooing  and  wedding  have  their  share  of  gossip  and 
romance.  The  grave-digging,  formerly  the  work  of  slaves,  is  now 
done  by  white  men  hired  by  the  relations.  The  "  ghost- carrier " 
rides  toward  the  west.  The  folk-tales  include :  Girls  and  bear,  the 
gray-wolf  and  the  orphan  boy,  the  woman  and  the  tree  ghost,  the 
man  and  the  tree-ghost,  the  man  and  the  young  girl,  the  duck-woman, 
the  woodpecker-man,  prairie-chicken  woman,  the  owl,  the  girl-with- 
spots-on-her-face,  the  young  man  tliat  killed  himself  and  was  made 
alive  ac^ain.  One  curious  item  of  belief  (p.  94)  is  that  a  suicide's 
soul  explodes. 

This  volume  is  especially  valuable  as  a  study  of  the  lore  of  a  peo- 
ple who  have  been  considerably  influenced  by  the  whites  in  spite  of 
their  resistance.  In  connection  with  Miss  Owen's  data  should  be 
read  the  articles  of  Mrs.  Lasley  (J.  A.  F.-L.  vol.  xv.  1902,  pp.  170- 
178)  on  "Sac  and  Fox  Tales"  and  William  Jones  {idid.  vol.  xiv. 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


146 


yaumai  of  American  Folh-Lort. 


1901,  pp.  225-239)  on  **  Episode*  in  the  Culture-Hero  Myth  of  the 
Sauks  and  Foxes." 

Caddoan.  Part  il  (pp.  5-372,  9  pi  11  figs.)  of  the  "Twenty* 
second  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1900- 
1901 "  [Washington,  I904]»  consists  of  '*  The  Hako :  A  Pawnee 
Ceremony/'  hy  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  assisted  by  James  R.  Murie^ 
music  transcribed  by  Edwin  S.  Tracy.  The  Hako  ceremony  had  no 
fixed  or  stated  time,  and  *'wa8  not  connected  with  planting  or  har- 
vestings hunting  or  war,  or  any  tribal  festival,"  although,  the  K^nu 
bus  (custodian  and  hierogogue)  said :  "We  take  up  the  Hako  in  the 
spring  when  the  birds  are  mating,  or  in  the  summer  when  the  birds 
are  nesting  and  caring  for  their  young,  or  in  the  fall  when  the  birds 
are  flocking,  but  not  in  the  winter  when  all  things  are  asleep.  With 
the  Hako  we  are  praying  for  the  gift  of  life,  of  strength,  of  plenty, 
and  of  peace,  so  we  must  pray  when  life  is  stirring  everywhere." 
Miss  Fletcher  (p^  280)  describes  the  purpose  of  the  Hako,  with  "its 
long  series  of  observances,  which  are  replete  with  detail  and  accom- 
panied by  nearly  one  hundred  songs"  (no  change  in  the  order  of 
rites  or  songs  was  permitted),  as  twofold  :  "  First,  to  benefit  certain 
individuals  by  bringing  to  them  the  promise  of  children,  long  life, 
and  plenty  ;  second,  to  affect  the  social  relations  of  those  who  took 
part  in  it,  by  cstablishini^  a  bond  between  two  distinct  groups  of  per- 
sons, belonging  to  different  clans,  gentes,  or  tribes,  which  was  to 
insure  between  them  friendship  and  peace."  Desire  for  offspring 
was  probably  the  original  stimulus,  but  the  ceremonial  forms  here 
used  to  express  this  desire  were  undoubtedly  borrowed  from  earlier 
ceremonies  through  which  the  people  had  been  familiarized  with 
certain  symbols  and  rites  representing  the  creative  powers.  The 
second  purpose  of  the  Hako  "  was  probably  an  outgrowth  of  the  first 
purpose,  and  may  have  been  based  upon  tribal  experience  in  the 
practice  of  exogamy."  Besides  its  social  and  religious  significance, 
the  Hako  became  a  medium  of  exLhangc  of  commodities  among 
tribes,  —  "the  garments,  regalia,  and  other  presents  brought  by  the 
Fathers  to  the  Children  were  taken  by  the  latter  to  some  other  tribe, 
when  they  in  turn  became  the  Fathers."  Testimony  to  "  the  men- 
tal grasp"  of  the  Pawnees  is  borne  by  the  "compact  structure"  of 
the  Haka  The  rhythm  of  the  songs  accompanying  every  ceremo> 
nial  act  has  been  determined  by  the  thought  to  be  expressed,  — 
"  rhythm  dominates  the  rendition,  which  is  always  exact,  no  liberties 
being  taken  for  the  purpose  of  musical  expression.  In  our  sense  of 
the  term."  Of  the  songs,  words,  music,  and  translations  are  given. 
The  paraphernalia  are  figured  in  the  plates.  The  Hako  ceremony 
consists  of  the  Preparation  with  8  rituals,  and  the  Ceremony  itseU 
with  12  rituals.  There  are  also  four  incidental  rituals  that  may  be 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lane.  147 


interpolated  (comforting  the  child,  prayer  to  avert  storms,  prayer  for 
the  gilt  of  children,  changing  a  man's  name).  The  rituals  of  the 
Preparation  are :  I.  Making  the  Hako  (invoking  the  powers,  pre- 
paring the  feathered  stems,  painting  the  ear  of  corn,  and  preparing 
the  other  sacred  objects,  offering  of  smoke).  II.  Ftefiguring  the 
journey  to  the  Soa.  III.  Sending  the  messengers.  IV.  Vivifying 
the  sacred  objects,  Mother  Com  assumes  leadership,  the  Hako  party 
presented  to  the  Powers.  V.  Mother  Com  asserts  authority,  songs 
and  ceremonies  of  the  way.  Mother  Com  reasserts  leadership.  VI. 
The  Son's  messenger  received,  the  Hako  party  enter  the  village.  VII. 
Touchmg  and  crossing  the  threshold,  consecrating  the  lodge,  cloth- 
ing the  Son,  and  offering  smoke.  VIII.  The  Fathers  feed  the  Chil- 
dren. IX.  Invoking  the  visions.  X.  The  Dawn  (the  birth  of  Dawn, 
the  Morning  Star  and  the  new-boro  Dawn,  daylight,  the  Children 
behold  the  day.  XI.  The  male  element  invoked  (chant  to  the  sun, 
day* songs).  XII.  The  rites  came  by  a  vision.  XUI.  The  female 
element  invoked  (the  sacred  feast  of  Com,  song  to  the  Earth,  offer- 
ing of  smoke,  songs  of  the  birds).  XIV.  Invoking  the  visions  of 
the  ancient  XV.  The  flocking  of  the  birds,  the  sixteen  circuits  of 
the  lodge.  XVI.  Seeking  the  child,  symbolic  inception,  action  sym- 
bolizing life.  XVII.  Touching  the  child,  anointing  the  child,  paint- 
ing the  child,  putting  on  the  symbols.  XVIII.  Fulfilment  prcfij^ured 
(making  the  nest,  symbolic  fulfilment,  thank  offering.  XIX.  The 
call  to  the  Children,  the  dance  and  reception  of  gifts.  XX.  I^less- 
ing  the  child,  presenting  the  Hako  to  the  Son  and  thanks  to  the 
Children.  The  I  lako  Preparation  also  of  three  and  the  Ceremony  of 
four  divisions.  Of  the  Preparation  the  first  division  (initial  rites)  in- 
cludes rituals  I. -IV.,  the  second  (the  journey),  the  fifth  ritual,  and 
the  third  (entering  the  village  of  the  Son  and  consecrating  liis  lodge) 
rituals  VI.  and  VII.  The  first  division  (the  public  ceremony)  of  the 
Ceremony  includes  rituals  VIII. -XIV.,  the  second  (the  secret  cere- 
monies) rituals  XV.-XVIII.,  the  third  (the  dance  of  thanks)  ritual 
XIX.,  and  the  fourth  (the  presentation  of  the  Hako)  ritual  XX. 

This  monograph,  invaluable  to  the  student  of  primitive  religions, 
represents  four  years  of  work  and  gives  the  entire  ceremony  as 
observed  in  the  Chani  band  of  the  Pawnee  tribe.  The  collaborator 
of  Miss  Fletcher,  Mr.  Murie,  is  "  an  educated  Pawnee  whom  I  have 
known  since  he  was  a  schoolboy,  twenty  years  ago,"  and  one  fully 
qualified  to  preserve  the  ancient  lore  of  his  people.  She  also  had  as 
authority  for  the  text  and  explanation  of  the  ceremony,  Taheriissawi- 
chi,  a  full-blood  Pawnee  about  ;o  years  old,  who  is  a  fine  specimen  in- 
tellectually of  the  Indian  stock.  In  her  "  The  Hako  "  Miss  Fletcher 
has  accomplished  a  most  difficult  task  with  great  tact  and  skill,  and 
added  a  classic  to  the  litentufe  of  the  American  aborigines. 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


143  jfourtuU  of  American  Folh-Lon. 

California.  Galen  Clark's  **  Indiana  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  and 
Vicinity*  thdr  History,  Customs,  and  Traditions"  (Yosemite  Valley, 
1904,  pp.  no)  treats  of  early  history  (original  legend  according  to 
Chief  Teneiya),  contact  with  the  whites  and  effects  of  the  war,  cus- 
toms and  characteristics  (division  of  territory,  commerce,  communica- 
tion, dwellings,  clothings  etc.),  sources  of  food  supply  (hunting,  fish- 
ing, acorns  as  food,  Indian  dogs,  nuts  and  berries,  grasshoppers  and 
worms),  rd^iotts  ceremonies  and  beliels  (dances,  festivals,  marriage^ 
medicine  men,  disposing  of  the  dead,  spiritism),  natural  industries, 
(basketry  and  bead  woik,  bows  and  arrows).  The  section  (ppw  76- 
100)  on  "Myths  and  L^nds"  contains:  Legend  of  To-tau-kon- 
ni!i-la  and  Tis-sa'-ack  (origin  of  the  mountain  Half  Dome),  Another 
Legend  of  Tis-sa'-ack  (origin  of  North  Dome),  Legend  of  the  Grizzly 
Bear  (origin  of  tribal  name  Yosemite),  Legend  of  the  Tul-tok'-a-na 
(rock  named  after  the  measuring-worm),  Legend  of  Grouse  Lake^ 
Legend  of  the  Lost  Arrow.  Concerning  these  legends  the  author 
remarks  (p.  77):  "The  Legend  of  To-tau-kon-nuMa  and  Ti»«a'-ack 
is  made  up  of  fragments  of  mythological  lore  obtained  from  a  number 
of  old  Indians  at  various  times  during  the  past  fifty  years.  It  varies 
somewhat  from  other  legends  which  have  been  published  regarding 
these  same  characters,  but  it  is  well  known  that  the  Indians  living 
in  Yosemite  in  recent  years  are  of  mixed  tribal  origin  and  do  not 
all  agree  as  to  the  traditional  history  of  the  region  nor  the  names  of 
the  prominent  scenic  features,  nor  even  of  the  valley  itself."  Pages 
107-109  are  devoted  to  the  "Interpretation  of  Indian  Names,"  the 
"accepted  meaning  of  twenty-one  names  of  prominent  features  of 
the  valley  beinc^  given,  including  Yo-s^m-i-te,  "Full-Grown  Grizzly 
Bear,"  Mr.  Clark,  the  author,  was  the  discoverer  of  the  Mariposa 
Grove  of  Big  Trees,  and  for  many  years  Guardian  of  the  Valley. 

Iroquoian.  To  the  "  Twenty-first  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  1899-1900"  (Washington,  1903),  pages  127- 
339,  Mr.  J.  N.  B.  Hewitt  contributes  the  first  part  of  a  valuable  mono- 
graph on  "Iroquoian  Cosmology."  Of  an  Onondag;a,  a  Seneca,  and 
a  Mohawk  legend  of  the  origin  of  things,  the  native  texts,  inter- 
linear, and  English  translations  are  given.  The  Onondaga  text  was 
obtained  from  the  late  John  Buck  in  1889  on  the  Grand  River  Reser- 
vation, Ontario,  and  revised  in  1897  with  the  help  of  his  son,  —  the 
shortness  of  this  version  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that "  the  relater 
seemed  averse  to  telling  more  than  a  brief  outline  of  the  legend.**  A 
longer  version  from  Chief  Gibson  will  be  printed  later.  The  Seneca 
text  was  obtained  in  1896  on  the  Cattaraugus  Reserve,  N.  Y.,  from 
the  late  John  Armstrong,  **of  Seneca-Delaware-English  mixed  bloody 
an  intelligent  and  conscientious  annalist,"  —  it  has  also  been  re- 
vised since.  The  Mohawk  text  was  obtained  in  1896-97  on  the 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Foik-Lore,  149 


Grand  River  Reservation  from  Seth  Newhoiise,  "an  intelligent  and 
educated  member  of  the  Mohawk  tribe."  Of  the  material  as  a  whole 
Mr.  Hewitt  says  (p.  137) :  "  In  general  outlines  the  legend,  as  related 
here  is  identical  with  that  found  among  all  of  the  northern  tribes  of 
the  Iroquoian  stock  of  languages.  It  is  told  partly  in  the  language 
of  tradition  and  ceremony,  which  is  formal,  sometimes  quaint,  some- 
times archaic,  frequently  mystical,  and  largely  metaphorical.  But 
the  figures  of  speech  are  made  concrete  by  the  elementary  thought 
of  the  Iroquois,  and  the  metaphor  is  regarded  as  a  fact.  Regarding 
the  subject-matter  of  these  texts,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  in  the 
main  of  aboriginal  origin.  The  most  marked  post-Columbian  modi- 
fication is  found  in  the  portion  relating  to  the  formation  of  the  physi- 
cal bodies  of  man  and  of  the  animals  and  plants,  in  that  relating  to 
the  idea  of  a  hell,  and  in  the  adaptation  of  the  rib  stoiy  from  the 
ancient  Hebrew  mythology  in  connection  with  the  creation  of 
woman.  The  tales  are  given  "exactly  as  related/'  no  liberties  hav- 
ing been  taken  with  the  texts.  The  idea  of  the  direct  creation  of 
the  bodies  of  man  and  of  the  animals  out  of  specific  portions  of  the 
earth  by  Tharonhiawakon  is  declared  by  the  author  to  be  "  a  com- 
paratively modem  and  erroneous  interpretation  of  the  original  con- 
cept (due  to  Scriptural  teachings).  The  original  Iroquoian  thought 
was :  The  earth  through  the  life,  or  life-power  innate  and  immanent 
in  its  substancCf — the  life  personated  by  Tharonhiawakon,  —  by  feed- 
ing itself  to  them  produces  plants  and  fruits  and  vegetables  which 
serve  as  food  for  birds  and  animals,  all  which  in  their  turn  become 
food  for  men,  a  process  whereby  the  life  of  the  earth  is  transmuted 
into  that  of  man  and  of  all  living  things."  With  this  significance 
the  Iroquois  call  the  earth  Eitkinoka,  **  Our  Mother."  The  mere 
creation  of  man  from  a  piece  of  earth  (as  the  potter  makes  a  pot)  is 
not  Iroquoian  — for,  in  the  protology  of  these  Indians,  "  things  are 
derived  from  things  through  transformation  and  evolution."  The 
parthenogenetic  conception,  too,  has  been  misunderstood  and  misin- 
terpreted. The  first  beings  of  Iroquoian  mythology  were  anthropic 
or  "man-beings,"  /.  r.  they  "were  not  beasts,  but  belonged  to  a 
rather  vague  class,  of  which  man  was  the  characteristic  type."  Beast 
gods  come  later.  Among  these  first  beings  were  :  Daylight,  Earth- 
quake, Winter,  Medicine,  Wind  (or  Air),  Life  (Germination),  and 
Flower.  The  Iroquoian  term  rendered  in  English  "god  "  really  sig- 
nifies "  disposer,  controller,"  for  to  the  Iroquois  "god  "  and  " con- 
troller" are  synonymous.  The  reign  of  beast,  plant,  tree  gods,  etc., 
came  about  from  the  fact  that  "in  the  development  of  Iroquoian 
•  thought,  beasts  and  animals,  plants  and  trees,  rocks  and  streams  of 
water,  having  human  or  other  effective  attributes  or  properties  in  a 
paramount  measure,  were  naturally  regarded  as  the  controllers 

VOL.  XVm.  — NO.  69.  II 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


1 50  y<mmal  of  American  Folh-Lan* 

those  attributes  or  properties,  which  could  be  made  available  by 
orenda  or  magic  power."  For  this  reason  "  the  reputed  controllers 
of  the  operations  of  nature  received  worship  and  prayers."  Mr. 
Hewitt's  monograph  contains  most  valuable  data  for  the  study  of 
primitive  religion,  and  his  authority  must  carry  weight  in  the  settle- 
ment of  numerous  disputed  questions.  Concerning  the  name  Tawis- 
karon  we  learn  (p.  139):  "The  Mohawk  epithet  is  commonly  inter- 
preted '  flint/  but  its  literal  and  original  meaning  is  *  crystal-clad'  or 
'  ice^lad,'  the  two  significations  being  normal,  as  crystal,  flint,  and 
ke  have  a  similar  aspect  and  fracture  The  original  denotation  is 
singularly  appropriate  for  winter/'  The  Onondaga  Ohad  and  the 
Seneca  Othkkwendd  '*  do  not  connote  ice,  but  simply  denote  flint" 
The  name  TkamtJkiawakoM  signifies  '*  he  grasps  the  sky  (by  mem- 
ory)/' —he  is  also  called  Odendmmia,  sprout,  or  sapling,  and  loskoAa, 
having  apparently  the  same  meaning.  The  *'  hiding  away  "  of  chil- 
dren till  puberty  is  a  curious  primitive  Iroquoian  custom  noted  on 
pages  142  and  255.  "  The  tree  called  Tooth  "  is  said  to  be  probably 
the  yellow  dog-tooth  violet,  —  its  blossoms  make  the  world  in  which 
it  is  light.  A  euphemism  for  <*  is  pregnant "  is  *'  life  has  changed/' 
The  monkey  (Onondaga  gadjtk'daks/\t  eats  lice  ")  was  probably 
quite  unknown  to  the  Iroquois.  In  the  Seneca  version  (p.  233)  two 
female  children  are  given  to  a  man-being  in  addition  to  his  two  male 
children  "  merely  to  retain  the  number  four,  as  they  do  not  take  any 
part  in  the  events  of  the  legend."  In  the  Mohawk  version  (p.  266) 
occurs  the  word  karoH'to  (it  tree  floats)  in  which  some  authorities 
see  the  etymology  of  the  place-name  Toronto.  To  the  texts  are 
appended  some  good  pictures  of  Iroquoian  Indians.  The  publication 
of  the  original  Indian  texts  and  their  interpretation  by  an  expert  like 
Mr.  Hewitt  marks  a  new  era  in  the  study  of  the  northern  Iroquois. 

Pueblos.  —  Hopi  {Moki).  To  Part  i.  of  the  "  Twenty-second 
Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1900-1901" 
[Washington,  1904],  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkcs  contributes  (pp.  1-195, 
70  figs.  30  plates)  an  account  of  "  Two  Summers'  Work  in  Pueblo 
Ruins/'  The  ruins  in  question  are  those  on  the  Little  Colorado 
River,  those  near  Winsknv,  the  Chevlon  and  Chaves  pass  ruins, 
the  ruins  between  Winslow  and  the  Hopi  Pueblos,  Kintiel,  ruins  near 
Holbrook,  Four-mile  ruin,  Pinedale,  Stott  ranch,  ruins  in  Pueblo  Viejo, 
etc.,  and  were  investigated  in  the  summers  of  1896  and  1897.  The 
plains  and  mesas  bordering  the  Little  Colorado  River  and  its  trib- 
utaries were  "  sites  of  populous  pueblos  in  prehistoric  times."  The 
alkalinity  of  the  soil,  which  led  to  the  abandonment  of  Sunset,  once 
a  thriving  Mormon  settlement  near  Winslow,  may,  perhaps,  account 
for  similar  abandonments  by  their  Hopi  predecessors.  Drought  and 
Apache  attacks  were  also  in  evidence.   The  situation  of  ruins  is. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


indicated  by  the  statement  (p.  58),  "  the  simple  existence  of  a  perma- 
nent spring  of  potable  water  in  this  part  of  Arizona  may  be  taken  as 
indicative  of  ruins  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  when  such  a  spring 
lies  on  or  near  an  old  trail  of  migration,  evidence  of  former  settle- 
ments cannot  be  difficult  to  find."  The  former  inhabitants  of  these 
prehistoric  pueblos  were  probably  akin  to  the  Hopi.  The  pottery 
remains  and  thdr  ornamentation  are  discussed  in  detail.  Of  decora- 
tive designs,  human  figures  are  veiy  rare,  and  there  were  only  a  few 
pictographs  of  quadrupeds,  the  majority  of  animal  figures  being 
those  of  birds, — msects  are  represented  by  the  butterfly,  dragon-fly, 
and  spider,  the  last  occupying  an  important  place  in  Pueblo  mytho- 
logy. There  is  a  wealth  of  geometrical  designs.  In  the  line  of 
ornaments  there  occur  mosaics  ("the  ancient  Pueblo  peoples  of  Ari- 
zona were  adepts  in  making  mosaics,  some  examples  of  which  rival 
in  excellence  the  work  of  a  similar  kind  in  old  Mexico"),  lignite 
gorgets,  ear-pendants,  etc.,  shell  wristlets,  bracelets,  rattles,  gorgets, 
animal  figures,  etc., — "all  the  species  of  shells  which  were  found  in 
ruins  belong  to  the  molluscan  fauna  of  the  Pacific,  and  are  still  used 
fiMr  ceremonial  or  ornamental  purposes  in  modem  Hopi  pueblos." 
The  collection  of  bone  implements  was  "large  and  varied  in  char- 
acter." Turtle  carapaces,  horn  objects,  pigments,  cloth  fragments 
(remarkably  few),  matting  (for  the  dead),  basketry  (essentially  the 
same  as  modern  Pueblo  types),  prayer-sticks,  bow-and-arrows,  gaming- 
rccds,  seeds  in  food  basins  (com  like  that  cultivated  by  modern 
Hopi  farmers),  food  remains  (corn-bread  like  that  of  modem  Hopi), 
stone  implements,  stone  slabs  (decorated  with  figures  painted  in 
various  pigments),  discs,  fetishes,  human  crania,  animal  remains,  etc., 
are  briefly  treated.  By  its  architecture  and  pottery  Kintiel  belongs 
to  the  Zufli  scries.  The  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  Pueblo  Viejo 
practised  both  house-burial  and  cremation.  The  rectangular  rows  of 
stones  on  level  mesa  tops  and  side  hills,  Dr.  Fewkes  thinks,  "may 
be  rci;arde(l  as  the  walls  of  terraced  gardens,  so  placed  as  to  divide 
different  patches  of  cultivated  soil,  or  to  prevent  this  soil  from  being 
washed  down  to  the  plain  below."  The  use  of  terraced  gardens  still 
survives  amoni;  the  Hopi  Indians.  The  ancient  farmers  of  the 
Pueblo  Viejo  also  practised  irrigation,  as  the  remains  of  extensive 
aboriginal  ditches  show.  Jars  or  vases  made  in  human  form  are  not 
known  in  the  northern  and  central  Arizonian  (Pueblo)  region,  and 
their  rare  presence  in  the  southern  area  {e.  g.  cave  in  the  Nantacks) 
is  due  to  Mexican  influence,  and  harmonizes  with  the  theory  of 
a  Mexican  art  element  in  southern  Arizona.  A  human  effigy  vase 
has  been  found  at  San  Jose  (I'ucblo  Viejo).  Yellow  ware  is  the 
characteristic  pottery  of  Tusayan,  red  ware  of  the  Little  Colorado,  and 
brown  of  the  Gila  valley  ruins.   The  cli£f-building  stage  of  culture  is 


Digitized  by  Google 


152  Journal  of  American  Folk^Lore, 

limited  to  no  race  or  cottotiy,  its  emtence  being  due  to  geological 
and  climatic  causes.  The  original  hunter  turned  farmer  here  be- 
cause there  was  no  game  to  keep  him  to  his  earlier  estate*  and  no  fish 
to  make  of  him  a  fisherman.  The  history  of  this  region  is  the  stoiy 
of  the  sedentary  agricultuFBlist  harried  by  the  nomadic  robber.  The 
Indian  turned  farmer  to  escape  perishing^  then  clifif-dweller  and 
pueblo-dweller  to  escape  or  resbt  his  human  foes. — To  the  *'  Twenty- 
first  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1899-1900'* 
[Washington,  1903],  Dr.  Fewkes  contributes  a  paper  (pp.  62 
plates),  on"Hopi  Katcinas  drawn  by  Native  Artists."   The  article^ 
which  is  "  profusely  illustrated  by  a  series  of  colored  plates  repro- 
duced from  the  original  drawings  made  by  a  native  artist  well  versed 
in  the  symbolism  of  his  people,"  is  concerned  with  data  collected  in 
190a   The  various  Hopi  festivals  are  briefly  described,  also  the 
pictures  of  the  Katcinas  relating  to  them,  with  more  or  less  de- 
tail in  many  cases.  The  idea  oi  obtaining  such  a  "  series  of  draw* 
ings  of  all  the  personations  of  supernatural  beings  which  appear  in 
Hop!  festivals  "  was  suggested  to  Dr.  Fewkes  "by  an  examination  of 
Mexican  codices,  especially  the  celebrated  manuscript  of  Padre  Saha- 
gun,  now  in  Madrid,  the  illustrations  in  which  are  said  to  have  been 
made  by  Indians,  and  Chavero's  *  TJcnzo  de  Tlascala,'  lately  (1892) 
published  by  the  Mexican  government."    This  companson  is  well 
worth  developing  further.    The  pictures  "may  be  regarded  as  pure 
Hopi,  and  as  works  little  affected  by  the  white  teachers  with  whom 
of  late  these  people  have  come  into  more  intimate  contact  than  ever 
before.   As  specimens  of  pictorial  art  they  "compare  very  well  with 
some  of  the  Mexican  and  Mayan  codices,"  and  they  also  show  "  the 
ability  of  the  Hopis  in  painting,  a  form  of  artistic  expression  which  is 
very  ancient  among  them."  These  pictures  likewise  "  represent  men 
personating  the  gods  as  they  appear  in  religious  festivals,  and  dupli- 
cate the  symbols  on  certain  images  called  dolls,  which  represent  the 
same  beings."    It  is  these  personations  that  are  called  katctnas,  and 
the  number  of  them  is  very  great,  —  "  much  greater  than  the  number 
figured,  especially  if  all  those  mentioned  in  the  traditions  are  in- 
cluded." The  names  of  the  pictures  are  of  philologic  importance,  — 
"some  of  them  are  called  by  Zuftian,  others  by  Keresan,  Tanoan, 
Fiman,  and  Yuman  names,  according  to  their  derivation.  '   Says  Dr. 
Fewkes  on  this  point:  "This  composite  nomenclature  of  their  gods 
is  but  a  reflexion  of  the  Hopi  language,  which  is  a  mosaic  of  many 
different  linguistic  stocks*'  (p.  18).   Among  the  more  interesting 
and  important  pictures  are  those  of  Fantiwa,  the  sun-god  (of  Zufii 
origin);  Tcakwaina  (of  Tewan  origin,  relating  to  the  matriarchal 
dan  system) ;  Sio  CahdLO  (a  Zufii  giant) ;  Tcbaiyo  (a  bog>'  god) ; 
Eototo  (important  in  the  celebration  of  the  Departure  of  the  Katct- 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore.  1 53 


nas) ;  figurines  of  corn  maidens  (an  interesting  marionette  perform- 
ance) ;  Mucaias  Taka  (Buffalo  youth)  and  Mucaias  Mana  (BufiFalo 
maid) ;  Tacab  (a  Navaho  god) ;  Kae  (corn  katcina) ;  Tavva  (sun 
katcina) ;  Leftya  (fiutc  katcina)  ;  Citulilu  (rattlesnake,  of  Zufii  origin), 
etc.  On  pages  109-112  are  described  "ancient  clan  masks;"  on 
pages  ii2-ii4masks  introduced  by  individuals;  on  pages  114-117 
personators  appearing  in  races  called  wawac;  on  pages  1 18-122  beings 
not  called  katcinas.  On  pages  1 23-1 24  are  given  the  Hano  (Tanoan) 
names  for  about  60  of  the  pictures  here  described,  and  on  pages  124- 
126  the  foreign  origins  of  the  various  not-Hopi  katcinas  are  indicated. 

SiouAN.  —  Dakota,  IVofessor  Clark  Wissler's  "  Decorative  Art  of 
the  Sioux  Indians/'  published  in  the  "Bulletin  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History"  (vol  xviil  pt.  ill  pp.  231-278,  19  pi. 
29  f\gs.t  N.  Y.,  Dec.  17,  1904),  treats  of:  Decorative  designs  and 
their  elements,  conventional  decorations  with  symbolic  associations^ 
examples  of  the  ideas  associated  with  designs,  mflitary  symbolism. 
The  chief  symbolic  motive  in  decorative  art  is  furnished  by  "the 
men  or  rather  the  mflitary  interests  which  they  represent"  To  picto- 
graphic  expression  they  add  the  use  of  the  geometric  designs  of  the 
women,  reading  into  these  their  own  ideas.  The  origin  of  these 
geometric  designs  is  uncertain,  but  they  "bear  a  stronger  resem- 
blance to  Southwestern  art  than  to  any  other."  The  higher  produc- 
tions in  art  seem  to  have  been  masculine  in  origin,  —  the  ideals  of 
the  women  among  the  Sioux  seem  to  be  more  often  ideals  of  tech- 
nique. One  very  interesting  feature  of  the  decorative  art  of  the 
Sioux  is  "the  use  and  recognition  of  the  pattern-names  for  the  most 
elementary  geometric  designs,  and  the  use  of  these  as  elements  in  the 
composition  of  complex  designs."  Among  these  designs  are  the  tipi,. 
step,  bag,  bundle,  box,  trail  (path,  road),  "three-row,"  "middle-row," 
space,  vertebrae,  "filled-up,"  twisted,  tripe,  arrow-point,  "full  of 
points,"  crossed  arrows,  looking-glass,  etc.  There  may  be  said  to- 
exist  "a  school  of  art"  amon^  the  Dakota,  whose  ideal  is  "the  use 
of  conventional  elements  in  compositions  of  conventional  types,"  — 
in  its  production,  this  art  belongs  to  woman.  The  decorations  of  a 
woman  are  adopted  by  a  girl  after  she  has  formally  gone  through 
the  puberty  ceremony.  The  women  say  that  they  sometimes  dream 
out  complex  designs,  —  in  such  dreams,  "the  design  usually  appears 
on  a  rock  or  the  face  of  a  cliff,  though  dreaming  of  an  entire  piece 
of  work  in  its  finished  state  is  not  rare."  Such  experiences  are 
attributed  to  the  female  culture-heroine.  The  few  "dream  designs'* 
of  recent  origin  seen  by  the  author  are  "in  no  way  different  from 
other  designs."  In  ceremonial  and  religious  designs  colors  are  often 
symbolic :  Red,  sunset,  thunder ;  yellow,  dawn,  clouds,  earth  ;  blitCt 
sky,  clouds,  night,  day ;  black,  night  j  green,  summer.    The  cross 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


154 


youmal  of  Anmkan  FoUt^Lan. 


appears  as  a  military  symbol.  With  the  Sioux  war  was  an  ideal,  and 
the  Indians  "pray  for  power  and  success  in  a  future  war,"  while  wnth 
the  Blackfeet  "the  great  idea  was  to  get  horses  by  raiding  other 
Indians ;  fighting  was  a  mere  incident,"  and  the  Blackfeet "  pray  and 
conjure  that  they  may  get  many  horses  by  means  within  the  limits 
enforced  by  the  police."  Every  reascm  leads  to  the  belief  that  the 
pictographic  mode  is  the  older^  and  that  "readiiig  in  "of  resem- 
blances plays  a  large  rOle; 

CBNTRAL  AMKRICA. 

Mayan.  In  part  i  of  the  Twenty-second  Annual  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  1900-1901 "  [Washmgtoa»  1904], 
pp  197-305  (12  pi  47  figs.),  Cyhis  Thomas  has  an  article  on  "Mayan 
Olendar  Systems  IL»"  the  sections  of  which  treat  erf :  Initial  series 
•of  Mayan  inscriptions^  Secondaiy  numeral  series  of  the  Quirigua 
inacriptiona»  Maya  chronological  systenit  TheXakchiquel  calendar, 
Maya  mode  of  calculation,  Signification  of  the  numeral  seriea, 
Insieription  at  Xcalumkin,  Yucatan,  Inscription  on  Stela  C,  Copan» 
The  nephrite  stone  of  the  Leyden  Museum,  Calendar  and  number 
rtables.  The  topics  are  discussed  largely  in  relation  to  Goodman 
and  Maudslay's  views  and  theories.  Stela  D  Copan  is  noteworthy 
for  having  in  the  initial  series  the  usual  face  cliaracters  replaced  by 
.full  forms.    Concerning  this,  Professor  Thomas  observes  (p.  222): 

Entire  bodies,  instead  of  conventional  heads,  are  given,  and,  though 
they  are  to  some  extent  grotesque,  yet  they  seem  to  indicate  the 
aboriginal  Idea  of  the  origin  of  these  symbols."  The  ahau  symbol 
"  is  the  skeleton  form  of  a  nondescript  bird-like  animal  with  a  large 
fang ;  the  chuen  glyph  is  a  frog-like  animal."  In  the  full  forms  of 
ahau  and  katiut  in  Stela  D  the  little  patches  of  cross-hatching  ap- 
pear as  feather  marks.  Professor  Thomas  considers  that  "  Good- 
man's determinations,  where  the  data  are  sufficient,  are,  as  a  rule, 
correct,"  although  there  are  also  cases  of  mere  guesswork.  On 
page  244  he  suggests  that  in  a  certain  part  of  the  Dresden  Codex 
"  the  aboriginal  artist,  by  inadvertency,  made  an  exchange  between 
the  black  and  red  series  in  the  ahaus  and  chuens."  He  does  not 
agree  with  Goodman's  view  that  "the  system  used  in  the  inscrip- 
tions is  different  from  that  used  in  the  Dresden  codex,  which  he 
evidently  includes  under  the  term  *  Yucatec  system,'  "  and  points  out 
that  the  inscription  of  Xcalumkin  "  carries  back  the  Yucatec  calen- 
dar system  to  the  days  of  the  inscriptions."  Goodman's  suggestion 
that  the  Colomes,  Xius,  Chels,  and  Itzas  had  each  their  own  "  chro- 
nological system,  using  a  common  calendar,"  is  not  approved,  nor  his 
theory  of  only  thirteen  cycles  to  the  great  cycle.  Goodman's  asser- 
tion that  the  calendar  year  of  the  Cakchiquels  consisted  of  three 


Digiiizeo  by 


Record  of  Amonam  Foik-Lore. 


155 


hundred  and  sixty-six  days  is  thought  to  be  incorrect,  —  the  num- 
ber was  four  hundred.  Professor  Thomas  holds,  concerning  Maya 
methods  of  calculation,  that "  all  the  series  in  the  codices  and  inscrip- 
tions could  have  been  formed  by  the  aboriginal  authors  with  their 
numeral  systems  by  addition  and  subtraction."  (P.  289.)  The  ear- 
liest and  latest  dates  at  Copan  are,  according  to  Professor  Thomas, 
222  years  apart,"  and  the  dates  may  refer  to  historical  events. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Calchaquian.  To  the  ''Afiales  del  Iffoseo  Nadonal  de  Buenos 
Aires"  (voL  xi  1904,  pp.  163-314)  Dr.  Juan  R  Ambrosetti  con- 
tributes a  monograph  on  "  El  bronce  en  la  region  Calchaqul"  The 
first  part  treats  of  Calchaqui  mining  and  metallurgy  (ancient  mines* 
use  of  copper  among  the  Peruvians,  methods  of  fusion,  bronze^  Ai^ 
gentlne  tin,  Calchaqui  methods) ;  the  second  describes  the  archseo- 
logical  material  (borers,  simple  knives,  chisels,  aze  blades,  spatulas^ 
choppers,  hatchets,  ornamental  objects,  flatheaded  pins  with  holea^ 
pin  with  spiral-head,  pins  with  graffiH^  rings,  bracelets,  and  other 
personal  ornaments,  bells,  depilatoiy  pincers,  needles,  spindIe4mobi^ 
bolas,  stellate  dub-heads,  ceremonial  axe  of  Peruvian  type,  tM  or. 
ceremonial  axe,  "sceptres,"  ceremonial  knives, "gauntlets,"  pectoral 
insignia,  disks,  etc.)  An  appendix  (pp.  305-312)  treats  of  bronze 
axes  with  iron  handles,  counterfeit  bronses,  fusion  of  bronze  in  the 
colonial  period,  non-Calchaqui  bronze.  The  Calchaquis  were  really 
in  the  bronze  age,  and  there  is  much  to  interest  the  folk-lorist  in  the 
nature  of  their  weapons  and  implements,  their  ornamentation,  etc 
The  figures  on  the  insignia  for  the  breast  and  forehead  are  sui 
generis.  The  ornamentation  of  the  bronze  disks  is  also  remarkable. 
To  this  monograph  is  appended  (pp.  i-viii)  a  list  —  sixty  titles  in 
all  —  of  the  published  writings  of  Dr.  Ambrosetti  on  Argentinean 
archaeology  and  related  topics. 

A,  F,  Q  and  J.  Q  ۥ 


Digitized  by  Google 


156 


yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


RECORD  OF  NEGRO  FOLK-LORE. 

Africa  and  America.  Rev.  R.  H.  Nassau's  "Fetichism  in 
West  Africa"  (N.  Y.,  1904,  pp.  xix,  389)  contains  a  brief  section 
(pp.  273-276)  on  "The  American  Negro  Voodoa"  According  to  the 
author,  "  Vudu,  or  Odoism,  is  simply  African  f etichism  transplanted 
to  American  soil"  As  a  superstition  it  '*has  spread  itself  among 
our  ignorant  white  masses  as  the  *Hooda'"  He  also  thinks  that 
*'Uncle  Remus's  mystic  tales  of  'Bi'er  Rabbit'  ...  are  the  folk- 
lore that  the  slave  brought  with  him  from  his  African  home."  The 
glossary  contains  such  more  or  less  familiar  words  as  bwanga  (medi- 
cine)* grei-gree  (fetich  amulet),  gumbo  (okra),  mbeuda  (spinder 
"  ground-nut ")» etc. 

Jamaica.  The  collection  of  "  Folk-Lore  of  the  Negroes  of  Ja- 
maica" (see  this  Journal,  vol  xvil  p.  296)  is  continued  in  "Folk- 
Lore"  (vol.  XV.  1904,  pp.  450-456).  Items  of  superstition  under  the 
rubrics,  relating  to  the  human  body;  friendship^  marriage,  and 
lovers;  birth  and  death;  marriage,  courtship,  and  lovers  ;  death,  the 
corpse,  the  funeral ;  vegetation  ;  the  body ;  births,  babies,  and  chil- 
dren ;  miscellaneous,  —  chiefly  from  the  southern  districts  of  St 
Andrew.  Many  interesting  omens  are  given.  Of  "  a  man  of  medi- 
ocrity in  the  spiritual  matters  of  life,"  it  is  said  that  he  '*  becomes  a 
'rolling  calf  after  death,  for  he  is  too  good  for  hell  and  too  wicked 
for  heaven."  There  is  reminiscence  of  African  witchcraft  in  the 
idea  that  "  if  a  certain  plant  called  wangra  is  in  a  provision  ground, 
every  thief  that  visits  the  field  will  die."  The  folk-lore  of  the  mole 
is  quite  extensive :  A  mole  on  the  lip  signifies  a  lying  tongue ;  on 
the  abdomen,  edacity  \sic\ ;  on  the  leg,  love  of  travel ;  on  the  neck, 
wealth  ;  one  on  the  neck  also  indicates  that  the  person  will  be  hanged, 
and  one  on  the  wrist  that  he  will  be  handcuffed.  Of  April  Fool's 
Day,  it  is  said  that  "  All  people  who  are  born  on  the  first  day  of 
April  grow  up  fools."  People  who  die  unbaptized  "  become  wander- 
ing spirits." 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


Record  of  Philippine  Folk-Lore^ 


157 


RECORD  OF  PHILIPPINE  FOLK-LORE. 

« AssuAN."  To  Dr.  Washington  Matthews  the  Editor  owes  the 
following  genuine  contribution  to  folk-lore,  which  appeared  in  "The 
Friends  School  Quarterly  "  (Washington,  D.  C.)  for  February,  1905  : 

A  CURIOUS  BELIEF. 

In  the  Fhilippbe  Ishuids  the  people  believe  in  the  Assuan."  The 
Assoan  is  supposed  to  be  a  young  man  n^o  Is  very  handsome  and 
who  goes  courting  the  girls»  trying  to  get  them  to  marry  him.  For 
this  purpose  he  goes  to  baUs  and  various  ceremonies,  and  also  visits 
at  their  houses  in  the  evenings  and  makes  himself  very  agreeable. 
He  has  power  to  change  himself  into  any  kind  of  animal  or  bird 
whenever  he  wishes. 

The  Assuan  is  supposed  to  have  a  servant  called  "Tic-Tic,"  who 
goes  everywhere  with  him.  It  is  Tic-Tic's  business  to  hunt  for  little 
children  and  babies  and  carry  them  away  while  Assuan  is  getting 
the  young  girls.  The  reason  this  servant  is  called  "  Tic-Tic  "  is  be- 
cause when  he  has  some  children  he  goes  outside  of  the  house  where 
bis  master  is  and  calls  "  TiC'tic !  tic-tic ! "  so  that  his  master  will 
know  that  he  has  something  and  will  come  out  to  go  home  with  him. 

These  creatures  are  said  to  live  in  the  roots  of  the  big  man^o- 
trees,  where  they  make  great  holes.  When  they  bring  the  girls  and 
babies  home  they  drop  them  down  into  a  very  deep  hole  and  keep 
them  there  until  they  are  to  be  eaten. 

All  the  girls  were  terribly  afraid  of  being  caught  by  these  things, 
so  they  always  kept  the  stick  with  which  the  rice  was  pounded  across 
the  front  door.  If  the  Assuan  came  he  could  get  into  the  house 
over  the  stick,  but  could  not  get  out  again,  and  so  would  be  caught. 
It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  house  in  all  the  islands  which  does  not 
have  the  rice  stick  across  the  door  at  night. 

It  is  believed  that  any  man  can  become  an  Assuan  by  eating  a 
great  quantity  of  raw  meat  and  drinking  blood,  so  for  this  reason  no 
good  Filipino  will  eat  meat  that  has  not  been  cooked  brown.  The 
servants  we  had  would  not  take  beef  extract  when  they  were  sick 
because  they  believed  it  was  made  of  the  blood  of  soldiers  killed 
in  the  war.  By  taking  it  they  were  afraid  they  would  become  As- 
suans. 

AksanderS*  Wetkers^om, 

The  author  is  a  boy  twelve  years  of  age  (son  of  Colonel  W.  W. 
Wotherspoon,  U.  S.  A),  who  has  just  returned  from  the  Philippines. 
While  there  he  picked  up  a  great  deal  of  folk-lore  from  the  servants 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


IS8 


journal  of  Ameruan  Folk'Lore. 


and  from  native  boys  of  hts  own  age.  Both  in  the  interests  ol  the 
collection  of  folk-lore  and  for  the  enoouragement  of  the  author,  this 
little  article  deserves  reproduction  here. 

Igorot.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (vol.  vL  n.  sl  pp. 
695-704, 4  pL)  for  October-December,  1904,  Dr.  A.  W.  Jenks  has  a 
well-illustrated  article  on  "  Bontoc  Igorot  Clothing."  The  Bontoc 
culture  area  "  is  in  the  centre,  geographically  and  culturally,  of  the 
entire  Igorot  area  of  Luzon.*'  The  Bontoc  are  *'  agricultural  head- 
hunters,  who  live  in  the  village  of  Bontoc."  Men's  and  women's 
clothing  are  described,  and  pages  699-704  are  occupied  by  a  discus- 
sion of  the  "  Origin  and  Purpose  of  Clothing,"  with  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  Bontoc.  Dr.  Jenks  concludes  that  man's  clothing  origK 
nated  in  utility,  the  chief  w^j/j/"  being  "convenience  for  carrying 
with  him,  attached  to  his  body,  constantly  desired  possessions." 
Woman's  clothing  originated  because  of  menstruation,  and  "in  the 
Philippine  Archipelago  alone  some  women  seem  to  have  answered 
that  demand  by  the  use  of  the  breech-cloth,  others  by  the  apron, 
others  by  the  pantaloons,  and  still  others  by  the  use  of  the  skirt.'* 
The  author  is  convinced  that  "the  sense  of  shame  never  caused  a 
primitive  people  to  adopt  its  first  form  of  covering  for  the  person." 
Naked  up  to  six  or  seven  years,  the  Bontoc  male  puts  on  successively 
the  basket-work  hat,  the  girdle  (at  ten),  the  breech-cloth  (at  puberty, 
ca.  15).  The  woman,  naked  up  to  eight  or  ten,  puts  on  then  the 
bark  skirt  and  the  girdle,  which  constitute  her  usual  attire.  Employ- 
ments, etc.,  and  cold  weather  induce  certain  changes  of  dress.  All 
the  Igorots,  we  are  told,  "men,  women,  and  children,  sleep  without 
breech-cloth,  skirt,  or  jacket."  Women  and  girls  do  not  dance 
without  the  blanket.  Pelvic  depilation  is  practised  by  "  unmarried 
men  and  women  and  the  majority  of  married  ones."  They  wish, 
while  working  or  travelling  naked,  to  "appear  like  the  children." 

Songs.  Lieutenant  A.  S.  Rigg's  article  on  "  Filipino  Songs  and 
Music,"  in  the  "  Dial "  (Chicago),  vol,  xxxvii.  1904,  pp.  277-278,  con- 
tains notes  on  MS.  and  songs  in  general.  Also  a  brief  ancient  song 
ol  the  Ilocans,  with  native  text  and  translation.  The  song  is  ad- 
dressed to  the  numgnurngkik  or  amtos  of  the  trees. 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


John  H»  HinUm^  1 5  9 

JOHN  H.  HINTON. 

John  H.  Hinton,  M.  D.,  Treasurer  of  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society,  died  in  New  York,  after  a  brief  illness,  on  April  26.  Dr. 
Hinton  has  been  officially  connected  with  the  American  Folk-Lore 
Society  during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  its  existence.  In  1891  he 
temporarily  accepted  the  position  of  treasurer,  at  first  for  a  year  only ; 
from  1893,  under  the  Rules  tinder  which  the  Society  is  at  present 
organized,  he  received  an  election  for  fhe  established  term  of  five 
years,  and  has  subsequently  been  twice  rejected.  In  this  office  his 
known  responsibility  and  repute  as  treasurer  of  other  weU>known 
societies  have  been  of  signal  service^  and  have  materially  contributed 
to  the  usefulness  and  success  of  the  organization.  His  undertaking 
of  this  duty  was  brought  about  mainly  through  the  suggestion  of  his 
warm  friend.  Dr.  H.  Carrington  Bolton,  who,  more  than  any  other 
person,  was  responsible  for  drawing  up  the  Rules ;  associated  with 
Dr.  Bolton  in  this  task  was  his  intimate  acquaintance^  Dr.  Daniel  G. 
Brinton.  These  three  have  now  passed  away,  Dr.  Hinton,  the  ripest 
in  years,  having  been  last  to  depart  When  the  removal  of  other 
coadjutors  is  taken  Into  account,  including  Francis  James  Child,  J. 
Owen  Dorsey,  John  G.  Bourke,  and  John  W.  Powell,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  Society  has  suffered  loss  greater  than  the  lapse  of  time 
would  usually  inflict.  Until  very  lately,  Dr.  Hinton  has  been  in  the 
enjoyment  of  apparently  vigorous  health,  while  he  habitually  mani- 
fested remarkable  courage  and  cheerfulness.  It  was  therefore  a 
surprise  to  the  officers  of  the  Society,  when  shortly  after  the  New 
Year  his  resignation  was  suddenly  received.  Through  his  long  pro- 
fessional activity  and  his  official  connection  with  several  important 
societies,  Dr.  Hinton  was  widely  known.  A  formal  memorial  notice 
must  be  deferred  until  the  following  number  of  this  Journal 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


l6o 


yaumal  of  American  Foik-Lon* 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Geocraphy-Rhymis. — In  the  Boston  **  Evening  Tnuucript  *'  Mine  dift- 
cuasion  of  this  topic  has  recently  taken  place.  The  following  is  from  the 
issue  for  January  a8, 1905 :  — 

I  should  like  to  tdl  of  some  of  the  methods  of  teaching  by  means  of 
singing  used  in  a  Maine  country  school  fofty^five  yeaxs  agp*  We  learned 
the  multiplication  tables  by  a  sort  of  chanting  thus : — 

Two  times  one  are  two^ 
Tmo  times  two  are  lomr, 

and  so  on,  with  a  rousing  chorus  of 

Five  times  five  are  twenty-five, 
Five  times  six  are  tMrty, 

and  so  forth,  sung  to  the  air  of  "Yankee  Doodle,"  and  following  each 
table. 

The  whole  school  enjoyed  this,  and  never  failed  to  come  out  Strong  on 
the  chorus,  although  often  it  was  a  forlon  hope  which  carried  along  the 
tables  of  sevens  and  eights  I 

This  seems  to  have  been  a  precursor  of  the  modem  kindeigarten  methods, 
except  that  we  were  learning  something  useful  We  had  another  singing 
exercise  whereby  we  learned  our  geography.  I  recall  one  verse  relating  to 
the  rivers,  which  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  Oh,  Come^  Come  Away : - 

Oh,  come,  let  us  sing 
»  Our  country's  noble  rivers ; 

St.  Lawrence  gay  begins  the  lay, 
St.  John's  now  we  see ; 
•Aroostool^  AUagash,  we  note, 
Machias  aiid  St  Ooix  we  quot^ 
And  then  a  line  devote 
Penobscot,  to  thee. 

We  had  a  small  geography  book  containing  many  rhymes  set  to  such 

familiar  tunes  as  "  Bonnie  Doon  "  and  "  Flow  gently,  sweet  Afton." 

The  countries  and  their  capitals  were  also  learned  by  a  sort  of  chant,  and 
the  words  were  often  amusingly  twisted  to  fit  the  measure,  as  "Mexi' — co, 
the  caplital  is  M'exico."  The  various  bodies  of  water  were  served  up  in 
groups  of  threes,  with  a  repeat :  — 

Atlantic  Ocean,  Pacific  Ocean,  Indkm  Ocean. 

Or 

Great  Slave  Lake,  Great  Bear  Lake,  Lake  of  the  Woods. 

Perhaps  some  one  who  reads  this  may  recall  a  similar  experience  and 
also  may  remember  the  title  of  that  old  geography  song-book. 

H.  |.  C 

Views  of  a  Mohawk  Indian.  —  In  the  Toronto  "  Evening  Tel^ram " 
(January  18,  1901)  appeared  the  following  item :  — 


Uiyiiizeo  by  GoOgle 


Noiis  and  Queries. 


i6i 


The  London  (Eng.)  "Daily  News " publishes  an  interview  with  Brant- 
Sefo^  of  the  Blohawk  Indian  reserve,  Brantford,  who  has  been  in  England 
stnoe  his  return  Irom  South  Africa,  where  his  eflbrts  to  enlist  in  the  British 
army  failed.  In  the  course  of  the  interview  the  talented  Indian  expressed 

interesting  opinions  r^arding  his  race,  and  among  other  things  said :  — 

"  How  long  have  your  people  been  settled  in  Canada  ?  " 

"We  have  for  over  a  hundred  years  been  the  fnithful  friends  and  allies 
of  England.  Our  ancestors  migrated  from  the  beautiful  Mohawk  Valley  to 
Ontario,  where  they  had  been  granted  by  the  British  Government  a  tract 
of  land  600,000  acres  in  extent.  This  has  now  dwindled  down  to  50.000. 
but  upon  this  reservation  we  have  lived  contentedly,  tilling  our  farms  and 
making  rapid  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilization." 

"  Do  the  Six  Nation  Indians  still  cling  to  their  ancient  customs  even  in 
the  midst  of  civilization  ?  *' 

"  Yes,  we  are  stiU  faithful  to  the  ways  of  our  forefathers.  Our  chiefs  are 
chosen  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  same  ritual  is  observed,  as  when  we 
roamed  over  all  the  land  which  lies  between  Florida  and  Canada,  two 
centuries  before  a  white  man  set  his  foot  upon  the  American  continent." 

"  These  traditions,  I  suppose,  have  been  handed  down  from  father  to 
son  ? " 

"No,  no,  from  mother  to  daughter.  In  our  Indian  tribes  the  woman  is 
of  more  importance  than  the  man.  They  preserve  the  customs,  and  were 
the  depositories  of  the  traditions  of  the  race.  If  a  warrior  died  in  battle,  it 
was  the  women  who  recorded  his  deeds  and  preserved  his  memoiy.  They 
were  better  educated  than  the  men.  Inheritance  runs  through  the  female 
Kne,  and  it  is  the  women  who,  in  secret  council,  choose  the  chiefi,  even 
down  to  the  present  day." 

"The  Red  Indians  are  not  degcneratinc:,  I  understand  you  to  say  ?  " 

*'  Certainly  they  are  not  degenerating,  nor  are  they  dying  out.  They 
have  made  wonderful  prof^ress,  especially  in  Canada.  The  last  census  in 
the  United  States  shows  that  the  Indians  are  increasing:,  and  in  Canada  they 
are  multiplying  rapidly.  There  are  about  20,000  in  Ontario  belonging  to 
the  Six  Nations.  We  are  beginning  to  wake  up  to  the  possibilities  which 
lie  before  us.  Our  children  are  educated  in  the  conunon  schools,  and  many 
of  our  3roung  men  study  at  the  colleges.  In  Canada  we  have  equal  oppor- 
tunities,  and  we  have  availed  ourselves  of  them.  There  are  Indians  in 
every  profession  and  calling.  There  are  some  few  who  have  qualified  and 
practise  as  lawyers ;  there  are  a  number  of  doctors,  and  many  have  gone 
into  trade.  'I'hree  or  four  hold  government  positions.  The  one  profession 
which  the  Indian  has  not  taken  kindly  to  is  the  ministry.  Nor  does  he  like 
to  be  a  shopkeeper.  The  old  inclination  to  roam  is  still  strong  in  our 
blood,  and  we  don't  like  to  be  tied  down  to  one  place.  Of  course,  llie 
greatest  number  of  our  people  are  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  in  tilling  the 
ground.  Up  to  two  years  ago  Indians  in  the  reservations  had  the  right  to 
a  vote.  Even  now  those  who  aie  settled  outside  the  reservation  can  eier- 
cise  the  franchise  on  the  same  conditions  as  their  white  neighbors." 

"  Then  an  Indian  is  not  looked  down  upon  in  Canada,  in  the  same  way 
as  a  negro  in  the  Southern  States  ? " 


Digitizeo  by  Google 


l62 


youmal  of  American  FolkrLon* 


Oh,  dear,  no.  We  are  on  a  footbg  of  perfect  equality.  In  Toronto 
and  other  citiet  a  white  man  wUl  make  way  for  us  on  the  ddevilk,  take  off 
his  hat  in  salutation,  as  if  we  had  the  same  blood  in  our  veins  as  be.  In 
South  Africa  it  was  very  different  There  tlie  white  man  seems  to  think 
he  was  placed  in  the  country  by  Providence  to  boss  the  colored  man. 
Why,  there  were  men  who  actually  refused  to  sliake  hands  with  mft 
because  of  my  Indian  blood.  Anoiher  thing,  by  the  way,  which  struck  me 
very  much  in  South  Africa  was  the  dress  of  the  women.  Even  right  up 
country  they  would  be  dressed  as  if  for  the  streets  of  London.  Their 
evening  dresses,  too,  were  quite  as  showy  as  anything  to  be  seen  here  in 
England." 

"Do  your  people  still  speak  the  Indian  language,  Mr.  Brant-Sero,  or 
have  they  adopted  English  as  the  means  of  communication  ?" 

<*  We  speak  both  English  and  Indian  as  a  rule.  All  know  English,  and 
in  Quebec  province  Frendi  as  well.  Indeed,  we  speak  too  many  languages, 
and  none  of  them  perfectly.  The  Indian,  however,  is  a  good  public  speaker. 
He  is  always  dignified,  and  never  fails  to  make  an  interesting  and  appro- 
priate speech  upon  even  the  most  trivial  subject.  The  Canadian  Indians 
take  to  politics  like  ducks  to  water.  They  are  quite  at  home  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  politics.  But  really  there  are  few  walks  of  life  in  which  the  Cana- 
dian Indian  has  not  distinguished  himself.  Some  of  our  men  have  made 
themselves  names  which  are  numbered  amongst  the  most  prominent  in  the 
Dominion." 

**  Who,  for  instance,  may  I  ask  ?  " 

**  Well,  the  most  remarkable  of  modem  Indians— for  my  pride  in  my 

ancestor,  Captain  Joseph  Brant,  will  not  permit  me  to  admit  a  wider  com- 
parison —  is  Dr.  Oronhyatekha.  He  is  a  doctor  of  medicine  and  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  has  the  gift  of  mastery  over  men,  and  is  a  most  remark- 
able man  himself.  He  has  been  called  the  second  Sir  John  Macdonald  of 
Canada.  Sir  Henry  .\cland  was  his  foster  father.  He  met  Dr.  Oronhya- 
tekha as  a  boy  when  the  Prince  of  Wales  visited  Canada  in  i860.  Both 
the  Prince  and  Sir  Henry  were  so  much  struck  with  the  youth  that  Sir 
Henry  took  him  back  to  England,  v^ere  he  was  educated,  and  took  his 
degree  at  Oxford.  Dr.  Oronhyatekha  is  proud  of  his  race.  He  still  speaks 
Indian  to  hb  intimate  acquaintances,  and  has  a  large  home  in  the  reserve 
of  the  She  Nations." 

Then  you  are  hopeful  as  to  your  race's  future  ? " 
"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Mr.  Brant-Sero  earnestly,  "  I  am  sure  my  people 
have  a  very  bright  future  before  them.  Our  ancestors  spilt  their  blood  to 
help  to  build  up  the  Empire  in  the  New  World.  They  preferred  British 
rule,  and  so  transferred  the  whole  of  the  government  of  the  Six  Nations  to 
Canadian  territory.  There  during  a  century  we  have  lived  and  prospered, 
and  Canada,  I  believe,  is  proud  of  the  progress  we  have  made." 

Fr.  Hunt-Coriss^  trb  '*  Whitk  Indian.*'— > In  the  Boston  *'Henld'' 
(Sunday,  January  29,  1905)  was  published  the  following  aooQont  ol  a  TBiy 
interesting  cleric  and  scholar  by  F*  K.  Guernsey:— 


Digitized  by  CoogL 


Notes  and  Queries. 


163 


City  of  Mexico,  January  24,  1905.  Sometimes  of  a  bri<;ht  morning  on 
the  streets  of  the  Mexican  capital  you  may  cliance  to  meet,  among  the 
oosmopolitan  throng,  a  briskly  moving  man  of  blue  eyes  and  ruddy  face, 
vivacious,  and  with  the  dean-shaven  countenance  of  a  priest  He  is  worth 
noticing,  worth  stoppmg  to  have  a  chat  with,  for  this  is  the  well-known  FV. 
Augusrin  M.  Hunt-Cortes,  chaplain  of  the  Church  of  Loretto,  and  founder 
and  head  of  the  locally  famous  Working  Boys'  Home ;  a  scholar,  h'nguist, 
and  archsologist  known  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  among  the  learned. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  figure  on  the  streets  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Mexico  than  Fr.  Hunt-Cortes.  He  has  served  republics  and  an  empire, 
given  a  goodly  portion  of  his  life  of  sixty-five  years  to  the  study  of  the 
Nahuatl  or  Mexican  language,  and  is  beloved  by  the  Aztec  people,  by 
whom  he  is  known  as  the  "  White  Indian."  Mexico,  the  modern  and  pro- 
gressive, has,  among  its  many  men  of  mark,  no  more  interesting  person- 
ality. 

Fr.  Hunt-Cortes  is  an  American,  bom  in  1840,  in  New  Orleans,  his  father 

being  Thomas  R.  Hunt,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  his  mother  Dofia  Isabel 
de  Cortes,  of  Seville,  Spain ;  the  bloods  of  two  interesting  races,  the  Irish 
and  the  Andalusi:in,  are  mingled  in  his  veins. 

In  his  boyhood  he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  English,  French,  and 
Spanish,  and  so  came  to  be  early  acquainted  with  the  classics  of  three  lan- 
guages. But  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  lost  both  parents,  and  grew  up 
under  the  care  of  his  guardians.  When  twenty-thr«e  years  of  age  he  re- 
ceived, through  the  instrumentality  of  friends  and  of  President  Lincoln,  a 
post-office  appointment,  and,  though  a  Southerner  by  birth  and  natural  sym- 
pathies, he  adhered  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  the  civil  war. 

Subsequently,  at  the  time  of  the  French  intervention  in  Mexico,  young 
Hunt  had  special  charge  of  the  Mexican  official  correspondence  with  our 
government,  and  so  it  came  about  that  he  was  placed  in  contact  with  the 
republican  president  of  Mexico,  Don  Benito  Juarez,  and  his  secretary,  Don 
Pedro  Santacilia.  His  health  becoming  impaired,  he  was  recommended  a 
change  of  climate,  and  in  1866  repaired  to  New  Orleans,  after  a  long 
absence,  having  the  intention  of  proceeding  to  Spain,  where  he  hoped  to 
recover  his  health. 

But  it  chanced  that  his  destiny  was  to  be  linked  to  that  of  Mexico,  for 
he  met  in  New  Orleans  some  gentlemen  attached  to  the  court  of  the  Em- 
peror Maximilian.  A  warm  friendship  sprang  up  with  these  gentlemen, 
and  young  Hunt  was  induced  to  come  to  this  city.  Letters  were  given  him 
to  the  Emperor  and  to  distinguished  members  of  his  government,  then 
approaching  its  fall,  and  Mr.  Hunt  received  an  appointment  in  the  war 
office  under  Gen.  Tomas  Murfy. 

Soon  began  a  stormy  and  hazardous  period  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Hunt.  The 
imperial  forces  were  defeated  at  San  Lorenzo  while  marching  under  Gen- 
eral Marquez  to  the  relief  of  Pucbla,  which  was  captured  by  Gen.  Porfirio 
Dias  on  April  a.  Mr.  Hunt  and  some  men  under  Ids  direction  took  refuge 
in  a  village  near  Texoooo.  They  crossed  the  lake  of  Texooco^  landing  at 
Mexicaltxingo^  and  were  preparing  to  take  a  canoe  from  that  ^xAsX  to  this 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


l64 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 


city  when  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  republican  scouts,  and  Mr.  Hunt  was 
sent  as  a  prisoner  to  the  castle  of  Chapultepec,  being  afterward  shifted 
from  place  to  place,  and  finally  to  Puebla,  where  he  remained  till  July, 
1867,  when  he  was  released  nnder  Hba  temis  of  a  general  amnesty  granted 
to  the  imperialists. 

He  remained  in  Paebla  three  yearsi  and  was  appointed  on  the  oommi»> 
sion  to  accompany  the  •Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  the  famous  American 
statesman,  who  was  visiting  Mexico.  It  was  while  in  the  party  of  Mr. 
Seward  that  young  Hunt  met  his  first  teacher  of  Nahuatl,  or  the  Mexican 
language,  in  the  person  of  Don  Francisco  Zemp>oalteca,  afterward  president 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of  Tlaxcala.  At  this  time  young  Hunt 
made  many  advantageous  acquaintances,  and  was  appointed  to  the  profes- 
sorship of  French  and  English  languages  in  the  Carolina  State  College, 
Tlaxcala. 

Returning  to  this  city,  he  continued  the  study  of  Nahuatl,  and  the  gen- 
era!  history  of  ancient  or  Astec  Meiico.  During  General  Grant's  nsit  to 
this  country  young  Hunt  met  the  great  American  soldier,  and  was  of  utility 
to  him.   One  of  Hunt*s  teachers  was  the  well-known  lawyer,  Don  Faustino 

Chemalpopoca,  of  Aztec  family,  who  had  been  court  interpreter  and  teacber 
to  the  Emperor  Maximilian.  On  the  death  of  this  gentleman  Mr.  Hunt 
succeeded  him  in  the  chair  of  Nahuatl  in  the  Pontifical  Universit)'  of 
Mexico.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  long  career  as  a  philologist  and 
archreologist.  In  1884  he  founded  at  Texcoco  an  academy  for  the  preser- 
vation and  teaching  of  the  ancient  Aztec  language,  the  school  standing 
on  the  site  of  the  palace  of  Nezahualcoyotl. 

At  first  the  native  children  and  school-teachers  at  Teicoco  were  mem- 
bers of  the  academy  or  school,  but  later  on  its  work  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  better  classes  and  intelligent  natives,  induding  members  of  the 
primitive  tribes,  all  familiar  with  the  language.  The  work  of  Mr.  Hunt  at 
this  period  commended  itself  to  learned  men  in  Mexico,  who  oflfered  to  co- 
operate with  him  in  his  enthusiastic  efforts  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the 
ancient  vernacular  of  the  race. 

It  was  in  1895  that  Mr,  Hunt  met  the  .Americanists  who  had  assembled 
in  a  congress  in  this  city.  He  addressed  them  on  the  subject  of  an  early 
translation  of  iEsop's  Fables  from  the  Greek  into  the  Nahuatl,  done  by  a 
friar  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  put  into  Spanish  by  Mr.  Hnnt^  who 
appended  a  grammatical  andysis.  This  work  is  now  being  turned  into 
English  and  Spanish  by  him,  and  when  completed  it  will  serve  as  a  means 
of  acquiring  the  Nahuatl  language. 

Wliile  teaching  Nahuatl  in  his  Tezoooo  academy  Mr.  Hunt  undertook, 
successfully,  to  adapt  the  language  to  modern  necessities.  Following 
Nahuatl  analogy,  he  had  the  pupils  learn  such  words  as  "  huecatlacuilotiztli,'* 
or  "  far-olT  writing,"  otherwise  "telegraph,"  while  telephone  was  rendered 
by  the  odd-looking  and  sounding  word  "  huecacaquitiliztli,"  or  "sound- 
from-afar-off."  Other  modern  words  of  daily  use  were  turned  into  Nahuatl. 
Several  of  the  pupils,  now  grown  up,  occupy  respectabtepOiitioiisUi  society 
as  merchants,  priests,  physicians,  teachers,  etc; 


Digitized  by  Google 


Notes  and  Queries, 


In  1899  Mr.  Htttit-Cortes'  investigatioDS  in  religious  matters  brought 
him  into  communion  trith  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  this  act  he  had  the 
support  and  cordial  encouragement  of  the  late  Archbishop  of  Mexico,  Mgr. 

Antonio  Labastida,  a  remarkable  prelate  of  much  influence  in  Mexican 
politics.  The  good  will  of  the  late  Pope  Leo  XIIL  was  at  this  time  mani- 
fested to  Mr.  Hunt,  who  was  baptized  in  the  ancient  church  of  Tacuba,  a 
notable  edifice  built  from  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  the  last  lord  of  Tlaco- 
pan,  and  of  the  temple  of  Huitzilco-OpochtlL  Mr.  iiunt-Cortes  decided 
to  enter  the  priesthood,  and  made  his  preparatory  studies  in  the  CoUege  of 
San  Luis,  Jacona,  state  of  Michoacan. 

His  fint  mass,  a  simple  low  mass,  iras  odebrated  in  fiie  Cathedral  of 
Mexico.  A  fint  mass  in  Mexico  is  generally  a  high  mass,  with  classical 
music  and  an  appropriate  sermon,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  sponsors  of 
the  new  priest.  But  Fr.  Hunt-Cortes  preferred  to  ascend  to  the  altar  of 
God  for  the  first  time  before  a  con^egation  of  his  Indian  friends,  who 
earnestly  desired  this  favor  of  him,  their  old  acquaintance  and  ardent  lover 
of  their  race  and  language.  His  first  high  mass  was  celebrated  in  Tlaltiza- 
pam,  stale  o£  Morelos,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  good  people  of  this  town 
was  such  that  on  ascending  to  the  high  altar  he  found  before  him  a  gold 
and  silver  chalice  and  a  large  gold  cmdfix  and  cruets,  wrought  by  the 
hands  of  the  faithful  Indians  from  metals  found  in  the  state  of  Guerrera 

Fr.  Hunt  remained  for  a  time  in  the  hot  country,  laboring  among  the 
Indian  people  with  the  seal  and  Christian  fervor  of  a  faithful  pastor  of 
souls.  He  had  taken  a  special  course  in  the  National  School  of  Medicine 
in  this  city,  and  so  was  able  to  minister  to  the  bodily  needs  of  his  flock. 
His  motto  was  after  the  manner  of  the  pious  missionaries  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  to  give  to,  rather  than  to  receive  from,  the  Indian. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  his  priesthood  he  was  given  charge  of  the  sanctuary 
of  Loretto,  in  this  city,  where  he  still  discharges  the  sacred  duties  of  tiie 
mimstry. 

In  this  dty  ever}'body  knows  of  F^.  Hunt's  labors  among  the  poor  work- 
ing boys,  newsboys,  pedleis,  etc.  He  founded  his  Working  Boys'  Home 
in  1896,  under  the  auspices  of  President  and  Mme.  Diaz,  who  have  con- 
tinued his  true  and  powerful  friends,  taking  great  interest  in  this  practical 
form  of  philanthropy.  In  this  school  Fr.  Hunt  trains  the  boys,  his  "future 
presidents,"  as  he  fondly  calls  them,  for  useful  careers.  He  has  had  not 
only  Mexican  lads,  but  Americans,  Spaniards,  French,  and  Cuban  pupils, 
and  even  a  young  Japanese,  who  was  brought  directly  from  Tokio  to  the 
home.  Ti:e  latter,  a  bright  little  lad  from  ancient  Nippon,  is  now  again  in 
Japan,  and  keeps  up  an  interesting  correspondence  wlUi  his  benefactor  in 
MezicOb 

Among  his  literaiy  avocations,  Fr.  Hunt  has  established  a  magazine 
called  the  "  Hunt-Cortes  Digest,"  treating  of  matters  relating  to  the  ancient 
histoxy  of  Mexico,  language,  races,  etc.   A  course  of  instruction  in  Aztec 
,  or  Nahuatl  is  given,  and  much  light  thrown  on  the  ancient  civilization  of 
Mexico,  which  Fr.  Hunt-Cortcs  calls  the  "  Egypt  o£  the  West." 

VOL.  XVm.  —  NO.  69b  12 


Digitized  by  Google 


166 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Thb  Dovghmut.  —  Mr.  Chsrles  Peabody  is  desirous  of  obtaining  the  in- 
lonnation  oudioed  in  the  following  ^uesHmnmrt 

I.  Have  you  in  your  family  any  special  traditiofM)  us^g^  or  recipes 
concerned  with 

doughnuts 

giogerouU 

crullers 

cnnopets 

junbles 

pancakes 

apees 

ol}'koeks 

coioldes 

pfetfds? 

a.  Can  you  suggest  any  additional  names  of  such  esculent  objects? 

3.  At  what  meal,  or  on  what  day,  season,  feast,  fast,  etc.,  were  particular 
cakes  or  doughnuts  eaten  with  you  ? 

4.  What  shapes  were  doughnuts,  etc.,  wont  to  assume  among  your  ac- 
quaintance 7 

5.  Did  any  of  the  dou^uts  and  cookieB  have  salt,  seeds,  or  other  sea- 

soning  sprinkled  on  top  ? 

6.  What  special  part  did  the  children  play  with  regard  to  cooking  or 
eating  tliese  things  "i 

Charla  Fcabody, 

197  Brattle  Street,  Cambridgb,  Mass. 

Answers  may  be  sent  to  the  Editor  of  this  Journal  or  direct  to  Mr.  Pea- 
body. 


LOCAL  MEETINGS  AND  OTHER  NOTICES 

Boston.  —  Thursday^  March  23.  The  regular  meeting  of  the  Boston 
Branch  was  held  at  8  p.  m.  at  Faelten  Hall,  Huntington  Chambers.  Froi 
F.  W.  Putnam  presided,  and  introduced  Mr.  George  H.  Pepper  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  Histoiy,  New  Ymk,  whose  subject  was  "The 
Navajo  Blanket,  its  Weaving,  its  Symbolism  and  its  Folk-Lore."  Mr.  Pep- 
per gave  a  graphic  account  of  the  various  steps  in  the  making  of  a  Navajo 
blanket,  as  he  had  witnessed  the  process  in  the  Southwest.  Each  step  was 
illustrated  by  fine  lantern  slides,  with  an  explanation  of  the  symbolism  of 
the  various  types.  To  illustrate  his  subject  still  further,  Mr.  Pepper  showed 
a  number  of  fine  blankets,  some  of  them  of  great  antiquity  and  value.  The 
address  drew  out  an  audience  of  members  and  friends  that  filled  the  hall. 
Great  interest  was  shown  in  the  subject  as  presented  by  Mr.  Pepper,  and 
many  lingered  after  the  address  to  get  answers  to  their  special  questions. 

I^usday^  May  9.  The  annual  meeting,  postponed  from  April,  was  held 
at  the  residence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  P.  Shreve,  1755  Besoon  Street  In 
the  absence  of  Prot  Putnam,  Mr.  W.  W.  Newell  presided,  and  after  the 
reports  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  accepted,  the  annual  reports  of 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bihliograpkufd  NoUs^ 


167 


tiie  Secretary  and  the  Treasurer  were  presented.  The  Secretary  reported 
a  prosperous  year,  with  a  larger  accession  of  new  members  than  in  any 
single  year  during  her  term  of  office,  with  only  one  death  and  two  resigna- 
tions from  the  branch.  Meetings  have  been  held  regularly,  and  have  been 
irell  attended. 

The  report  of  the  Tkeasiiier,  Eliot  W.  Remidc,  showed  an  unexpended 
balance  larger  than  otual  in  the  treasury. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year:  President  Pntf. 
F.  W,  Putnam ;  Vice-presidents,  W.  W.  Newell  and  W.  C.  Farrabee;  Trea- 
surer, Eliot  VV.  Remick ;  Secretary,  Helen  Leah  Reed ;  Council,  Mrs.  H. 
£.  Raymond,  Miss  Marie  Louise  £verett,  Miss  Cora  A.  Benneson,  Dr.  J. 
H.  Woods,  Langdon  Warner. 

After  the  business  meeting,  Langdon  Warner  of  Harvard  spoke  on  "The 
Nomad  Tribes  of  Central  Asia."  This  was  an  extremely  vivid  account  of 
Mr.  Warner's  own  experiences  last  year,  when  a  member  of  the  Carnegie 
expedition  under  Prof.  Pumpelly.  This  address  dealt  particniarly  with  a 
fide  of  his  own  from  Khiva  across  the  desert,  and  be  brought  before  his 
heaters,  not  only  these  nomads,  as  they  appear  and  as  they  live,  but  their 
modes  of  thought  as  well.  He  illustrated  the  latter  phase  of  his  subject  by 
a  number  of  bits  of  folk-lore,  as  "  He  who  offers  a  thirsty  man  water  in 
the  desert,  washes  away  the  sins  of  a  lifetime." 

Acting  Treasurer  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  —  To  fill 
the  vacancy  left  by  the  decease  of  Dr.  Hinton,  the  Council  has  appointed 
Mr.  Eliot  W.  Remick,  who  will  act  in  such  capad^.  Mr.  Remick's  address 
is  yoo  Marlbovough  Street^  Boston,  Mass. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 
BOOKS. 

Legends  of  the  Apple.  A  Paper  read  before  the  Cincinnati  Branch  of 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  October  19,  1904.  By  A.  G.  DRimr, 
A.  M^  M.  D.  Cincinnati,  1904.   Pp.  53. 

The  topics  treated  in  this  Utde  volume  include :  The  name  a/>pl€,  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  Adam's  apple,  Eve's  apple^ree,  forbidden  fruity 
the  apple  of  his  eye,  apples  of  Sodom,  Atalanta's  race,  the  apple  of  discord, 
the  apples  of  the  Hesperides,  the  court  of  Aldnous,  king  of  the  Phcadans, 

William  Tell  and  the  apple,  English  lore  about  the  apple,  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
and  the  apple,  the  apple-dumpling  and  the  king  (George  III  ),  Shakespeare's 
references  to  the  apple,  Grimms'  Fairy  Tales,  Prince  Ahmed  and  the  fairy 
Pcri-Banu,  the  apple  in  European  folk-lore,  custard-apple,  seedless  apples, 
"  great  apple  dumpling  "  (N.  Carolina),  coreless  apples,  the  apple-tree  at 
Appomattox,  etc.  The  apple  has  figured  largely  in  folk-lore,  espyecially  in 
that  of  the  Western  European  peoples,  and  Dr.  Dniry  has  gathered  together 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


i68 


youmal  of  Amtrkan  Folk-Lon, 


many  interesting  facts,  legends,  and  proverbial  expressions.  The  wide- 
spread belief  tiiat  tiie  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  mentioned  in  Genesis 
was  the  apple  is  tlioi^t  to  be  due  to  a  passage  in  the  Song  of  Solomon 
(viiL  s) :  **  I  raised  thee  up  under  the  appU  tree:  there  thy  mother  brought 
thee  forth."  The  Hebrew  word  Uifpmoh^  used  in  Genesis*  means  **  the 
sweet-scented."  The  folk-lore  of  '*  the  forbidden  fruit "  is  quite  extensive. 
One  of  the  "  origins  "  of  the  expression  "  in  appU-pU  order  "  is  given  on 
page  48.  Also  "apple-tum-over,"  as  applied  to  a  bed  made  in  a  certain 
way. 

Macbdoztiak  Folk-Lorb.  By  G.  F.  AraoTT,  R  A.  Cambridge:  Umver- 
sity  Press,  1903.  Pp.  xi,  372.  (Contains  results  of  author's  studies  in 
the  Greek-speaking  parts  of  Macedonia,  1900-1901.) 

The  subjects  treated  are :  The  folk-lorist  in  Macedonia,  the  folk-calendar 
and  the  seasons,  winter-festivities,  divination  symbolism,  birth,  marriage^ 
funeral  rites,  spirits  and  spells,  Macedonian  mythology,  Alexander  and 

Philip  in  folk-tradition,  bird  legends,  miscellaneous,  riddles,  ActavorpayouSo. 
In  spite  of  the  inroads  of  modern  "civilization,"  Macedonia  is  still  a  good 
field  for  the  folk-lorist.  There  **  the  old  Klephtic  ballads  are  still  sung,  not 
only  on  the  mountains,  but  in  the  fields  and  plains,  and  in  all  places  where 
the  ear  of  the  police  cannot  reach."  Few  remnants  of  the  once  so  [)opular 
blind  minstrels  are  left, — these  have  died  a  twin  death  from  civilization 
and  from  barbarism.  The  cottage  fireside  is  the  hope  of  the  folk-lorist  here 
as  elsewhere.  The  enthusiasm  for  science  of  Kyr  liatsos,  the  tailor  of 
Melenlk,  was  such  that  Mr.  Abbot  zeckons  him  worth  at  least  a  dosen 
ordinary  old  dames  rolled  into  one."  His  characteristic  abandonment  of 
business  and  denunciation  of  the  Turk  are  well  expressed  on  page  5.  The 
meanings  and  popular  names  of  the  Macedonian-Gieekmonth>names  (often 
purely  folk-etymological)  are,  beginning  with  January  :  "  Breeder,"  '*  Vein- 
sweller,"  "Flayer,"  "  St.  George's  Month,"  "  Harvester"  (June),  "Thresher," 
"Vintage  Month"  (September),  "St.  Demetrius'  Month,"  "Sower,"  "St 
Nicholas'  Month."  November  and  December  together  are  called  "Twins." 
The  Macedonian  Yule-tide  celebrations  in  their  entirety  are  described  as 
"  solemn  scenes,"  rather  than  **  merry  scenes."  In  Macedonia  coffee  instead 
of  tea  is  used  for  "cup  divination."  The  shepherds  of  western  Macedonia 
practice  omoplatoscopy.  There  are  three  different  ways  of  interpreting 
sneeziog.  No  traces  of  "  seers  of  the  Scottish  Highland  type  "  were  met 
with,  but  "  prophets  "  exist.  Symbolic  and  sympathetic  magic  {e.  g.  rain- 
making)  flourishes.  Interesting  is  the  modification  of  classic  tradition, 
especially  in  funeral  rites  and  customs  through  Slav  influence.  On  page 
225  we  are  informed  that  "the  Mohammedan  ministers  and  monks  enjoy 
a  far  higher  reputation  as  wielders  of  magical  powers  than  their  Christian 
confreres.  Likewise  the  most  famous  fortune-tellers  of  either  sex  belong  to 
the  Mohammedan  persuasion."  Part  of  this,  the  author  remarks,  "  may 
arise  from  the  universal  tendency  to  credit  an  intellectually  inferior  race 
with  greater  pro6ciency  in  the  black  arts."  The  old  Gypsy  women,  etc, 
are,  however,  formidable  competitors  of  the  dervishes.  The  Macedonian 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes. 


169 


Srotx<ia  are  cousins  of  the  Russian  domovoi  and  related  to  the  Teutonic 
brownie  and  the  Celtic  ^laistig.  To  Alexander  and  Philip  the  Macedonian 
peasant  attributes  "  everything  that  savors  of  antiquity."  The  game  of 
The  Meeting  o£  Three  Roads  "  is  identical  with  the  English  "  Nine  Men's 
Morris."  Riddles  (Mr.  Abbot  cites  half  a  hundred)  are  very  popular  in 
Macedonia,  and  *'the  Macedonian  farmer,  like  the  French  wit  of  a  certain 
dasSf  delights  in  dmUt^niaubre,**  Mr.  Abl>ot  has  written  both  an  interesting 
and  a  valuable  book,  filled  with  facts  for  the  student  of  comparative  folk- 
lore. 

Griechische  Fruhlingstage.  Von  Edward  Excel.  Zweite,  neubear- 
beitete  Auflage,  mit  21  Bildern  nach  der  Natur.  Jena:  Hermann  Cos- 
tenoble,  1904.    Pp.  376. 

This  pleasant  book  of  travel  contains  much  of  interest  to  the  antlirupolo- 
gist  and  the  student  of  folk-lore,  —  especially  in  the  comparison  of  ilic  old 
and  the  new  in  thought,  word,  and  deed  in  Hellas.  The  author  has  not  done 
as  some  travellers  have,  passed  judgment  on  all  the  Greeks  from  his  short 
experience  with  boatmen,  —  even  those  of  Corfu  are  not  so  black  after  all. 
Food-adulteration  is  an  art  in  which  the  modern  Greeks  are  still  complete 
barbarians  and  will  have  to  learn  everything  from  the  "  Europeans,"  as  they 
call  all  other  non-Greeks  of  the  continent.  In  Ithaca  the  author  learned 
(contrary  to  some  travellers'  tales)  that  not  all  the  children  had  Ulyssean 
names,  and  some  of  them  had  never  heard  of  the  Homeric  hero,  except  to 
be  able  to  point  out  his  Kastron.  In  Pyrgos,  the  capital  of  Elis,  one  meets 
with  pretzels,  for  which  the  Greek  term  seems  to  be  kuluria.  Interesting 
are  the  Trag&dia  Klcftika^  songs  of  the  Klephts.  So  too  such  proverbs  as 
"  One  hand  washes  the  other,  and  both  wash  the  face ; "  and  the  nannaHsma 
(cradle-song)  on  page  124.  The  old  Greek  Moira  are  remembered  in  the 
offering  or  putting  away  of  food  and  drink  for  the  three  Mires."  In  the 
village-name  Ajannu  one  has  to  recognize  Agios  yoamis  (St.  John).  On 
page  159  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  term  "  Je  suis  gree  en  jeu  "  (where  grcc 
—  sharper)  arose  in  Paris  at  the  time  of  die  Mississippi  fraud.  Before  that 
^w(as  in  the  Academy's  Dictionary  of  1694)  meant  simply  "clever."  The 
modern  Messenian  calls  the  "  powers  "  of  Europe  d  duidmis.  The  Lord's 
Prayer  in  folk-Greek,  not  the  church-tongue,  is  given  on  page  217.  The 
folk-idea  of  the  Graeco-Turkish  war  is  shown  at  pages  217-218;  also  the 
popular  conception  of  King  Otto.  The  Argos  Easter*danoes  are  described 
on  pages  240-343.  Fh>m  his  guides  MichaS,  the  author  was  able  to  get 
**  a  better  word  than  oA^,  for  *  horse '  — viz.  ^pos**  But  the  idea  of  its 
survival  from  old  Greek  days  was  demolished,  when  Michall  told  him  that  a 
German  traveller  some  time  before  had  told  him  to  say  ippos  and  not  alogpn^ 
or  sohn.  In  spite  of  a  German  philologian's  disgust  at  a  people  who  would 
construe  <7/^  with  the  accusative,  —  they  have  fallen  so  low  !  from  the  geni- 
tive down,  —  the  author  hopes  for  them  a  happy  future,  citing  the  words 
of  a  Greek  friend :  "  After  all  we  are  much  better  than  the  ancient  Hel- 
lenes." When  a  Greek  curses  he  wishes  his  enemy  to  be  buried  in  foreign 
soil ;  when  two  Greeks  meet  in  a  strange  land,  their  greeting  is  Kaiin 
pairida  /   Happy  Fatherland  I " 


Digitize<l  by  Google 


youmai  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Les  MfEURS  DES  IndoChinois  d'apr^s  leurs  cultes,  leurs  lois,  leur  litt^ra- 
ture  et  leur  theatre.  Par  Ch.  Lemire,  Resident  honoraire  de  France. 
Paris,  1902,    Pp.  28.    Maps  and  figs. 

This  little  book  contains  interesting  data  concerning  the  mental  charac- 
ters and  achievements  of  the  various  races  and  peoples  of  Indo<^hina,  — 
Annamese,  Kiams,  Thais,  Khmers,  Siamese,  etc.  The  Annamese  have 
Confucian  morals,  tocestor-fronhip,  laws  and  literature,  all  more  or  less 
Chinese^  —  also  a  sort  of  bastard  Buddhism.  In  Cambodia,  Buddhism  suc- 
ceeded Brahmanism,  with  which  it  mingled.  Just  as  Annamese  cultufe  has 
been  so  greatly  influenced  by  China,  so  has  Siamese  and  Thai  by  India. 
The  Chinese  drama  uses  only  as  springs  of  human  actions  natural  morals, 
reason,  ancestor-worship,  —  divinity,  although  dominating  humanity,  ap- 
pears only  vaguely  and  unpersonified.  With  the  Khmers  (Thai)  events  are 
subordinated  to  personal  merits  and  demerits,  and  the  characters  are  in 
mental  and  supernatural  relations  with  the  divinities.  The  Annamites,  a 
realistic  people,  indifferent  to  beauty,  form,  ideal,  woman,  do  not  practice  the 
dance.  Witii  the  Cambodians  it  accompanies  all  plays  and  festivals.  Said 
Prince  Yukanthor :  The  Cambodian  dance  they  showed  us  at  Paris  in  1900 
resembles  the  Khmer  dance  as  the  civilization  introduced  into  Cambodia 
by  the  French  resembles  the  ancient  civilization  of  the  Khmers  I " 

Some  Cambodian  proverbs  may  be  reproduced  here 

1.  Do  not  try  to  go  up  stream. 

2.  The  l.iw,  beside  our  passions,  is  like  a  flower  on  the  head  of  a  bald  man. 

3.  Do  noi  be  morose.  One  can  live  in  a  narrow  room,  but  one  cannot  live  with  a 
griefstricken  heart, 

4.  Fortooe  is  not  equal  to  knowledge. 

5.  Battle  is  pamfuL  If  the  army  gpes  away,  be  sad.  If  it  stays  near,  be  happy. 

The  Siamese  tale  of  "The  Walking  Skull "  is  directed  at  drunkenness. 
Being  brief,  it  may  be  given  here :  **  Two  drunkards  were  friends.  One  of 
them  died.  Some  time  after  the  cremation  of  his  comrade  the  survivor  went 
to  the  cemetery.  Perceiving  the  half-carbonized  skull  of  his  friend,  he  be- 
gan to  lament,  and,  addressing  the  dead  man,  he  invited  him,  as  a  sort  of 
adieu,  to  come  to  drink  a  cup  with  him  as  of  old.  He  then  left.  The  skull 
at  once  rolled  after  him  along  the  road.  The  drunkard,  hearing  behind  him- 
something  like  the  noise  of  a  cracked  cocoanut,  turned  round  and  saw,  to 
his  great  surprise,  the  dead  man's  skull  moving  towards  him  as  if  by  means 
of  a  spring.  Brave  and  gay  companion,  he  was  not  afraid.  *-My  friend,' 
he  said  to  himself  '  is  thirsty.  He  is  coming  to  diink  some  brandy  with  me 
at  the  inn  where  we  have  passed  so  many  happy  moments.'  ^ 

This  is  a  good  escample  of  the  short  Siamese  tales. 

Tiele's  Kompendium  der  Religionsgeschichte  iibersetzt  von  Lie.  Dr. 
F.  VV.  T.  Weber.  Dritte  deutsche  Auflage  durchgesehen  und  umgearbeitet 
von  D.  Nathan  Sodsrblom,  Professor  an  derUniversitat  Upsala.  Bies- 
lau:  Verlag  von  Theophil  Biller,  1903.    Pp.  xii,  426. 

The  very  brief  space  devoted  to  the  religions  of  primitive  America  in  this 
Compendium,  four  or  five  pages  only,  deserves  eztemnon  in  view  of  tiie 


Digitized  by  Coogle 


Bibliographical  Notes.  171 

recent  studies  of  Boas»  Matthews,  Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Dorsey,  Fewkes, 
Mooney,  Hewitt,  etc.  None  of  these  investigators  are  included  in  the 
list  of  references,  reliance  being  placed  on  Rdville.  Totemism  and  animal^ 
cult  are  distinguished.    Totemism  is  often  social  rather  than  religious. 

The  "  sun-worship  theocracy  "  (p.  28)  of  the  Natchez  is  given  too  much 
importance,  perhaps.  The  deities  of  the  civilized  peoples  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  often  "  hovered  between  spirits  and  gods,"  as  the  names  given  Uiem 
sometimes  indicate. 

WiB  DENKT  DAS  VoLK  i^BER  DIE  SPEACHE?  Plsudeteiea  fiber  die  Eige- 

nart  der  Ausdrucks-  und  Anschauungsweise  desVolkes  von  Professor  Dr. 
Friedrich  Falls.  Dritte,  verbesserte  Auflage  von  Professor  Dr.  Oskar 
Weise,    Leipzig  &  Berlin  :  B.  G.  Teubner,  1904,  pp.  v,  112. 

The  first  edition  of  this  really  interesting  and  useful  little  book  appeared 
in  1889.  A  glance  at  the  section  titles  and  the  index  fpp.  127-153,  2 
cols,  to  the  page  in  the  old}  shows  that  Dr.  Weise,  who  edited  it  after  the 
death  of  the  author,  has  made  a  good  many  changes,  both  of  addition  and 
of  omission.  The  topics  treated  are  :  Folk  and  language,  relation  of  sound 
and  idea,  choice  and  significance  of  names,  history  and  use  of  personal 
names,  number  in  Hie  moutb  o£  the  folk,  vanished  speedhcoosciousness, 
culture-historical  deposits  in  language,  deamess  of  folk-speech,  vocabulary 
o£  dialect,  vivacity  of  presentation,  convenience^  liberties  of  folk-speecb. 
On  page  15  attention  is  called  to  tbe  references  to  peculiarities  of  bodily 
oigans,  etc.,  in  Latin  names:  Flaocus  ("flabby"),  Brutus  ("heavy"),  Len- 
tulus  ("slow"),  Balbus  ("stammerer"),  Lurco  ("glutton"),  Naso  ("big 
nose"),  Nasica  ("sharp-nose"),  Labeo  ("thick  lips"),  Capito  ("block- 
head"), Calvus  ("bald").  Varus  ("crooked  leg"),  etc.  At  another  ex- 
treme was  the  German  patriots,  who  named  their  daughters  GneiscnattetU 
and  Blikherin.  "  Fanny,"  as  a  diminutive  of  Franziska,  obtained  currency 
in  Germany  from  the  name  of  the  heroine  of  Fielding's  novel  published  in 
1742.  To  literary  influences  are  due  also  the  run  of  Edgar  and  Edmund 
(King  Lear)^  Richard  (Scott's  Ivanhoe  and  Talisman),  Flora  (Scott's 
WaverleyX  etc.  In  centnd  Germany  the  military  records  reveal  a  peasant's 
son  widt  the  name  of  Florian  SUphan  TtrtulUani!  The  governmental  re> 
naming  of  the  Jews  produced  many  such  appellations  as  LSwmtaJ^  Veilchm- 
feld,  etc.  Among  interesting  number  terms  and  phrases  may  be  cited  the 
following:  A  «/>i^-skin  man  (Leipzig  =  "a  sly  fellow"),  «/«^'-wise  (Low 
German  =  "very  wise"),  snf€n  league  boots,  a  face  like  three  {ox  snen) 
days  of  rainy  weather,  take  your  smtn  baked  pears,  and  go,  the  food  is 
already  wanned  fifteen  times,  he  has  only  three  senses,  he  can't  count  up  to 
^ne^  he  b  /lf«r  cheeses  high,  etc.  The  eipressions  "eine  alte  Jungfer,  ein 
salbemes  Hnfreisen,  die  Stadt  Diisseldorf ,  Messinghorn,  ein  vier  blattriges 
Kleeblatt,"  etc.,  represent  curious  appositions  to  which  the  ear  has  become 
accustomed.  Innumerable  are  such  turns  of  folk-speech  as  "to  be  all  ear," 
**  to  run  one*s  legs  off,"  "to  be  nothing  but  skin  and  bone,"  "to  be  beside 
one's  self "  (pp.  69-73). 

The  richness  of  dialects  in  names  fox  animals,  synonyms,  onomatopceic 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


172 


Journal  of  Atmrican  Folk-Lore, 


tennsi  enpbemisms,  etc^  is  noted.  H.  Schrader  coUected  over  500  similes 

and  idioms  for  drinking.  Among  the  "  liberties  "  taken  by  folk-speech  may 
be  mentioned  the  Tyrolean  4tte  Mensehm^  and  the  du  Dmgm  ol  several 

dialects. 

Although  the  author  naturally  confines  himself  verj'  much  to  German 
words  and  phrases,  the  English  student  of  folk-speech  and  folk-etymology 
will  read  this  book  to  great  advantage. 

SoaoLOGiCAL  Papers,  by  Francis  Galton,  K  Wbstbrmarck,  P.  Geddes^ 

E.  DuRKHEiM,  Harold  H.  Mann,  and  V.  V.  Branford,  with  an  Intro- 
ductory Address  by  James  Bryce,  President  of  the  Society.  Published 
for  the  Sociological  Society,  London:  Macmillan  &  Ca,  1904.  Pp. 
xviii,  292. 

This  volume  consists  chiefly  of  the  papers  read  during  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1904  before  the  newly  formed  Sociological  Society,  at  its  first 
session.  The  names  of  the  authors  guarantee  good  contents.  The  article 
of  most  interest  to  the  folk-lorist  is  Professor  Westermarck's  **  On  the  Posi- 
tion of  Woman  in  Early  Civilization"  (pp.  145-160).  The  other  topics 
treated  are  the  origin  and  use  of  the  word  sadology,  eugenics  (its  scope 
and  aim),  civics  (as  applied  sociology),  life  in  an  agricultural  inllage  in 
England,  the  reUtion  of  sociology  to  the  social  sciences  and  to  philosophy, 
sociology  and  the  social  sciences.  To  most  of  the  papers  are  appended 
discussions  and  written  communications  by  other  sodoloi^ts.  Dr.  Wes- 
termarck  cites  evidence  to  show  "  how  little  we  know  at  present  about  the 
real  causes  on  which  the  position  of  woman  in  the  various  human  societies 
depends,"  and  how  incorrect,  in  so  far  as  the  earlier  stages  of  culture  are 
concerned,  is  the  dictum  that  "  a  people's  civilization  may  be  measured  by 
the  position  held  by  its  women."  For  "  even  where  the  position  of  the 
female  sex,  from  a  legal,  religious,  and  social  point,  is  disgracefully  low,  the 
women,  in  spite  of  their  physical  weakness,  are  not  quite  unable  to  influence 
the  men,  and  even  to  make  their  husbands  tremble."  The  common  invest- 
ing of  women  with  a  certain  mystery  has  often  led  to  man's  fear  o^  or  re- 
spect for,  their  magic  powers.  Economic  conditions  also  vary  the  position 
of  woman  among  uncivilised  races.  The  husband's  "  rights  "  are  often  not 
so  absolute  as  many  have  supposed.  Custom  must  be  distinguished  from 
mere  tyranny. 

A,  F,  a 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORR 

Vol.  XVIII.— JULY-SEPTEMBER,  1905.— No.  LXX. 


MEXICAN  HUMAN  SACRIFICE. 

Ceremonial  slaughter  of  human  beings  has  been  practised  in  the 
world  widely  and  for  various  -  reasons.  Where  the  belief  exists  that 
earthly  social  grades  and  relations  are  continued  in  the  other  world, 
it  is  natural  to  dispatch  wives  and  slaves  to  minister  to  a  dead  man 
in  his  new  life.  In  this  case  the  slaying  is  merely  an  eaipression  of 
respect  and  kindness  to  the  deceased — simple  social  etiquette ;  the 
victim  fulfils  the  duty  of  his  or  her  station,  and  no  religious  senti* 
ment  is  involved.  The  same  thing  is  true  when  a  captive  or  other 
person  is  killed  and  eaten  merely  for  food  or  to  acquire  his  qualities 
(courage,  wisdom,  and  the  like);  the  procedure  in  such  cases  is 
physically  or  psychically  economic.  If  a  man  is  killed  in  order  that 
his  ghost  may  harass  an  enemy,  this  again  is  a  social  secular  act,  not 
religtous.  If  the  object  of  the  slaughter  is  to  secure  a  skull  as  a 
powerful  supernatural  things  guardian  or  oracular,  we  have  a  re* 
ligious  ceremony,  a  wise  provision  for  the  ministiant's  welfare.  He 
takes  a  skull  as  he  would  take  a  magic  stone  or  the  claw  of  a  magic 
animal ;  but  to  get  the  akuU  its  owner  must  be  killed. 

A  different  element  enters  when  human  blood  or  the  offering  of 
human  life  is  required  to  insure  fertility  of  soil  or  of  animals,  or 
stability  of  houses  or  bridges.  In  some  cases  the  ritual  conception 
in  this  ceremony  appears  to  be  the  rendition  of  the  magical  power 
residing  in  blood  considered  as  the  seat  of  life.  The  motive  is 
economic,  and  the  procedure  is  scientific  in  so  far  as  the  Wood  is 
employed  as  a  fertilizer  ;  but  as  its  fertilizing  power  depends  not  on 
its  chemical  ingredients,  but  on  its  superhuman  qualities,  the  pro- 
cedure assumes  the  form  of  magic  ritual,  possibly  with  a  religious 
tinge.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  or  impossible  to  say  whether  such 
use  of  blood  involves  the  conception  of  a  distinctly  supernatural 
force.  In  the  central  Australian  economic  (food-producing)  cere- 
monies, for  example,  there  is,  according  to  the  statements  of  Messrs. 
Spencer  and  Gillen,^  nothing  but  the  bare  process  ;  it  appears  to  be 
^  Th4  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia, 


Digiiizeo  by  Googlc 


174 


youmal  of  American  Foih'L&n* 


a  sort  of  imitative  magic.  But  it  is  possible  that  the  blood  employed 
is  supposed  to  be  acceptable  and  seductive  to  the  controlling  spirits 
of  the  various  classes  of  animals. 

In  this  latter  case  the  ceremony  involves  the  placation  of  a  super- 
natural being  by  the  offer  of  food.  The  food  placed  by  the  grave  of 
a  dead  man  was  partly  a  tribute  of  respect,  the  fulfilment  of  a  pious 
.  duty ;  in  part,  also,  it  was,  doubtless,  a  gift  designed  to  procure  the 
good  offices  of  the  deceased.  In  a  relatively  late  stage  blood  was  a 
common  offering  to  ghosts,  as  in  the  Athenian  Anthesteria,  and  this 
was  a  true  sacrifice.  When  ghosts  grew  into  deities,  the  ceremonial 
offering  of  blood  became  an  elaborate  rite;  and  the  custom  might 
easily  be  carried  over  from  ghosts  or  infernal  deities  to  high  gods. 
The  blood  offered  might  be  non-human  or  human. 

An  obscure  religious  sentiment  is- to  be  recognized  sometimes^ 
also^  in  those  cases,  if  any  such  exist,  in  which  the  sins  or  evils  of  a 
community  are  held  to  be  massed  in  the  person  of  a  human  being 
who  is  then  slain,  and  thus  the  evils  are  got  rii  oi^  The  victim.  In 
such  a  ceremony,  is  not  a  substitute  lor  other  human  beings,  nor  Is 
he  an  offering  to  a  deity ;  he  represents  the  idea  that  evil  Is  a  physi- 
cal thing  that  may  be  thrust  forth  like  a  mass  of  wood  or  earth. 
The  killing  is  ceremonial,  communal,  and  apotropaic  (that  Is,  ulti- 
mately economic).  In  the  crudest  forms  of  the  procedure  there 
seems  to  be  no  religious  Idea ;  in  the  higher  forms  it  is  brought  Into 
connection  with  supernatural  beings. 

Ceremonial  slaughter  of  human  beings  originates  in  a  time  of 
savagery  when  human  life  is  little  considered  in  itself.  In  many 
cases  the  victims  are  preferably  children,  perhaps  because  children 
are  regarded  as  socially  of  less  importance  than  adults.  The  practice 
survived  in  some  ancient  civilized  nations,  notably  among  the  Semites 
(Carthaginians,  Hebrews,  and  others) ;  but  in  these  cases  it  was  coii> 
nected  with  more  advanced  religious  ideas. 

The  Mexican  religious  cult,  in  which  human  sacrifice  fig;ured 
larE^cly,  was  relatively  well  developed,  having  a  great  apparatus  of 
temples  and  priests,  with  elaborate  ceremonies.  Some  of  the  sacri- 
ficial details  are  found  in  other  cults  ;  the  act  of  slaughter  is  com- 
mon to  all  animal  sacrifices,  and  the  barbarous  mode  of  killing  is  a 
feature  of  social  culture  and  is  not  in  itself  religiously  important. 
There  is,  however,  one  detail  of  the  cult  (occurring  in  certain  sacri- 
fices) that  is  not  found  in  the  Carthaginian  and  other  ancient  cere- 
monies of  human  sacrifice :  it  is  the  reverent  care  that  in  certain 
cases  was  lavished  on  the  victim  for  some  time  before  he  or  she  was 
put  to  de^th.    The  facts  are  familiar  and  need  not  be  repeated  here 

*  Some  f:\cts  benrinc:  on  this  point  are  collcctecl  by  Frazer  in  his  Golden  Boui^h, 
ii,  and  Miss  Harrison  in  her  ProUgom.  to  iiu  Study  of  tht  Gruk  Religion^  ch.  iii. 


Digitized  by  (if  OOgle 


Mexican  Human  Sacrifice, 


175 


at  length.^  The  mam  points  are  these :  the  victim  was  identified 
with  the  god  to  whom  he  was  to  be  sacrificed ;  he  received  the  dress 
and  the  name  of  the  god,  was  luxuriously  housed,  and  when  be  went 
forth  was  worshipped  and  prayed  to  as  divine ;  after  be  was  slain, 
his  heart  was  offmd  to  a  god,  his  head  was  preserved  as  a  sacred 
object,  and  (according  to  Herrera)  his  heart  was  eaten.  It  is  obvious 
that  this  procedure  differs  from  those  described  above.  Its  object  is 
not  to  provide  an  attendant  for  a  deceased  chief  or  to  secure  good 
.  crops,  nor  merely  to  gain  a  head.  Nor  is  Mr.  Frazer's  explanation 
satisfactory,  namely,  that  the  divine  man  must  be  slain  that  he  may 
not  incur  the  weaknesses  of  old  age.'  There  is  no  suggestion  of 
such  an  idea  in  the  Mexican  system.  The  identification  of  the  vic- 
tim with  the  god  is  naturally  explicable  as  a  development  from  the 
early  rite  in  which  the  victim  is  regarded  as  divine  by  nature  (as  in 
the  examples  given  below).  Since  the  victim  was  a  god  and  the 
continued  presence  of  the  god  was  desirable,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see 
how  the  custom  arose  of  clothing  the  ministrant  in  the  skin  of  the 
slain  animal  or  man.  Such  a  mode  of  personation  is  frequent  in 
very  early  ceremonies,  as  in  Australia  and  North  America  ;  a  striking 
Greek  instance  is  given  by  W.  R.  Smith,*  though  here  later  ideas 
also  appear.  The  examples  collected  by  Mr.  Frazer  of  the  slaying 
of  divine  kings  and  of  their  temporary  abdication,  while  very  inter- 
esting in  themselves,  do  not  appear  to  be  connected  with  the  placa- 
tion  of  gods,  and  therefore  have  no  bearing  on  the  question  of 
Mexican  human  sacrifice.  So  far  as  the  mere  act  of  slaughter  is 
concerned,  in  this  and  every  other  animal  sacrifice,  it  might  be 
explained  as  necessary  in  order  that  blood  or  flesh  might  be  offered 
to  the  deity,  as,  in  fact,  in  Mexico  the  heart  of  the  victim  was  so 
offered.  But,  as  is  remarked  above,  there  are  other  details  in  the 
Mexican  ceremony  that  demand  explanation. 

For  the  dudibtion  of  the  central  fact  of  this  ceremony — the 
religious  reverence  paid  the  victim  before  his  desth  —  we  naturally 
seek  similar  customs  in  other  nations.  Exact  and  instructive  paral- 
lels, however,  it  is  difficult  to  find — ceremonies,  that  is,  in  which  a 
human  victim  is  petted  before  being  slain,  and  in  which  an  explana- 
tion of  the  whole  procedure  is  suggested.^  Failing  this,  we  must  look 
for  parallels  in  which  the  victim  is  a  beast,  and  the  procedure  simpler. 

*  They  are  given  in  Acosta's  Historia  de  las  Indias,  bk.  v.  clis.  10,  21 ;  Saha- 
gun's  Histoire  dis  chases  d^  la  NouvclU  Espagne  (Fr.  trans.),  bk.  ii,  ch.  5 ;  Her- 
leia'a  Historia  di  tax  Indiat  Oeidmtaies,  1 1 1,  ii,  caps.  16, 1 7. 

'  Gaidtrt  Bougfiy  ch.  iii. 

*  Religion  of  the  Semites,  Additional  Note  G. 

*  A  somewhat  similar  procedure  is  described,  from  Le  Afercier,  in  Parkman's 
Jesuits  in  North  America^  p.  80.  For  India,  sec  Weber,  Jndische  Streifen^  i,  65, 
and  Hopkins,  Relig.  of  Indian  p.  196. 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


176 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


Such  ceremonies,  more  nearly  primitive  may  suggest  the  desired 

explanation. 

Certain  of  the  features  of  the  Mexican  ritual  appear  in  the  bear 
festival  of  the  Ainu.^  The  bear  cub  is  carefully  nurtured  (sometimes 
suckled  hy  the  women)  till  he  is  of  the  proper  age,  and  is  then 
brought  out,  worried,  and  killed  —  slain,  like  the  Mexican  victim,  in 
a  savagely  cruel  manner.  He  is  regarded  as  a  god  both  before  and 
after  death.  The  invitation  to  the  feast  (which  is  prepared  by  the 
possessor  of  the  cub)  announces  that  the  little  divinity  of  the  moun- 
tain is  to  be  '*  sent  away  "  —  he  is  a  messenger.*  The  address  to  the 
animal,  before  it  is  killed,  asks  pardon  for  what  is  to  be  done,  assures 
him  that  great  honor  is  thus  paid  him,  and  that  abundance  of  food 
and  drink  will  be  sent  along  with  him,  and  begs  him  to  speak  well 
of  the  people  when  he  reaches  his  parents  and  other  divine  friends 
in  the  other  world.  Similar  petitions  are  addressed  to  him  after 
he  is  killed ;  his  head  is  cut  off  and  preserved  as  a  sacred  object ; 
a  potage  of  the  flesh  is  partaken  of  by  all  persons  present ;  his 
own  flesh  is  set  before  the  head  as  food  and  worship  is  offered  it. 
He  is  prayed  to  return,  that  he  may  again  be  hunted  and  "sent 
away."  The  belief  that  a  slain  animal  reports  to  his  fellows  the 
manner  of  his  treatment  by  men,  and  thus  procures  or  prevents  a 
plentiful  supply  of  game,  is  widespread  among  the  North  American 
tribes  ;  and  in  the  California  buzzard  festival  *  the  killing  of  the  bird 
seems  to  be  connected  with  the  desire  for  an  abundant  supply  of  the 
species,  though  there  is  no  suggestion  of  how  this  result  is  to  be 
brought  about  The  Ainu  ritual  appears  to  give  a  definite  reason 
for  the  killing  of  the  animal :  it  is  sent  as  a  messenger  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  other  world,  not  merely  to  procure  a  supply  of  game, 
but  also  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  Powers  in  the  beyond.  A 
respectful  message,  sent  by  a  proper  person,  is  in  £aict  a  natural 
way  of  gaining  the  favor  of  the  powerful 

The  character  of  emissary  comes  out  plainly  in  the  Borneo  pig 
ceremonies  described  by  Mr  Haddon.^  When  the  object  is  divina* 
tion  by  means  of  the  pig's  liver,  the  animal  is  asked  to  convey  a 
message  to  the  god;  .and  as  it  is  important  that  the  message  be  car* 
ried  correctly,  the  attention  of  the  victim  is  secured,  during  the 
utterance  of  the  address  to  the  deity,  by  holdhtg  and  proddmg  it 
On  the  occasion  of  naming  a  child,  when  it  is  desired  to  know  the 

« 

*  I  follow  the  description  ia  John  Batcheloi's  The  Aiim  m»4 their  Fotkhn^^ 

42. 

'  According  to  Mr.  Batcbelor  the  Ainu  term  corresponding  to  our  ^'sacri&ce" 
means  to  "  send  away." 

*  See  Fruer,  GcUtn  Bamf^ 

*  A.  C.  H  addon,  Htad'HumUrSt  pp.  33^  353  fL 


Digiiizeo  by  Ut)OgIe 


Mexican  Human  Sacrifice* 


177 


will  of  the  appropriate  god,  the  latter  is  not  addressed  directly,  but 
the  pig  is  the  intermediator  between  him  and  the  suppliant.  The 
feeling  seems  to  be  that  the  god  is  too  great  a  personage  to  be  ap- 
proached directly  by  men.  The  pig,  the  familiar  friend  of  man,  yet 
by  its  nature  akin  to  the  gods,  is  a  natural  go-between.  The  death 
of  the  animal  is  necessary,  since  only  by  this  means  can  its  soul  go 
to  the  world  of  the  gods,  where  it  is  conceived  of  as  mingling  on 
terms  of  equality  with  the  divine  inhabitants.  The  report  of  this 
ceremony  says  nothing  of  a  hope  for  the  return  of  the  pig  to  earth, 
and  very  little  of  a  friendly  or  caressing  treatment  of  it  before  it  is 
slain  ;  the  main  point  is  its  function  as  messenger,  a  function  that 
supposes  the  existence  of  well-developed  high  gods. 

The  Ainu  and  Borneo  ceremonies  offer  parallels  to  the  two  main 
points  in  the  Mexican  ritual,  —  the  reverent  treatment  of  the  divine 
victim  and  its  slaughter  (and  the  tearing  out  of  the  man's  heart 
in  Mexico  may  be  compared  with  the  extraction  of  the  pig's  liver  in 
Borneo).  That  the  victim  is  carefully  and  honorably  tended,  we 
may  suppose,  is  the  expression  partly  of  respect  for  its  divine  charac- 
ter, partly  of  desire  to  gain  its  good  will  and  secure  its  good  offices  in 
the  other  world.  Thus  nurtured  and  petted,  it  may  be  expected  to 
go  its  way  cheerfully  with  its  message  to  the  gods.  Such  would  be 
the  conception  of  the  ceremony  in  its  earlier  form.  In  the  course 
of  time,  in  a  growing  community,  the  cruder  ideas  of  the  ritual 
would  be  outgrown  and  forgotten,  but  the  general  procedure  would 
persist  as  a  traditional  sacred  and  potent  ceremony:  the  victim 
would  be  caressed  and  slain,  not  because  it  was  regarded  as  an  am- 
bassador, but  because  such  treatment  was  held,  in  accordance  with 
tradition,  to  be  acceptable  to  the  gods ;  still  later,  the  preliminary 
ceremony  would  be  dispensed  with,  the  slaughter  of  the  victim  would 
be  regarded  as  the  effective  thing,  and  would  be  brought  into  rela^ 
tion  with  such  other  conceptions  of  gods  and  sin  as  might  meantime 
have  arisen. 

In  the  earliest  eiamples  that  I  have  found  of  thb  ambassadorial 
slaughter  the  victim  is  a  beast ;  the  slaying  of  human  beings  as 
sacrifice  proper  belongs  to  a  relatively  advanced  cultural  stage  of 
society.  There  are  no  records  to  explain  precisely  the  manner  of 
the  transition  from  beast  to  man ;  conjectures  on  this  point  must  be 
derived  from  the  general  history  of  religious  cults.  It  is  known  that 
the  early  intense  and  vital  belief  in  the  sacredness  and  divinity  of 
beasts  gradually  faded  away.  Wild  animals  were  relegated  to  a 
separate  domain,  and  became  more  and  more  alienated  from  man ; 
domestic  animals  were  employed  for  labor  and  food,  and  lost,  through 
familiarity,  their  sacred  character  except  as  it  survived  in  obscured 


Digiiizeo  by  Google 


1 78  journal  of  American  Folk'Lore. 

form  in  certain  stated  and  unexciting  ceremonies  ;  totemistic  creeds 
vanished  with  the  adoption  of  the  agricultural  life.  When  there  was 
a  demand  for  a  particularly  powerful  offering  to  the  gods,  human 
life,  as  more  worthy  and  precious,  would  seem  to  be  especially 
appropriate.  Up  to  a  certain  stage  of  social  growth  such  an  offering 
would  not  he  offensive  to  public  taste.  The  slaying  of  human  beings 
for  various  reasons  (as  is  mentioned  above)  had  long  been  practised, 
and  a  certain  degree  of  savage  indifference  to  human  slaughter 
lingered  long  in  half-civilized  communities.  Ancient  methods  of 
warfare  (particularly,  perhaps,  among  the  Semites)  were  characterized 
by  proceedings  barbarous  in  the  highest  degree.  In  modern  times 
illustrations  are  afforded  by  the  wars  between  the  Poles  and  the 
Russians  in  the  seventeenth  century,  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in 
Germany,  and  by  the  treatment  of  the  Jews  in  Europe  up  to  the 
seventeenth  century.  Thus,  in  ancient  cults,  where  slaughter  was 
the  traditional  form  of  sacrifice,  no  humane  considerations  would  avail 
to  deter  men  from  offering  what  they  thought  would  be  most  accept- 
able to  the  higher  Powers. 

In  some  such  way,  it  may  be  supposed,  occurred  the  transition 
from  the  simple  process  of  sending  a  messenger  to  the  gods  to  the 
sacrificial  ritual  of  the  Mexicans.  It  does  not  enter  into  the  plan  of 
this  paper  to  discuss  hwnaii  sacrifice  in  general  When  a  ritual  pro- 
cedure has  once  been  established,  every  succeeding  generation  wtU 
infuse  into  it  its  own  religious  ideas ;  these  later  accretions  must  be 
distinguished  from  the  original  conception,  and  my  object  is  to  sug- 
gest one  possible  starting-point  for  the  historical  development  of 
animal  sacrifice  in  general  and  human  sacrifice  In  particular. 

A  couple  of  American  Indian  ceremonies  may  be  mentioned,  the 
origin  of  which  may  be  Illustrated  from  the  facts  presented  above. 
One  of  these  is  the  White  Buffido  Festival  of  the  Uncpapas  described 
by  Miss  Fletcher.^  Of  the  many  Interesting  details  given  by  her  It 
will  be  sufficient  here  to  call  attention  to  those  that  seem  to  have 
relation  with  our  particular  point.  Her  introductory  remark  Is  sig- 
nificant: "A  man  who  kills  a  white  buffalo  Is  considered  to  have 
received  a  blessing  from  the  gods."  One  naturally  asks  why  the 
slaughter  of  the  animal  should  be  regarded  as  an  evidence  of  diune 
favor  and  recognition ;  the  report  of  the  ritual  does  not  distinctly 
answer  this  question ;  the  answer  must  be  sought  in  some  under- 
lying early  conception.  The  main  features  of  the  ceremony  are  the 
divine  worship  offered  to  the  dead  body,  and  the  solemn  eating  of 

1  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  in  the  SUxUntik  Stporttfihi  PioMfy  Mnsmm  ofAmm^ 
can  Archaology  and  EikMokfgy  (Cambrf^g^  1^3)  S  slso  as  Separate  pamphlet 
(Salem,  Mass.,  1884). 


Digitized  by  Google 


^         Mexican  Human  Sacrifice,  1 79 

the  flesh  of  the  animal.  Food  and  drink  are  placed  beside  the  head 
of  the  hide— an  offerings  the  Indians  say,  to  the  buffalo;  pipes  are 
presented  to  the  hide  and  then  to  the  chiefs ;  portions  of  the  hide 
are  preserved  as  bringing  good  luck ;  the  skull  is  laid  finally  at  the 
foot  of  the  sacred  pole ;  soup,  prepared  from  the  scrapings  of  the 
hide^  is  eaten  by  all  the  men  present,  and  the  buffalo  meat  is  solemnly 
eaten  by  the  chiefs.  That  is,  the  animal  is  treated  as  a  god,  and 
the  slaying  of  it  is  regarded  as  bringing  a  blessing  from  the  gods. 
The  ceremony  is  not  totemistic ;  no  such  religious  worship  is  else- 
where paid  a  totem  simply  as  a  totem.  The  resemblance  to  the 
Ainu  ritual  suggests  that  the  two  may  have  had  the  same  origin: 
the  killing  of  the  buffalo  would  then  be  meritorious  because  it  was 
necessary  that  the  soul  of  the  animal  should  be  sent  as  messenger  to 
the  high  gods,  and  these  latter  would  be  pleased  with  such  a  mark  of 
respect  and  homage.  The  Uncpapa  ritual  is  a  relatively  advanced 
one,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  certain  primitive  features  — 
such  as  the  preparatory  caressing  of  the  animal  and  the  putting  a 
message  into  its  mouth  —  should  have  faded  away.  The  Mexican 
ceremony  has  preserved  the  former  of  these  features ;  it  is  a  famil- 
iar fact  that  in  the  transmission  of  early  religious  procedures  dif- 
ferent communities  may  retain  or  abandon  different  parts  of  the 
whole ;  the  complete  ceremony  is  sometimes  to  be  reconstructed 
from  the  scattered  remains  found  in  various  cults. 

Perhaps  the  Zufii  turtle  ceremony  may  offer  a  vestige  of  the  am- 
bassadorial slaughter  of  an  animal.^  The  sacred  turtle,  treated  after 
its  capture  with  every  mark  of  respect  and  affection,  is  then  killed, 
with  prayers  and  offerings,  its  flesh  and  bones  deposited  in  the 
river,  and  its  shell  preserved  as  a  sacred  thing  in  the  house.  The 
native  comment  on  the  procedure  is  that  the  turtle  is  a  kinsman, 
that  when  killed  it  does  not  die,  but  only  changes  its  place,  goes  to 
the  home  <tf  its  brothers.  This  is  an  expression  of  the  widespread 
belief  in  the  identity  of  certain  animals  with  certain  human  bdngs, 
but  it  does  not  explain  why  the  killing  of  the  turtle  was  regarded  as 
a  religious  duty.  Mr.  Frazer  makes  the  suggestion  that  the  object 
of  the  ceremony  is  to  keep  up  communication  with  the  souls  of  the 
departed,  which  are  supposed  to  be  assembled  in  the  other  world  in 
the  form  of  turtles.  The  suggestion  is  in  the  right  direction,  but  is 
not  definite  enough.  To  make  the  communication  effective  a  mes- 
sage must  be  sent  Of  such  message  there  is  no  mention  in  the 
record,  but  a  comparison  with  the  Ainu  ritual  makes  it  not  improb- 
able that  the  Zufii  ceremony  is  a  refinement  on  an  earlier  procedure 
in  which  the  soul  ol  the  shun  animal  was  dispatched  as  ambassador 

^  See  F.  H.  Gushing^  <•  My  AdvcBtnres  in  Znlli,*'  in  Thi  Cmkay  lor  MiQr> 
1883. 


Digitized  by  Google 


l8o     '         yournal  oj  A  merican  Folk-Lore,  ^ 

to  the  gods.  The  ceremony  might  be  supposed,  it  is  true,  to  bdong 
in  the  same  category  with  the  numerous  cases  in  which  a  slave  or 
a  kinsman  is  slain  as  messenger  to  a  deceased  person ;  but  the 
elaborate  details  of  the  Zufii  ritual,  the  deep  feeling  manifested  by 
the  slayer,  and  the  religious  homage  paid  to  the  animal  appear  to 
invest  it  with  a  higher  significance. 

Other  features  besides  the  slaying  of  the  victim  enter  into  the 
rituals  described  above,  particularly,  the  eating  of  the  animal's 
flesh.  This  side  of  the  sacrificial  ceremony  has  its  own  line  of  de- 
velopment and  requires  a  separate  treatment.  It  seems  to  have 
originated  in  the  desire  to  secure  for  the  worshippers  the  potency  of 
the  sacred  body  ;  it  was  communal,  as  most  religious  functions  were 
communal  in  early  times,  when  the  social  unit  was  the  clan  or  the 
larger  family.  From  time  to  time  it  has  been  modified  and  reshaped 
as  new  ideas  came  in  and  the  constitution  of  society  chang^ed. 

As  is  suggested  above,  the  ambassadorial  sacrifice  may  be  regarded 
as  analogous  to  the  custom  of  slaying  a  man  in  order  that  he  may 
convey  a  message  to  a  deceased  friend.  The  two  procedures  have 
in  common  the  fact  of  a  message  to  the  other  world.  But  the  note- 
worthy feature  in  the  Ainu  and  Borneo  rites  is  that  these  definitely 
open  communication  between  man  and  the  gods  and  secure  the  good 
will  and  aid  of  the  latter;  they  are  thus  religious  and  sacrificial  in  a 
sense  that  is  not  true  of  the  mere  sending  of  a  message  to  a  dead 
person.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that,  in  the  crudest  known  rites  of 
this  nature,  it  is  a  sacred  (that  is,  divine)  beast  that  is  sent  as  mes- 
senger, and  not  a  human  being ;  and  therefore  the  employment  of 
a  human  being  in  the  specific  character  of  sacrifice  would  seem  to 
be  a  relatively  late  custom.^ 

«  Crawford  H,  Toy, 

*  Suggestions  of  an  ambassadorial  function  for  sacrificial  animals  arc  cited  above 
(from  Frazer),  and  after  this  article  was  prepared  I  found  that  a  view  some- 
what similar  to  that  here  given  had  been  expressed  by  MM.  Hubert  and  Mauss  in 
Adr  **£s8al  sur  le  Sacrifice  **  in  VAmiii  Soeiologique^  vol.  ii.  1898.  These  gen- 
ttemen,  startiiig  not  with  ■imple  savage  fonns,  but  widi  late  ehborats  sacrificial 
rituals,  particularly  the  Hindu  and  the  Hebrew,  reach  the  conclusion  that  sacrifice 
Is  a  religious  act  which,  by  the  consecration  of  a  victim,  modifies  the  condition  of 
the  moral  person  who  performs  it,  or  of  certain  objects  in  which  this  person  is 
interested ;  that  the  sacrificial  procedure  consists  in  establishing  a  communicatioii 
between  the  sacied  worid  and  the  profane  worid  by  the  intermediatioii  of  a  victim, 
that  is  to  say,  of  a  thing  destroyed  in  the  course  of  the  ceremony ;  that  the  object 
of  the  slaj-ing  is  to  detach  the  sacred  soul  of  the  animal  from  its  profane  body, 
and  that  the  disengaged  soul  may  be  employed  to  convey  the  wishes  of  the  wor- 
shippers to  the  celestial  Powers.  I  am  glad  to  find  myself  so  far  in  accord  with 
thMO  eminent  scholars.  It  is  not  dear  to  me,  however,  by  what  path  they  reach 
their  conclusion ;  the  idea  of  lotermediation  or  ambassadorial  fuactfon  is  not 
expressed  in  the  Hindu,  Hebrew,  and  Greek  rituals^  and  nothing  in  our  anthois* 


Digitized  by  Google 


Mexican  Human  Sacrifice, 


i8i 


analysis  (if  I  have  understood  them  correctly)  appears  to  demand  it.  Further, 
the  distinction  they  make  between  the  sacred  soul  and  the  profane  body  of  the 
victim  is  not  borne  out  by  the  history  of  ritual;  on  the  contrary,  the  body, 
from  the  earliest  timet  onward,  is  sacred,  and  tlie  partaking  of  tiie  flesh,  as  sacred, 
forma  an  important  part  of  most  ancient  sacrificial  procedures.  Nor  is  it  true,  as 
they  represent,  that  the  animal  is  sanctified  by  the  sacrificial  procedure;  the 
animal  is  sacred  by  nature,  and  it  is  for  that  very  reason  that  it  is  chosen  to  be  a 
messenger  to  the  gods.  But  notwithstanding  what  1  conceive  to  be  serious 
defects  in  their  geMtal  conatniction  ol  the  sacrificial  ceremony,  they  appear  to 
hnt  dtfined  its  fondamental  idea,  and  their  essay  is  snggestive  thnn4;faont 


DigitizeO  by  Google 


I 


i8a  yaunuU  of  American  Folkd^on. 

RIDDLES  FROM  MASSACHUSETTS, 
■s 

I.  What  grows  in  winter  and  dies  in  summer,  and  always  grows  with 
the  biggest  end  up  ? 

(An  idde.) 

2.  Round  as  an  apple^ 

Busy  as  a  bee, 
The  prettiest  thing 
1  hat  ever  you  see. 
(A  watch.) 

3.  Round  as  an  apple^ 

Yellow  as  gold, 

With  more  things  in  it 
Than  you  're  years  old. 
(A  pumpkin.) 

4.  Id  a  mill  there  is  a  chesty 
In  the  chest  there  b  a  tUl, 

In  the  till  there  is  a  cup, 
In  the  cup  there  is  a  drop, 

No  man  eats  it,  no  man  drinks  it^  DO  man  can  live  without  it 
(A  drop  of  blood.) 

5.  As  hig^  as  a  house^ 
As  low  as  a  mouse, 
As  green  as  grassy 
As  black  as  ink, 
As  bitter  as  gall, 
Yet  sweet  for  all. 

(A  walnut) 

6.  Riddle  cum  riddle  cum  rawkf, 
Fetdcoat  bound  in  scarleti 
Stone  in  the  middle^ 

Stick  in  the  tail. 
Tell  me  this  riddle^ 
Without  any  fail. 
(Acheny.) 

7.  There  is  an  old  woman  that  has  but  one  eye. 


Eveiy  time  she  goes  through  the  gap^ 
She  leaves  a  piece  of  her  tail  in  the  gap, 
(A  needle.) 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Algonktn  Manitou, 


THE  ALGONKIN  MANITOU »      ^  * 

The  Algonkin  conception  of  the  manitou  is  bound  up  with  the 
manifold  ideas  that  flow  from  an  unconscious  relation  with  the  out> 
side  world.  It  is  embodied  in  all  forms  of  religious  bdief  and  prac- 
tice, and  is  intimately  associated  with  customs  and  usages  that  bear 
upon  life  and  its  welfare.  It  is  the  purpose  in  the  following  pages  to 
give  simply,  and  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  the  meaning  of  the  man- 
itou as  it  is  understood  by  three  Algonkin  peoples  — the  Sauk,  Fox, 
and  Kickapoo.  All  three  speak  related  dialects  of  the  same  lan- 
guage; all  three  have  a  similar  form  of  society;  and  all  three  have 
much  the  same  religious  rites  and  practices.  It  will  be  convenient 
to  refer  to  them  collectively,  and  when  the  reference  is  made  the 
term  Al<^'onkin  shall  be  used  ;  the  term  shall  apply  to  them  only,  and 
not  to  other  units  of  the  same  family. 

In  the  first  place  the  term  manitou  is  a  religious  word  ;  it  car- 
ries with  it  the  idea  of  solemnity ;  and  whatever  the  association  it 
always  expresses  a  serious  attitude,  and  kindles  an  emotional  sense 
of  mystery.  The  conceptions  involved  in  its  use  can  best  be  shown 
by  taking  up  some  features  of  Algonkin  religion. 

The  essential  character  of  Algonkin  religion  is  a  pure,  naive  wor- 
ship of  nature.  In  one  way  or  another  associations  cluster  about  an 
object  and  give  it  a  certain  potential  value  ;  and  because  of  this  sup- 
posed potentiality,  the  object  becomes  the  recipient  of  an  adoration. 
The  degree  of  the  adoration  depends  in  some  measure  upon  the  extent 
of  confidence  reposed  in  the  object,  and  upon  its  supposed  power  of 
bringing  pleasure  or  inflicting  pain.  The  important  thing  with  the 
individual  is  the  emotional  effect  experienced  while  in  the  presence 
of  the  object,  or  with  an  interpreted  manifestation  of  the  object 
The  individual  keeps  watch  fw  the  effect,  and  it  is  the  effect  that  fills 
the  mind  with  a  vague  sense  of  something  strange,  something  mys- 
terious, something  intangible.  One  feels  it  as  the  result  of  an  active 
substance,  and  one's  attitude  toward  it  is  purely  passive. 

To  experience  a  thrill  is  authority  enough  of  the  existence  of  the 
substance.  The  sentiment  of  its  leality  is  made  known  by  the  &ct 
that  something  has  happened.  It  is  futQe  to  ask  an  Algonkin  for  an 
articulate  definition  of  the  substance^  partly  because  it  would  be 
something  about  which  he  does  not  concern  himself,  and  partly  be- 
cause he  is  quite  satisfied  with  only  the  sentiment  of  its  existence. 
He  feels  that  the  property  is  everywhere,  is  omnipresent  The  feeling 

^  The  quolaUoiu  and  references  throoghoitt  this  paper  are  from  notes  and 
A^gonkiB  texts  collected  In  work  lor  the  American  Musettm  of  Natural  Histoiy, 
New  York  dtj. 


Digitized  by  Google 


1 


184  yauTfud  of  AmerieoH  Folk-Lon, 

that  it  is  omnipresent  leads  naturally  to  the  belief  that  it  enters  into 
everything  in  nature ;  and  the  notion  that  it  is  active  causes  the  mind 
to  look  everywhere  for  its  manifestations.  These  manifestations 
assume  various  forms,  they  vary  with  individuals  and  with  reference 
to  the  same  and  different  objects.  Language  affords  means  of 
approaching;  nearer  to  a  definition  of  this  religious  sentiment. 

In  the  Algonkin  dialects  of  the  Sauk,  Fox,  and  Kickapoo,  a  rigid 
distinction  of  gender  is  made  between  things  with  life  and  things 
without  life.  When  they  speak  of  a  stone  they  employ  a  form  which 
expresses  the  inanimate  character  of  the  stone;  in  the  same  way, 
when  they  speak  of  a  dog  they  use  another  form  which  indicates  the 
animate  nature  of  the  dog.  Accordingly,  when  they  refer  to  the 
manitou  in  the  sense  of  a  virtue,  a  property,  an  abstraction,  they 
employ  the  form  expressive  of  inanimate  gender.  When  the  manitou 
becomes  associated  with  an  object,  then  the  gender  becomes  less  defi- 
nite. Some  reasons  for  this  confusion  will  become  evident  farther  on. 

When  tlie  property  becomes  the  indwelling  element  of  an  object, 
then  it  is  natural  to  identify  the  property  with  animate  being.  It  is 
not  necessary  that  the  being  shall  be  the  tangible  representative  of 
a  natural  object.  To  illustrate  a  concrete  instance  of  this  sentiment, 
here  Is  the  comment  made  by  a  Pox  apropos  of  an  experience  iii  the 
sweat  lodge :  **  Often  one  will  cut  one's  self  over  the  arms  and  legs,  slit- 
ting  one's  self  only  through  the  skin.  It  is  done  to  open  up  many  pas* 
sages  for  the  manitou  to  pass  into  the  body.  The  manitou  comes  from 
the  place  of  its  abode  in  the  stones  It  becomes  roused  by  the  heat  of 
the  fire,  and  proceeds  out  of  the  stone  when  the  water  is  sprinkled 
on  it  It  comes  out  in  the  steam,  and  in  the  steam  it  enters  the 
body  wherever  it  finds  entrance  It  moves  up  and  down  and  all  over 
inside  the  body,  driving  out  everything  that  inflicts  pain.  Before 
the  manitou  returns  to  the  stone  it  imparts  some  of  its  nature  to  the 
body.  That  Is  why  one  feels  so  well  idfter  having  been  in  the  sweat 
lodge." 

The  sentiment  behind  the  words  rests  upon  the  consciousness  of 
a  belief  in  an  objective  presence ;  it  rests  on  the  sense  of  an  existing 
reality  with  the  quality  of  self-dependence ;  it  rests  on  the  percep- 
tion of  a  definite,  localized  personality.  Yet  at  the  same  time  there 
is  the  feeling  that  the  apprehended  reality  is  without  form  and  without 
feature.  This  is  the  dominant  notion  in  regard  to  the  virtue  abiding 
in  the  stone  of  thejsweat  lodge ;  it  takes  on  the  character  of  conscious 
personality  with  some  attributes  of  immanence  and  design. 

Falling  in  line  with  what  has  just  gone  before  is  the  belief  that  the 
virtue  can  be  transferred  from  one  object  to  another.  The  \-irtue 
in  both  objects  is  of  the  same  fundamental  nature,  but  of  different 
degree  and  of  unequal  value.   In  the  transfer,  the  virtue  of  one 


Digitized  by  Google 


TIu  Algonkin  Manitou. 


object  reinforces  that  of  the  other.  Such  is  the  idea  implied  in  the 
Idlowmg  abridged  narrative. 

A  body  of  Sauks  had  wandered  out  on  the  Plains  in  search  of  buf- 
fala  While  approaching  a  vast  herd  they  came  unexpectedly  upon 
some  Comanches  who  were  much  fewer  than  they  and  who  were 
creeping  upon  the  same  hen!  The  Sauks  rushed  them,  and  the  Co- 
manches at  once  took  to  flight  But  in  the  pursuit  the  Sauks  were 
delayed  by  a  lone  Comanche.  He  had  chosen  to  sacrifice  his  life  in 
order  to  give  bis  comrades  a  chance  to  escape.  He  accomplished  his 
purpose.  The  man's  deed  and  the  bravery  he  displayed  aroused  a 
feeling  of  admiration  from  his  foes.  And  out  of  honor  for  the  man 
they  chose  not  to  take  his  scalp  nor  to  count  coup  upon  him.  But 
instead  they  cut  out  his  heart   Passing  it  around,  they  all  ate  of  it 

So  much  for  the  narrative  in  brief.  To  the  Algonkin  the  heaft 
was  endued  with  the  manitou,  the  sense  of  the  roanitou  being  an 
impersonal  essence,  a  supernatural  virtue.  The  men  ate  the  heart 
to  get  its  supernatural  quality.  They  believed  that  the  quality  was 
what  made  the  Comanche  so  brave,  and  that  by  eating  the  heart  they 
could  come  into  possession  of  its  quality.  They  felt  that  it  would 
react  upon  them  in  the  same  way  as  it  had  upon  the  Comanche ;  and 
furthermore,  that  the  combined  effect  of  the  quality  within  them  and 
what  was  in  the  Comanche  would  render  it  possible  for  them  to  be- 
come better  fighters  than  they  could  otherwise  have  become.  The 
example  betrays  the  reliance  placed  upon  the  help  of  the  cosmic 
substance  rather  than  upon  human  aid.  The  reliance  does  not  rest 
upon  a  random  hope,  but  on  an  assurance  that  the  expected  will 
come  to  pass  with  a  happy  result. 

It  is  natural  to  confuse  the  property  with  an  object  containing  the 
property.  The  confusion  is  frequently  met  with  in  what  arc  consid- 
ered mediums  of  manifestations.  For  instance,  there  is  an  Algonkin 
story  which  contains  an  episode  of  the  cosmic  hero  taking  upon  him- 
self the  form  of  a  pretty  maiden.  The  girl  comes  to  a  lodge  where 
she  is  entertained  by  an  aged  woman.  The  old  woman  prepares  two 
grains  of  com  and  a  bean,  and  putting  them  into  a  small  bowl,  invites 
tiie  i^rl  to  eat  The  girl  nibbles  one  grain  at  a  time^  and  for  every 
grain  that  is  taken  out,  there  is  always  another  to  take  its  placa 
Finally  the  girl  eats  up  the  food  and  returns  the  vessel  empty  to  the 
hostess.  The  old  woman  looks  with  wonder  at  the  empty  bowl,  and 
then  turning  to  the  girl,  remarks,  "You  must  be  a  manitou I " 

It  is  desirable  to  point  out  two  arrestive  features,  arrestive  to  the 
sense  of  an  Algonkin  who  is  a  passive,  uncritical  listener  to  the  tale.* 
One  is  the  continued  multiplication  of  the  food,  and  the  other  is  the 
interruption  of  the  performance.  One's  unconscious  feeling  about 
the  food  is  that  its  recurrence  was  due  to  the  work  of  the  impersonal. 


Digitized  by  Google 


i86 


youmal  of  American  FolhLor$^ 


mystic  property  with  which  the  food  was  charged  and  because  of  which 
it  vras  replenished ;  and  that  the  amazement  of  the  old  woman  was 
due  to  the  surprise  felt  at  the  sight  of  a  miraculous  interruption  of 
a  miraculous  multiplying  process.  She  laid  the  cause  to  the  girl, 
whom  she  addressed  as  an  animate  form  of  the  substance.  Naming 
her  an  animate  manitou  was  the  same  as  making  the  property  and 
the  creature  one  and  the  same  thing. 

Here  is  another  story  which  illustrates  the  ambiguity,  but  in  a  dif- 
ferent relation.  It  is  the  story  of  a  man  and  his  wife  who  had  gone 
off  on  a  distant  hunt  for  game.  One  evening  they  caught  sight  of 
some  Sioux  who  had  been  shadowing  them.  In  the  gathering  dark- 
ness and  during  a  drizzling  rain  they  set  out  in  flight  The  Sioux 
were  moving  about  them  on  every  side,  and  were  signalling  back  and 
fcrrth  with  the  cries  of  birds  and  animals  in  an  effort  to  locate  the 
pair. 

Despairing  of  escape  by  their  own  help,  the  man  and  his  wife  stopped 
and  dismounted.  The  man  was  not  able  to  get  into  rapport  with  the 
mystery,  and  so  called  upon  his  wife.  In  a  little  while  she  heard  words 
coming  to  her  from  on  high.  They  were  words  spoken  to  her  by 
her  elder  brother  when  she  was  a  child  ;  he  had  spoken  them  during 
a  fast  and  on  the  day  he  had  died.  They  were :  "If  ever  in  the 
course  of  your  life  you  meet  with  adversity,  then  think  of  me.'* 
With  these  words  were  others  telling  how  she  and  her  husband 
should  escape.  The  story  goes  on  to  tell  how  the  pair  followed  the 
advice  and  how  they  made  their  escape. 

The  story  has  one  purpose  :  it  is  to  tell  of  deliverance  by  the  help 
of  a  transcendent  agency;  in  this  case  it  is  an  cider  brother  who 
comes  as  a  mystic  apparition  invested  with  the  cosmic  substance, 
and  having  the  attribute  of  prophecy  and  guidance. 

Further  instances  of  the  confusion  are  to  be  found  in  the  narra- 
tives of  individual  experiences  in  trance  and  dream  transport.  Boys 
and  girls  begin  early  to  practise  seclusion,  and  at  the  time  refrain 
from  touching  food.  During  the  earlier  periods  the  fasting  is  of  short 
duration,  and  with  hardly  any  further  meaning  than  that  of  a  prepa* 
ration  for  the  ordeals  yet  to  come;  the  peifonnance  hecomes  more 
serious  during  adolescence,  and  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  during 
maturity.  \  One  then  fasts  and  keeps  vigil  in  the  hope  of  gaining 
insight  into  the  mystery  of  life;  One  adjusts  one's  self  to  a  particular 
mental  attitude,  and  so  goes  seriously  prepared  to  see,  to  hear,  and 
to  feel  In  this  mental  condition  one  sometimes  sees  strange  objects^ 
one  sometimes  hears  prophetic  warnings,  and  one  sometimes  f  eeis  ttte 
spell  of  an  all-pervading  presence   It  is  during  one  or  more  of  th£c 
experiences  that  one  is  said  to  come  into  possession  of  hidden  rele 
lation.  I 


Digitized  by  ^)Ogle 


TAe  Algonkm  ManUou. 


187 


Vision  does  not  come  to  every  one  that  fasts.  But  when  one  is 
fortunate  enough  to  experience  a  mystic  transport  at  the  sight  of 
something  animate,  or  inanimate,  then  one  is  apt  to  make  that  object 
an  ideal  of  divine  guidance.  Of  or  through  it  one  invokes  aid  in  the 
critical  moments  of  life.  It  is  not  easy  for  an  Algonkin  to  convey  a 
definite  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  object  :  it  may  be  the  inanimate, 
mystic  property,  or  it  may  be  a  medium  of  the  ]Moperty.  Much  de- 
pends upon  what  the  individual  reads  into  the  manifestation,  and  this 
in  turn  is  colored  by  instruction  received  before  the  transport. 

Some,  however,  do  not  see  the  objects  themselves,  but  they  hear 
their  sounds  or  their  voices.  To  judge  from  the  testimony  of  indi- 
viduals who  have  had  the  transport,  it  would  seem  that  it  is  more 
common  to  hear  than  to  see.  The  words  caught  convey  a  profound 
sense  of  authority ;  they  must  influence  the  course  of  one's  actions. 
It  is  from  this  kind  of  experience  that  some  claim  to  have  derived 
sacred  songs  and  forms  of  ritual.  It  was  from  this  source  that  came 
the  Ghost-dance,  at  least  so  was  it  taught  the  Sauk,  Fox,  and  Kick- 
apoo.  Its  ritual,  its  songs,  its  step,  its  teaching  were  all  said  to 
have  been  revealed  to  a  young  woman,  who  in  turn  transmitted  it 
all  to  the  people  of  her  nation.  _ 

The  most  common  experience  seems  to  be  that  of  being  over- 
whelmed by  an  all-encompassing  presence.  It  is  an  experience  least 
susceptible  of  an  articulate  report,  and  yet  it  is  the  one  looked  upon 
as  the  source  of  greatest  authority.  It  is  not  easy  to  induce  an 
Algonkin  to  speak  of  any  of  these  experiences.  It  is  even  urged 
upon  the  individual  never  to  reveal  the  details  except  on  particular 
occasions,  and  in  critical  moments  like  that  of  approaching  death. 
Many  of  them,  however,  have  passed  into  tradition,  and  here  is  the 
shortened  account  of  one  of  the  experiences :—• 

A  youth  once  accompanied  a  party  of  warriors  on  a  raid  against  a 
people  of  the  Plains.  The  party  was  beaten  and  the  youth  was 
killed.  In  accordance  with  an  Algonkin  custom,  the  family  of  the 
slain  adopted  another  youth  to  take  the  phice  left  vacant  by  death. 
The  adopted  youth  had  been  a  bosom  friend  of  the  slain.  The  act 
of  his  adoption  placed  upon  him  the  responsibility  of  avenging  the 
death  of  his  friend. 

Before  entering  upon  the  mission  he  went,  as  was  the  custom,  into 
a  fast,  that  he  might  obtain  mystic  guidance.  Accordingly,  so  goes 
the  story,  the  youth  had  a  vision,  and  there  was  open  to  him  a  view 
of  the  battlefield  where  his  friend  had  been  slain,  of  the  location  of 
the  enemy  that  had  caused  the  death,  and  of  the  path  to  be  taken 
in  order  to  come  upon  the  foe;  And  in  the  vision  he  saw  himself 
eating  of  the  enemy.  This  last  was  for  him  a  sjrmbol  that  his  mis- 
sion would  have  a  liappy  issue. 


Digitized  by  Google 


l88 


yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lon. 


The  narrative  is  typical  of  the  more  usual  forms  of  revelation. 
The  youth  had  gone  primed  to  meet  with  a  particular  experience ; 
he  received  tidings  of  just  the  sort  of  thing  he  was  looking  for.  It 
is  not  easy  to  find  out  how  much  of  this  sort  of  thing  is  fraud.  Be- 
yond doubt  there  is  some  fabrication,  and  much  is  read  into  an  expe- 
rience ;  but  there  is  also  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  seldom  done  with 
intent,  and  that  it  is  usually  the  result  of  an  unconscious  self-decep- 
tion. The  visitation  is  attributed  to  animate  beings.  "  The  manitou 
beings  have  taken  pity  upon  me  "  is  the  stock  phrase  uttered  by 
one  coming  out  of  such  a  vision.  These  "  beings  "  are  not  tangible 
realities.  The  term  manitou  beings  is  but  an  intelligible  form  of 
expressing  the  exciting  cause  ;  it  is  more  natural  to  identify  the 
communication  with  animate  beings,  in  spite  of  the  consciousness 
that  the  beings  themselves  are  vague  and  inarticulate. 
/  There  is  no  doubt  in  an  Algonkin's  mind  about  the  reality  of  these 
revelations ;  the  feeling  that  one  saw  something  arrestive,  that  one 
heard  impressive  voices,  that  one  was  overcome  by  an  objective, 
mysterious  presence  is  proof  enough  to  establish  the  reality  of  the 
revelation.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  an  Algonkin  would  think  of  going 
into  the  question  of  authority.  One  is  sure  of  it,  but  why,  one  does 
not  know,  any  more  than  that  it  is  the  inspired  assurance  of  a  tran« 
sceiidcnt  agency. 

The  interpretation  of  the  cause  of  the  revelation  varies  with  indi- 
viduals. If  the  cause  is  something  present  to  the  thought,  then  it  is 
likely  the  work  of  the  mystic  activity.  This  is  the  interpretation 
sometimes  given  by  one  who  has  been  overcome  by  the  presence  of 
the  mjrstezy  without  fona  and  without  feature.  In  another  sense 
and  one  more  frequent,  it  is  the  effect  of  the  combined  presence  of  all 
the  manitou  beings  taken  together.  If  the  object  of  the  revelation 
be  present  to  the  senses  then  the  interpretation  is  liable  to  confusion. 
For  instance^  if  the  revealing  object  be  an  owl,  then  the  interpretation 
is  likely  to  take  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  forms :  either  the  owl 
is  a  vessel  or  conveyance  of  the  property ;  or  else  the  owl  b  the 
property  itsell  In  the  first  case^  the  manitou  manifests  itself  through 
the  agency  of  an  owL  The  notion  here  of  a  difference  between  the 
object  and  what  it  contains  differentiates  the  vessel  from  the  pnh 
petty.  In  the  other  case,  the  property  becomes  so  intimatdy  asso- 
ciated with  the  object  that  the  object  and  the  property  come  to  be  one 
and  the  same.  The  confusion  of  the  object  and  the  property  does 
away  with  the  conscu>usnes8  of  any  differentiation.  The  personifi- 
cation is  easy  and  of  unconscious  mould.  The  notion  that  the  object 
and  the  property  are  one  and  the  same  thing  is  the  interpretatioii  one 
more  commonly  meets  with.  The  sense  of  incongruity  or  improbft- 
bility  does  not  enter  to  disturb  the  mind. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Algonkin  Maniiou,  189 

So  universal  and  easy  is  this  lack  of  mental  discrimination  that  it 
is  no  trouble  for  an  Algonkin  to  invest  an  object  with  the  mystic  sub- 
stance^ and  then  call  the  object  by  the  name  of  the  substance.  The 
process  suggests  a  possible  explanation  of  how  an  Algonkin  comes  to 
people  his  world  with  manitou  forces  different  in  kind  and  degree; 
it  explains  in  some  measure  the  supernatural  performances  of  mytho- 
logical  beings,  the  beings  that  move  in  the  form  of  men,  beasts,  birds, 
fishes,  and  other  objects  of  nature.  All  these  are  a  collection  of 
agencies.  Each  possesses  a  virtue  in  common  with  all  the  rest,  and 
in  so  far  do  they  all  have  certain  marks  of  agreement.  W^here  one 
differs  from  another  is  in  the  nature  of  its  function,  and  in  the  degree 
of  the  possession  of  the  cosmic  substance.  But  the  investment  of  a 
common,  mystic  virtue  gives  them  all  a  common  name,  and  that  name 
is  manitou. 

The  emotional  effect  produced  by  the  strange  but  sincere  regard 
for  the  manitou  explains  much  of  the  esoteric  sentiment  felt  for  a 
myth,  a  tradition,  a  form  of  ritual,  or  anything  whatsoever  connected 
with  a  ceremonial  practice.  An  Algonkin  holds  that  the  proper  time 
to  recite  a  myth  is  in  winter,  and  that  its  recitation  shall  be  attended 
with  some  kind  of  formality  ;  and  that  to  tell  a  myth  out  of  season 
and  without  formality  is  to  take  chances  with  something  beyond 
human  power.  It  requires  but  a  gentle  scare  to  set  one  who  has 
committed  the  infraction  into  a  state  of  mental  confusion.  The  sen- 
timent behind  the  myth  rests  on  the  nalfve  belief  that  the  myth  may 
be  either  the  supernatural  property  or  an  agent  of  the  property. 
Hence,  to  play  lightly  with  it  is  like  playing  lightly  with  any  other 
idealized  object  associated  with  the  supernatural  substance.  The 
infraction  creates  a  feeling  of  unrest,  a  disturbing  sense  of  insecur- 
ity. 

In  the  same  way  one  needs  to  seek  for  a  psychological  reason  to 
explain  why  an  Algonkin  feels  reluctant  to  speak  about  a  sacred 
ceremony  except  in  moments  propitious  and  opportune.  The  cere- 
monial lodge  is  a  holy  symbol  ;  it  means  a  place  where  one  can  enter 
into  communication  with  higher  powers,  where  with  sacrifice  and 
offering,  with  music  and  dance  one  obtains  audience  and  can  ask  for 
things  beyond  human  control  ;  it  means  a  place  where  one  can  for- 
get the  material  world  and  enjoy  the  experience  of  that  magic 
spell  which  one  feels  is  the  sign  that  not  only  is  one  in  the  presence 
of  the  supernatural  property,  but  in  that  of  the  beings  who  hold  it  in 
high  degree.  It  is  a  function  with  a  very  definite  purpose.  It  is  to 
invoke  the  presence  of  an  objective  reality  ;  the  objectified  ideal  may 
be  animate  or  inanimate.  And  the  effect  is  in  the  nature  of  a  pleas- 
ing thrill,  a  sense  of  resignation,  a  consolation.   This  effect  is  the 

proof  of  the  presence  of  the  manitou. 
voL.xvm.— naTo.  14 


Digitized  by  Google 


iQO  journal  of  American  Folk'Lore, 

It  bas  thus  been  observed  that  tbeie  is  an  unsystematic  belief  in 
a  cosmic^  mysterious  property  which  is  believed  to  be  ezisting  eveiy^ 
where  in  nature ;  that  the  conception  of  the  property  can  be  thought 
of  as  impersonal,  but  that  it  becomes  obscure  and  confused  when  the 
property  becomes  identified  with  objects  in  nature ;  that  it  manifests 
itself  in  various  forms ;  and  that  its  emotional  effect  awakens  a  sense 
of  mystery ;  that  there  is  a  lively  appreciation  of  its  miraculous  effi- 
cacy ;  and  that  its  interpretation  is  not  according  to  any  regular  rule^ 
but  is  based  on  one's  feelings  rather  than  on  one's  knowledge. 

Such  in  very  brief  statement  is  the  conception  of  the  manitou  of 
three  Algonkin  peoples,  —  the  Sauk,  Fox,  and  Kickapoo.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  same  thing  holds  true  of  other  Algonkins,  like  the 
Ojibwas,  Ottawas,  Menominees,  and  others  of  the  central  groupi  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  if  the  same  conception  in  its  general 
features  extends  to  all  the  other  members  of  the  family. 

WilUam  ytmts. 


.  jd  by  Googl 


Tradiiional  Ballads  in  New  England,  191 

TRADITIONAL  BALLADS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  IL 

t  " 

IX.  THE  GYPSY  UIDDIE. 
A. 

Taken  down  by  an  opendve  in  the  Still  man  Woollen  MOls,  StflliiHU^  N.Siffromtfie 
■iqfing  of  aa  old  naa.  Common  iratwd  bf  £.  £.     CambridBB^  Man. 

I  The  Gypsy  Daisy  came  riding  o'er  the  phun. 
He  sang  so  loud  and  dearly, 
He  sang  till  he  made  the  green  woods  lillg» 
And  charmed  the  heart  of  a  Lady. 

RnRAiNy^Red  Lady  dingo^  dingo  day» 

Red  Lady  dingo,  dingo  Dai^; 
Red  Lady  dingo,  dingo  day, 
She  'a  away  with  tlte  Gypsy  Daisy* 

a  "  Come  saddle  me  my  old  brown  hack, 
The  gray  one  is  not  so  speedy, 
1 11  ride  aU  day,  and  I  ni  ride  aU  nighty 
Till  I  overtake  my  Lady." 

3  He  rode  till  lie  came  to  the  riverside^ 

The  waters  flowed  so  freely, 
The  tears  down  his  cheeks  did  flow, 
And  then  he  saw  his  Lady. 

4  "  Could  you  forsake  your  house  and  hone^ 

Could  you  forsake  your  baby, 
Could  you  forsake  your  own  wedded  Lordy 
And  go  with  tiie  Gypsy  Daisy  ?  " 

5  "Yes,  I  *11  foftake  my  house  and  home, 

Yes,  I H  fonake  my  baby, 
Yes  I H  forsake  my  own  wedded  Loid, 
And  go  with  the  Gypsy  Daisy. 

6  "Last  night  I  lay  on  a  bed  of  down. 

The  Land  Lord  lay  by  me ; 
To-night  I  '11  lay  on  the  damp  cold  ground. 
Along  with  the  Gypsy  Daisy. 

B. 

Commanicated  to  me  March,  1904,  by  M.  6.,  Fall  River,  Hasa. 

Z  Last  night  I  slept  in  a  warm  ieatlier  bed. 
And  in  my  arms  a  baby ; 
To-night  I  '11  lie  on  the  cold,  cold  ground. 
In  the  arms  of  Gypsy  Davy. 


Digitized  by  Google 


192  journal  0/  American  Folk-Lore. 

KEnunr,  —Kaddle  daddle»  dingo  ^ogo  day, 

Raddle  daddle,  dingo  daisy, 
Kaddle  daddle,  dingo  dingo  day, 
1  'm  gone  with  the  Gypsy  Davy. 

a  "  Oh,  how  could  you  leave  your  house  and  land. 
Oh,  how  could  you  leave  your  baby, 
Oh,  how  could  you  leave  your  true  wedded  lord. 
To  go  with  the  Gypsy  Davy  ?  " 

3  "  What  care  I  for  your  boose  and  land, 

What  caie  I  for  your  baby, 
Or  what  care  I  for  my  tnie  wedded  lord,* 
I 'm  off  with  the  Gypsy  Davy  1 

4  "  I  never  loved  you  in  all  my  lite^ 

I  never  loved  your  baby, 
I  married  you  against  my  will, 
And  1  'm  off  with  the  Gypsy  Davy  I " 


CoDunumcated  to  me  September  1904,  by  M.  L.  Lynn,  Mass^  as  song  over  fifty 
fon  ago  in  Svnaiea,  Mm. 


Tbs    Gyp  -  9f 


rid 


* 


± 


hig     o'«r     dM      fidd.  The 


-J — i — I 


• — r 


Gyp  -  vg      he     tang  gai 


ly,     Ue  sang    till  he  made  the 


IB 

mu 

1^      /      J  J 

1 

 P— f- 

-J 

1  J 

1  J 

i 


oker*  ly   woods  linfl^    And   he  chained  die    heart     ol  the 


I: 


Al  .  ly 


al 


jL. 


ding, 


dli^  al  •  ly  da  •  dayi  Al  •  ly   el  •  ly  Oiifr  al  •  ly  da  •  day. 


X  The  Gypsy  came  riding  o'er  the  field. 
The  Gypsy  he  sang  gaily, 
He  sang  till  he  made  the  merry  woods  ring, 
And  he  charmed  the  heart  of  the  lady. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England,  193 

RintADf,  — Ally  ally  ding,  ally  ding,  ally  dirday, 
Ally  ally  ding^  ally  da-day. 

2  So  when  the  master  he  came  home^ 
Inquiring  for  his  lady, 
The  servants  made  him  tiiis  reply,  — 
"  She 's  gone  with  the  G>'psy  Davy." 

%  <*  Now  bring  me  here  mj  good  black  hofse^ 

The  brown  one  he  is  lazy, 
For  I  will  neither  eat  nor  drink  (sleep) 
Till  I  overtake  my  lady." 


D. 

Tdua  doim  Jane,  1904,  by  L  L.  Vindaiid,  N.  J.,  fran  tibe  ndltliattef  ala^y  lli<> 
ing  b  NantKlM^  MaaSi 

X  Hie  Lord  retained  to  bis  castle  gate, 
Inquiring  for  his  Ladye, 
The  servant  maid  to  him  replyed, 
She 's  gone  with  the  Gypsy  Davie." 

RxnuuN, — Raddle  daddle  ding»  daddle  dfaig^  daddle  ding^ 
Raddle  daddle  ding  O  Davie. 

2  "  Go  saddle  my  black,  go  saddle  my  browny 
My  brown  it  is  most  speedy ; 
I  '11  ride  all  night,  and  I  '11  ride  all  day, 
Till  I  overtake  my  ladye." 

$  He  rode  all  nighty  and  he  rode  all  day, 
And  he  overtook  his  ladye^ 


Along  with  the  Gypsy  Davie. 

"  Can  you  forsake  your  house  and  home, 

Can  you  forsake  your  baby. 
Can  you  forsake  your  own  true  love, 

To  go  with  the  Gypsy  Davie  ?  ** 

"  Yes,  I II  forsake  my  house  and  hom^ 

Yes,  I  '11  forsake  my  baby, 
Yes,  I  '11  forsake  my  own  true  lov^ 
To  go  with  the  Gypsy  Davie  I 

"  Last  night  I  slept  on  a  warm  feather  bed. 

Along  with  my  sleeping  baby ; 
To-night  I  'U  sleep  on  the  cold,  cold  ground, 

Akmg  with  fhe  Gypsy  Davy." 


Digitized  by  Google 


194 


Journal  of  Anuricati  Folk- Lore* 


Coamnnkaied  to  me  April  7, 1904,  bjr  S.  A.  F.,  Piovidenoi^  R.  I. 


■  u 

The     nch     man   came    fran    o'er        the       see.      In  - 


^    I   J.  J  [l-^i  ij    I    J  J 


qtdr  -  ing    for     hii    La  <    dy,    The  Mr  -  vant    gvra  Um 


this    re  -  plyt  **  She's  gone  with  the  Gyp  •  ly      Da  -  Tie.* 


z  The  rich  man  came  from  o'er  the  sea, 
Inquiring  for  his  Lady, 
The  servant  gave  him  this  reply,  — 
«•  She  *s  gone  with  the  Gypsy  Davie." 

K£FRAIN,  —  Rattle  dattle  dinj?,  O  rattle  dattle  day, 
Rattle  dattle  ding  O  daisy. 

• 

F. 

Communicated  March,  1904,  by  M.  B.,  Fall  River,  Mass. 

1  The  Gypsy  came  from  o'er  the  hill^ 
She  sang  so  loud  and  boldly^ 
She  sang  so  loud  it  made  the  green  woods  riqg^«* 

They  called  her  the  Gypsy  Daisy. 

Raddle  raddle  ring,  O  raddle  raddle  rsy, 

Raddle  raddle  ring  O  rarey, 
Raddle  raddle  rini:;o,  raddle  raddle  ray. 
She 's  gone  with  the  Gypsy  Daisy. 


Rintanr, 


2  "  Saddle  up  the  dark  bay  horse. 

The  white  one 's  not  so  speedy, 
1 11  ride  all  night,  1 11  ride  all  day, 
Till  I  overtake  my  Daisy!" 

3  "  Yes,  I  will  leave  my  house  and  land. 

Yes,  I  will  leave  my  baby, 
Yes,  I  will  leave  my  true  wedded  lord, 
To  follow  the  Gypsy  Daisy." 


Digitized  by  C 


TradUumal  Ballads  m  Ngw  England. 


195 


G. 

CoQtiibated  fay  £.  £.     Cambrfalc^  Man. 


Rad  •  die,     nd  •  die 

-4—^ 
din  -  gc 

 ~- 

>> 

-1  i  \  * — ■ 

 — i  — ' 

din  -  go  day. 

f 

^-^-^*=^ 

IUul>dto»  nd-dle  dln-go 

!  J   J   J   J  i 

■■ 

Da  -  vie, 

ll\    1  ' 

i-dle^  din  -  go 

mm 

)    ■  ■  m  # — 

-#- 

^11 

din  •  go     day,  She's  gone   vith  the  Gyp  -  aj       Da  •  yy. 


X.   LORD  RANDALL. 
A. 

Contriboted  by  M.  L.  ft.,  Kewpoit*  It  Aqgiist,  1903,  aa  taken  down  froat  tlie  radta* 
tion  of  a  lady  over  eighty  yeaia  of  age^vlio  leaned  ft  abont  i87S,fnHna  nephew,  aince 

difffwiedi 

I  '^Oh,  where  have  ye  bees,  Lord  Lantonn,  my  son? 
Oh,  where  have  ye  been,  my  handsome  young  man  ?  " 
"  Out  with  the  hounds,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
I 'm  weary  with  bunting,  and  fain  would  lie  doon." 

a  **  Whpre  gat  ye  your  dinner,  Lord  Lanloun,  my  son? 

Where  gat  ye  your  dinner,  my  handsome  young  man?" 
*'  1  dined  with  my  leman,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
I  *m.  weary  with  hwiting,  and  fain  woald  lie  doon." 

3  "What  ate  ye  to  dinner.  Lord  Lantonn,  my  son 7 

Wliat  ate  ye  to  dinner,  my  handsome  young  man  ?" 
"Eels,  stewed  in  damsons,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
I 'm  weary  with  hunting,  and  fahi  would  lie  doon." 

4  "Oh,  where  are  your  hounds,  Lord  Lantoun,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  are  your  hounds,  my  handsome  young  man  ? " 
"They  swelled  and  they  died,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
I 'm  weary  with  hunting,  and  fain  would  lie  doon." 

5  "I  fear  ye  are  poisoned.  Lord  Lantoun,  my  son  I 

I  fear  ye  are  poisoned,  my  handsome  young  man  1 " 
"  CNi,  yes,  I  am  poisoned,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
I 'm  weary  with  hunting,  and  fain  would  lie  doon." 


Digitized  by  Google 


196 


journal  of  American  Folk-Larc 


B. 

Taken  down  by  me  September  21,  1903,  from  the  singing  of  J.  M.  L.,  Hingham,  Miat« 
a  native  of  Springfield,  Mass^  where  the  baliad  was  sung  eighty  or  more  years  ago. 


V-J^  \  1  [— 

Mill 

 1  1  

Ob, 

whera  have  y<ra 

 ,  .  ^ 

bom,  •  8wi 

let  ' 

WO  .  Ban 

1 

-4  

my 

-f— 

aon? 

— — 1 

Oh,  n 

rhera  have  yoa 

1  .  J^i 

bMii,  .     my  c 

^-l    1  ^ 

iwn 

dear*  ci 

I — 



one? 

1 — 

Oh, 

I've 

been  • 

tiunt  • 

•  ing^  motb* 

■ 

er 

V 

lake  the 

i  _ 

J — 
bed  1 

icon. 

— t^- 

zL*' — J— 



4— 

— # — 

For  I'm  pois  -oned    to    the  and     I     £ain    would  lie  down. 


I  **  Oh,  where  have  yoa  been,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  own  dearest  one?" 
"  Oh,  I  'vc  been  a-hunting,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

8  '*  Oh,  what  have  you  been  a-drinking,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  have  you  been  a-drinking,  my  own  deafest  one } " 
**  Oh,  't  is  ale  I  Ve  been  a-drinking,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  hearty  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  "  Oh,  who  gave  it  you,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  who  gave  it  you,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
"  My  Sweetheart,  she  gave  it  me,  mother  make  the  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

4  "  Oh,  what  will  you  give  Fither,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  will  you  give  Father,  my  own  dearest  one?" 
"  My  horses  and  cnttle.  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  X  fain  would  lie  down." 

5  **  Oh,  what  will  you  give  Mother,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Ob,  what  will  you  give  Mother,  my  own  dearest  one  }" 
'*  My  love  and  my  blessing,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I  *m  poisoned  to  the  hearty  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

6  "  Oh,  what  will  you  give  Brother,  Sweet  William,  my  son? 

Oh,  what  will  you  give  Brother,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  ** 
"  My  sword  and  my  pistol,  mother  make  the  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down," 


,d  by  Googl 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England,  197 


7  "  Oh,  what  will  you  give  Sister,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  will  you  give  Sister,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
"  My  gold  and  my  jewels,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  X  fain  would  lie  down." 

8  "  Oh,  what  will  you  give  Sweetheart,  Sweet  William,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  will  you  give  Sweetheart,  my  own  dearest  one  \  ** 
"Give  her  Hell  and  damnation,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 


C. 

Communicated  July  II,  1903, 1^  A.  M.,  with  the  following  comment,  *  As  tang  by  my 
mother,  who  would  be  more  than  one  hundred  yean  old,  if  living. 


Oh,     wbera  have    yon      been,  .      Fair       El  -  ion,  my 


H  r-t- 


■on?    Oh,  where  have    yon     been, .     my     own  dear>eit 


one?     I've    been  out     a  •  court -ing, moth  - er  make  my    bed  soon. 


9 


For  Xte  pole 'Oned    to  my  heart,  and  I    fain   wonldlie  down. 


I  "Oh,  where  have  yott  been.  Fair  Elson,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  own  dearest  one  ? " 
"I  have  been  out  a-courtin^,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  my  heart,  and  I  lain  would  lie  down." 

3  "  Oh,  what  have  you  been  eating,  Fair  Elson,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  have  you  been  eating,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
I 've  been  eating  eels,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  "  What  color  were  those  eels,  Fair  Elson,  my  son  ? 

What  color  were  those  eels,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
"  They  were  black,  white,  and  yellow,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  X 'm  poisoned  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

4  **  What  yon  will  to  your  lather.  Fair  Elson,  my  son  ? 

What  yott  will  to  your  father,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
"A  black  suit  of  mourning,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I  *m  poisoned  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 


Digitized  by  Google 


198  yaumal  of  American  Folk'Lon. 

5  "  What  you  will  to  your  brother,  Fair  Elson,  my  son  ? 
What  you  will  to  your  brother,  my  own  dearest  one  ?  " 
"  A  black  yoke  of  oxen,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  poisoned  to  my  heart,  and  I  lain  would  lie  down." 


D. 

Comnuniicaled  Deoember  3, 1904,  bjr  H.  J.  Coneofd,  N.  H.,  as 
agp  at  neishborly  gatberinga  in  Hdbran,  Me. 


half  aceatnrf 


Oh,   where  d'ye     go    court  -  ing,  Sweet  Nel  •  sod,    my  son? 


Oh*  irhaia  d'ye  go  cowt^in^  aoj  awaet  pvet-  t$    oaa?  I 


went     to    see    Pol  •  Ij,    moth-er  make  my    bed  soon. 


For  I 

/TS 


ride    at      m$    heait»     and    I    long    to  Bo 

I  "Oh,  where  d'  ye  go  courting,  Sweet  Nelson,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  d'  ye  go  courting,  my  sweet  pretty  one?" 
"  I  went  to  see  Polly,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

3  "  What  d'  ye  have  for  your  supper,  Sweet  Ndsoo,  my  son  ? 

What  d'  ye  have  for  your  supper,  my  sweet  pretty  one?  " 
"  Speckled  eels,  fried  in  fat,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  hearty  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

3  "What  d'  ye  leave  to  your  father.  Sweet  Nelson,  my  son? 

What  d'  ye  leave  to  your  father,  my  sweet  pretty  one  ?  " 
"  My  farm  and  farming  tools,  modier  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

4  "  What  d'  ye  leave  to  your  sister,  Sweet  Nelson,  my  son  ? 

What  d'  ye  leave  to  your  sister,  my  sweet  pretty  one  ? " 
"  My  purse  and  my  jewels,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

5  *'What  d'  ye  leave  to  yonr  Polly,  Sweel  Nelson,  my  son  ? 

What  d*  ye  leave  to  your  FOlly,  my  sweet  pretty  one  ?  " 

"  The  rope  and  the  gallows.    Oh,  make  my  bed  soon  I 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England, 

6  "  Oh,  where  shall  I  make  it,  Sweet  Nelaoo,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  shall  I  make  it,  my  sweet  pretty  one  ?  " 
'*  Yonder  in  the  churchyard,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  1  long  to  lie  down." 


199 


E. 

CoDtrfbnted  Nofvanber  5, 1904,  by  SI. !«  J.,  Lynn,  Ibn. 


m 


3    ;ij  J 


Oht  vhero  have  joa   ban  lo^     Te«nm-  to^     my  wutki 


r— • 

1  

d     t  ^  1- 

— 1 

=1  -  1  

 ^  _l 

Oh,    where  have  yoa  been    to,      my  own  dar  -  ling    one  ?    I 've 


bMa  to    iM    Ma  •  iy» 


A     1  I 
 iC 


HMtli.er  anka  my  bod  KKm,    For  I*m 


1 


3 


tick      in     the     heart,  and       I    long     to       lie  down. 

I  **  Oh,  where  have  you  been  to^  TeronCo,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  have  you  been  to,  my  own  darling  one  ?  " 

**I 've  been  to  see  Mar\',  mother  make  mv  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  in  the  iieart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

8  ''What  d'  she  give  you  for  supper,  Teronto,  my  son? 
What  d*  she  give  you  for  supper,  my  own  darling  one  ?  " 
Eels,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  in  the  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

3  "  You  're  pizened,  you  're  pizened,  Teronto,  my  son  I 
You  're  pizened,  you  're  pizened,  my  own  darling  one  I" 


4  "  What  '11  you  give  to  your  Mary,  Teronto,  my  son  ? 

What  *11  you  give  to  your  Mary,  my  own  darling  one?" 
"  A  halter  to  hanc^  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  in  the  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

F. 

Commnnicated  July  11,  190J,  by  £.  J.  Wlnchetter,  Mam.,  and  traced  back  for 
tbraa  gmianthNis  In  Fmdcricton,  V,  B. 

X  "  Where  have  yon  been,  dear  Willie,  my  son  ? 
Where  have  yoa  been,  my  darling  young  one  ?  " 


Digitized  by  Google 


20O 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 


"  I 've  been  to  see  my  sweetheart^  motiher  make  oy  bed  sood. 
As  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  doira." 

9  "  What  did  your  sweetheart  give  you,  dear  Willie,  my  son? 
What  did  your  sweetheart  give  you,  my  darling  young  one?" 
"Three  little  silver  fishes,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  What  will  you  leave  your  father,  dear  Willie,  my  son  ? 
What  will  you  leave  your  father,  my  darling  young  one  ?  ** 
My  coaches  and  horses,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 

For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart  and  I  iain  would  lie  down.*' 

4  "  What  will  you  leave  your  mother,  dear  \N'illie.  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  mother,  my  darling  young  one?" 
"  My  best  milch  cows,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

5  '*  What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  dear  Willie,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  my  darling  young  one  ? " 
"  Many  rings  and  diamonds,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

6  "What  will  you  leave  your  sweetheart,  dear  Willie,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  sweetheart,  my  darling  young  one?" 
"  A  rope  for  to  hang  her  on  yonder  green  tree, 
'T  is  more  than  she  deserves,  fur  she 's  poisoned  me  1 " 

G. 

Recited  to  me  December  22,  1904,  by  E.  J.  B.,  contributor  of  F. 

X  "Where  was  you  last  night,  dear  Willie,  my  son  ? 
Where  was  you  last  night,  my  fond-hearted  one  ? " 
**  I  have  been  a-courling,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

s  "  What  did  your  sweetheart  give  you,  dear  WOlie^  my  son  ? 
What  did  your  sweetheart  give  you,  my  fond4iearted  one?" 

"  Three  little  silver  fishes,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

H. 

Recited  to  me  November,  1903,  by  J.  Mi,  Boetmi,  Ifan.,  who  heard  it  over  forty  jern 

ago  in  Ireland. 

I  "Where  were  you  all  day,  my  own  pretty  boy, 
Where  were  you  all  day,  my  comfort  and  joy?" 
"  Fishing  and  fowling,  mother  make  the  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lay  down." 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England* 

9  "  What  will  you  leave  ycm  father,  my  own  pretty  boy  i 
What  will  you  leave  your  father,  my  comfort  and  joy?" 
"  My  hounds  and  my  hornSi  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lay  down." 

3  "What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  my  own  pretty  boy? 

What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  my  comfort  and  joy  ? " 
*'My  gold  and  my  silver,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  hearty  and  I  fain  would  lay  down." 

4  "  What  will  you  leave  your  brother,  my  own  pretty  boy  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  brother,  my  comfort  and  joy?** 
"  My  coach  and  six  horses,  mother  make  the  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lay  down." 

5  **  What  will  you  leave  your  true-love,  my  own  pretty  boy  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  trueJove,  my  comfort  and  joy  ?  " 
"  Three  ropes  for  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 


201 


Communicated  to  me  September  i6,  1904,  by  J.  £.  W.,  Boston,  Mass^  as  recollected 


Oh,  1 

# — — ^  

b««ii»   xy  - 1 

u  -  to,  my 

•OB?  Oh, 

where  have  you  been,     my  dear  lit  -  tie   one  ?    I  have  been  to  my 


4  ^    i  ^' 


grand  moth  -  et%  moth  -  or   make   my  bed 


For  I'm 


 a  , 

1    1  1 

— — 

it  J-J-J 

— g — 

sick     at     tfie    keait,  and  would  Uin     hjf    mo  down. 

X  "  Oh,  where  have  you  been,  Tyrante,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  dear  little  one  ? "  (poor  ?)  (sweet  ?) 
"  I  have  been  to  my  grandmother's,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  1 1m  sick  at  the  heart,  and  would  fain  lay  me  doon." 

S  "  Oh,  what  gat  you  to  eat,  Tyrante,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  gat  you  to  eat,  my  dear  little  one  ?  " 
Striped  eels,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  would  fain  lay  me  doon." 


Digitized  by  Google 


202  yauma/  of  American  Folk-Lar$» 

3  "  Oh,  wlieiia  are  your  blood4iocmds,  Tyrante,  my  son? 

Oh,  where  are  your  biood-hottncls,  my  dear  litde  one  ?  " 
*'0h,  thejr  swelled  up  and  bursty  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  would  fain  lay  me  doon." 

4  "  Oh,  I  fear  you  are  poisoned,  Tyrante,  my  son ! 

Oh,  I  fear  you  are  poisoned,  my  dear  little  one  1 " 
"  Oh,  yes  I  I  am  poisoned,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  would  fain  lay  me  doon/' 

5.  *'  Oh,  where  shall  I  make  your  bed,  Tyrante,  my  son  ? 
Where  shall  I  make  your  bed,  my  dear  little  one?" 

*'  Make  my  bed  in  the  kirkyard,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  would  fain  lay  me  doon." 

J. 

Recollected  July  1903,  by  M.  R.  M.,  NewtonviUe,  Mass.,  as  heard  bung  more  than  sixty 


Oh,  « 

'here  have  yoa  been  to  - 

day,  .    Te  -  sen  •  oe, 

1 

=4=-- 

my  1 

Mm? 

Oh,  whei 

li  , 

-e  have  you  been  to  -  d: 

ly,  .  my 

pret  -  ty 

lit  -  tie 

one? 

I  have 

;  X  J  /j 

been  to  see  my 

gmi>daiiM 

1,  moA  ^ef  B 

lake  my 

bed 

/IN 

-•-I  ^ 

— ^ 

soon.  For  I'm  sick  at    the  hesft.  and  I   liia  woeM  lie  dom. 


X  *'  Oh,  where  have  7011  been  to^ay,  Terence,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  have  you  been  to-day,  my  pretty  little  one  ?  "  . 
"I  have  been  to  see  my  grandame,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fahi  would  lie  down." 

a  "Oh,  what  did  she  give  you  to  eat,  Terence,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  did  she  give  you  to  eat,  my  pretty  little  one  ?  " 
**  Fresh-water  potted  eels,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  "  Oh,  what  will  you  give  your  father,  Terence,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  will  you  p^ive  your  father,  my  pretty  little  one?" 
"  One  half  of  my  fortune,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 


Digitized  by  Coogle 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England,  203 

4  '*  And  what  will  you  give  your  mother,  Teience,  my  son  ? 

And  what  will  you  give  your  mother,  my  pretty  little  one?" 
"  Ten  thousand  sweet  kisses,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

5  "  And  what  will  you  give  your  brother,  Terence,  my  son  ? 

And  what  will  you  give  your  brother,  my  pretty  little  one  ?  " 
'*  T  other  half  of  my  fortune,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

6  "And  what  will  you  give  your  sister,  Terence^  my  son  ? 

And  what  will  you  give  your  sister,  my  pretty  little  one?" 
"  A  thousand  kind  wishes,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  X  fain  would  lie  down." 

y  "  And  what  will  you  give  your  grandame,  Terence,  my  son  ? 
And  what  will  you  give  your  grandame,  my  pretty  little  one  ?  " 
"  A  rope  for  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I  m  sick  at  the  heart,  and  1  fain  would  lie  down." 


K. 

As  svQg  for  geDeiatioiis  ia  tiie  avMiy  in  a  funfly  Uvfaig  la  FMnbet^  Cobdi,  wcoritod 
hj  H.  £.  Ki,  Nflw  YoiIe,  If .  Y* 


 1  h  . 

Oh,  wl 

J  • 

lere  ha 

 i 

ve  yo 



a 

-<-^jr» — 1  - 

been,  .     Ta  •  n 

— ^ — ^ 

in  -  ty,  my 

■6) 

.  Ob, 

h^^-^  t- 

:^ — * — 

-i-. — J  J 

where   have    you       been,  .       my     deax       Ut  -  tie  one? 


I  **  Oh,  where  have  yon  been,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  dear  little  one  ?  " 
**  To  see  my  grandmother,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  down." 

a  "  What  had  you  for  supper,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 
What  had  you  for  supper,  my  dear  little  one  ? " 
'*  Eels,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  dowo." 

3  "  What  was  their  color,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 
What  was  their  color,  my  dear  litde  one?" 
"  Green  striped  with  yellow,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  hearty  and  faint  to  lie  down." 


Digitized  by  Coogle 


204 


Journal  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


4  "  What  will  you  leave  your  mother,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  mother,  my  dear  little  one?  " 

"  A  coach  and  six  horses,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  down." 

5  "  What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  sister,  my  dear  little  one?" 
"  A  box  of  rich  jewels,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  down." 


*'  What  will  yon  leave  your  brother,  Taianty,  my  aon  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  brother,  my  dear  little  one? 
**  A  suit  of  fine  clothes,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 

For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  down." 


7  "  What  will  you  leave  your  grandmother,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  your  grandmother,  my  dear  little  one  ?  ** 
**  A  rope  for  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  faint  to  lie  down." 

8  "  Where  shall  I  make  it,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

Where  shall  I  make  it,  my  dear  little  one? " 
"  In  a  comer  of  the  churchyard,  mother  make  my  bed  aooo. 
For  I 'm  so  sick  at  the  lieart,  and  faunt  to  lie  down." 


L. 

Contrflrated  May  6, 1904.  by  R.  P.  U.,  Cambridge,  Mass^  who  tiacn  it  bade  Cor  half  a 
oentuiy  in  Chaileatown,  N.  H. 


What  had  yoa    for  sup  •  per.  Or  •  Ian  •  do,  my    son?  What 

/IN 


1 


yott 


sup  -  per,    my     sweet     lit  -   tie  ooe? 


z  "  What  had  you  for  supper,  Orlando,  my  son  ? 
What  had  you  for  supper,  my  sweet  little  one  ? " 

**  Striped  eels,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  SOOn, 
For  I  am  so  weary,  I  fain  would  lie  dowu." 

2  "  You  're  pizened,  you  're  pizened,  Orlando,  my  son  1 
You  rc  pizened,  you  're  pizened,  my  sweet  little  one  I " 


Digitized  by  Coo 


Traditiotial  Ballads  in  New  England,  205 


M. 

Contributed  by  J.  P.  T.,  as  recollected  from  childhood. 

1  "Oh,  where  have  you  been,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  dear  little  one  ?  " 
"I 've  been  to  see  granny,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 

2  "  What  had  you  for  supper,  Taranly,  my  son  ? 

What  had  you  for  supper,  my  dear  little  one  ? " 
"Fresh  eels,  fried  in  butter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  "What  will  you  lea^e  Either,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  father,  my  dear  little  one  ?  " 
**  A  purse  full  of  money,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  side  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 

4  "  What  will  you  leave  mother,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  mother,  my  dear  little  one  ? " 
"  A  box  of  fine  jewels,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 

5  "  What  will  you  leave  sister,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  sister,  my  dear  little  one  ? " 
"A  coacii  and  six  horses,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 

6  "  What  will  you  leave  granny,  Taranty,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  leave  granny,  my  dear  little  one  ?  *' 
"  A  rope  for  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  fain  would  lie  down." 


N. 

Contributed  Jannaiy,  1904,  by  G.  T.  A.,  Botton,  Man.,  as  smig  many  jesrs  ago  bjr  an 

Irish  serving-man. 


What  d' you  have  for  your    break*faat,     T7  -  lan  •  dng^  my 


1=t: 


i 


son ?  What  d' you  have  lor  your  break^aat,  my  dear    Ut -tla  one? 


I  "  Oh,  what  did  you  have  for  your  breakfast,  Tyranting,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  did  you  have  for  your  breakfast,  my  dear  little  one  "i " 
**  Striped  eels,  fried  in  butter,  will  you  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  down." 

VOL.  xvin. — MO.  70.  15 


Digitized  by  Google 


2o6  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

%    Oh,  what  did  you  leave  to  your  mother,  lyranting,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  did  you  leave  to  your  mother,  my  dear  little  one  ? 

"  A  bag  full  of  money,  will  you  make  my  bed  sooo. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  dowo." 

3  **  Ob,  what  did  you  leave  to  your  father,  Tyranting,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  did  you  leave  to  your  father,  my  dear  little  one?  " 
"  The  cottage  he  lives  in,  will  you  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I  *m  sick  at  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  down." 

o. 

Communicated  July  ii,  1903,  by  L.  W.      Cambridige,  Mast^  ia  whose  familj  it  has 

been  traditiunai  for  three  generations. 


^f^%=rf-f^^-j_J  IJ  J  j|i  J 


Ohtvrhin  ham  ]poo  bae^  Ty  -  na  •  ty,  any    aon?.  Ob* 


i 


 V. 


where  have  yoa       beeoi  .     my    sweet     Ut  -  tie      one?    Oht  I've 


5 


been     to      my  grandmotb  -  er*s,  modi 


make    mj  bed 


aooB,   For  I*mridc  at      tba  haar^aad  X   ftiawooldlia  down. 

I  "  Oh,  where  have  you  been,  Tyranty,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  sweet  little  one  ? " 
"  Oh,  I 've  been  to  my  grandmother's,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

9  **0h,  what  did  you  have  for  breakfast  (supper),  lyranty,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  did  you  have  for  breakfast  (supper),  my  sweet  little  one?" 
"  Striped  eels,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  1  fain  would  lie  down." 

3  Oh,  what  will  you  leave  your  father,  T^rranty,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  will  you  leave  your  father,  my  sweet  little  one  ?  " 

**  My  houses  and  lands,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

4  "  Oh,  what  will  you  leave  your  mother,  Tyranty,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  what  will  you  leave  your  mother,  my  sweet  little  one  ?  " 
"  A  purse  ol  red  gold,  modier  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 


Digitized  by  Google 


TradUional  Ballads  in  New  England, 


207 


5  "  Ob,  what  will  yoa  leave  your  grandmother,  Tyranty,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  will  you  leave  your  grandmother,  my  sweet  little  one  ?  " 
"  A  halter  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  would  lie  down." 

p. 

Contributed  to  me  by  E.  W.,  Boston,  Mass^  as  a  "  haunting  memoxy  a£  childhood." 

I  "Oh,  where  have  you  been,  T^Tanty,  my  son  ? 

Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  sweet  little  one  ?  " 
'  "  I 've  been  to  grandmother's,  mother  make  my  bed  soon^ 

For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  doon." 

s  "  Oh,  what  did  she  give  you,  Tjrranty,  my  son  f 
Ob,  what  did  she  give  you,  my  sweet  little  one?" 

"  Striped  eels,  fried  in  butter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  doon." 

3  "  Oh,  what  '11  you  give  to  your  granny,  Tyranty,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  what  '11  you  give  to  your  granny,  my  sweet  little  one  ? " 
"  A  halter  to  hang  her,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I  *m  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  doon." 

Q. 

Taken  dowa  bf  me  October  11, 1904,  from  Um  redtedon  of  J.  G.  IdL,  Newbniy,  Vemioiit. 

I  **  Ob,  where  have  you  been,  Fileander,  my  son  ? 
Oh,  where  have  you  been,  my  sweet  pretty  one  ? " 
*'  I 've  been  to  see  grandmother,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  down." 

a  "And  what  did  you  have  for  supper,  Fileander,  my  son  ? 
And  vi^at  did  you  have  for  supper,  my  sweet  pretty  one?" 
'*  Eels^  fried  hi  fresh  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  down." 

3  "Oh,  what  did  you  will  your  grandmother,  Fileander,  my  son? 
Oh,  what  did  you  will  your  grandmother,  my  sweet  pretty  one?" 
** Hell-fire  and  damnation,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  at  my  heart,  and  I  want  to  lie  down." 

XL  THE  DEMON  LOVER. 
A. 

"The  RooM-Carpenter,"  Biotdalde,  prfnted  iboot  T86a  by  H.  Mffsraan,  60  Chat- 
ham Street,  New  York.  N.  Y.  Transcribed  by  me,  May  21,  I904,from  aCOpf  fal  the  OOl- 
lectioo  ti  the  American  Antiqaarian  Socie^  at  Worcester,  Maia. 

I  **  Well  met,  well  met,  my  own  true  lov^ 

Well  met,  well  met !  "  cried  he, 
**  For  I 've  just  returned  from  the  Salt  Sea| 
And  all  for  the  love  of  thee  1 " 


2o8  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

s    I  might  have  married  the  King's  daughter,  dear,^  " 
"  You  might  have  married  her, —  "  cried  sb^ 
"For  I  am  married  to  a  House-Carpenter, 
And  a  £ne  joung  man  is  he  1 " 

3  **  If  you  will  forsake  your  House-Carpenter, 

And  go  along  with  me, 
I  will  take  you  to  where  the  grass  grows  hig|i, 
On  the  banks  of  old  Tennessee  I" 

4  "If  I  forsake  my  House-Carpenter, 

And  go  along  with  thee, 
What  liave  you  got  to  keep  me  upon. 
And  keep  me  from  misery  ?  " 

5  Says  he,  "  I 've  got  six  ships  at  sea. 

All  sailing  to  dry  land, 
.  One  hundred  and  ten  of  your  own  countrymen. 
Love,  they  shall  be  at  your  command  1 " 

6  She  took  her  babe  upon  her  knee 

And  kissed  it  one,  two  and  three, 
Saying, — Stay  at  home,  my  darling  sw«et  babe, 
And  keep  your  Other's  company  1 " 

7  They  had  not  sailed  four  weeks  or  more, 

Four  weeks,  or  scarcely  three, 
When  she  thought  of  her  darling  sweet  babe  at  hom^ 
And  she  wept  most  bitterly. 

8  Says  he^ — "  Are  you  weeping  for  gold,  my  love, 

Or  are  you  weeping  for  fear, 
Or  are  you  weeping  for  your  House- Carpenter, 
That  you  left  and  followed  me  ?  " 

9  "I  am  not  weeping  for  gold,"  she  replied, 

"Nor  am  I  weeping  for  fear, 
l)ut  I  am  weeping  alone  lor  my  sweet  little  babe, 
That  I  left  with  my  House-Carpenter." 

10  Oh,  dry  up  your  tears,  my  own  true  love. 

And  cease  your  weeping,*'  —  cried  he, 
*'  For  soon  you  '11  see  your  own  happy  home^ 
On  the  banks  of  old  Tennessee  I " 

11  They  had  not  sailed  five  weeks  or  more. 

Five  weeks,  or  scarcely  four, 
When  the  ship  struck  a  rock  and  sprang  aleak. 
And  they  never  were  seen  any  more. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


Tradiiional  Ballads  in  New  England,  209 


X3  A  curse  be  on  the  sea-faring  men. 
Oh,  cursed  be  their  lives^ 
For  while  they  are  robbing  the  House-Carpenter, 
And  coaxing  away  tfaehr  wives. 

XII.  YOUNG  BEICHAN. 
A. 

"  Lord  Pakcman,  who  wn?  taken  by  the  Turks  and  put  in  prison,  and  afterwards  released 
by  the  jailor's  daughter,  whom  he  oiarned."  Printed  by  Nathaniel  Coverly,  jun.,  Milk- 
Street,  comer  Theatre  AUey,  Boston. 

Transcribed  by  me,  October  1 5, 1904,  from  a  copy  in  the  Isaiah  Thomas  ooOectloii  of  the 
AoMrican  Antiqaarian  Sodely,  Wotceater,  Mass. 

I  In  India  lived  a  noble  Lord, 

His  riches  were  beyond  compare, 
He  was  the  darling  of  his  parents, 
And  oi  their  estate  an  only  heir. 

3  He  had  c^old  and  he  had  silver, 

And  he  had  houses  of  a  liigh  degree. 
But  still  he  never  could  be  contented, 
Until  a  voyage  he  had  been  to  sea. 

3  He  sailed  east  and  he  sailed  west^ 

Until  he  came  to  the  Turkish  shore^ 
Where  he  was  taken  and  put  in  prison. 
Where  he  could  neither  see  nor  hear. 

4  For  seven  long  months  he  lay  lamenting. 

He  laid  lamentinp^  in  iron  bands, 
There  happened  to  be  a  brisk  young  lady, 
Which  set  him  free  from  his  iron  chains. 

5  The  jailor  had  one  only  daughter, 

A  brisk  young  lady  gay  was  she,  — 
As  she  was  walking  across  the  floor, 
She  chanced  Lord  Bakeman  for  to  see. 

6  She  stole  the  keys  of  her  father's  prison, 

And  said  Lord  Bakeman  she  would  set  free. 

She  went  unto  the  prison  door, 
And  opened  it  without  delay. 

7  "  Have  you  got  gold,  or  have  you  got  silver. 

Or  have  you  got  houses  of  a  high  degree, 
What  will  you  give  to  the  lady  fair, 
If  she  from  bondage  will  set  you  free? " 


Digitized  by  Google 


2  lo  yaurttai  of  American  Faik'Lon. 


8  "  Yes,  I 've  got  gold,  and  I 've  got  silver, 

And  1  've  got  houses  of  a  high  degree, 
I  '11  give  them  all  to  the  lady  fair, 
If  she  from  bondage  will  set  me  freew" 

9  '*  It 's  not  your  silver,  no  nor  gold, 

Nor  yet  your  houses  with  a  high  d^;re6^ 
'T  is  all  I  want  is  to  make  me  happy, 
And  all  I  crave  is  your  fair  body  1 " 

lo  "Let  us  make  a  bsigain,  and  make  it  stiong» 
For  seven  long  years  it  shall  stand. 
You  shall  not  wed  with  no  other  woman. 
And  I'll  not  wed  with  no  other  manl" 

IX    When  seven  long  years  were  gone  and  pas^ 
And  seven  long  years  were  at  an  end, 
She  packed  up  all  her  richest  clothing, 
Saying,    Now  I  '11  go  and  seek  my  friend." 

la    She  sailed  east,  and  she  sailed  west, 
Until  she  came  to  the  India  shore, 
And  there  she  never  could  be  contented. 
Till  for  her  true  love  she  did  inquire. 

13  She  mqoured  lor  Lord  Bakeman's  palace. 

At  every  comer  of  the  street. 
She  inquired  after  Lord  Bakeman's  palace. 
Of  every  person  she  chanced  to  meet 

14  And  when  she  came  to  Lord  Bakeman's  palace^ 

She  knocked  so  loud  upon  the  ring. 
There 's  none  so  ready  as  the  brisk  young  porter. 
To  arise  and  let  this  fair  lady  in. 

15  She  asked  if  this  was  Lord  Bakeman's  palace^ 

Or  is  the  Lord  himself  within?" 
"Yes,  yes,"  reply'd  the  brisk  youQg porter, 
**  He  and  his  bride  have  just  entered  in." 

x6    She  wept,  she  wept  and  wrung  her  hands, 
Cr}'ing  "  Alas  !  I  am  undone  ! 
I  wish  I  was  in  my  native  country, 
Across  the  sea,  theze  to  remain." 

X7  "Ask  him  to  send  me  one  oonoe  of  bread, 

And  a  bottle  of  his  wine  so  strong, 
And  ask  him  if  he 's  forgot  the  lady. 
That  let  him  free  from  his  iron  chains." 


.  J  ^  .^  i.y  Google 


Tradiiional Ballads  in  New  England.  ail 

18  The  porter  went  in  unto  his  master, 

And  bowed  low  upon  his  knee,  — 
"  Arise,  arise,  my  brisk  young  porter. 
And  tell  me  what  the  matter  is  ? " 

19  "  There  is  a  lady  stands  at  your  gate, 

And  she  doth  iraep  most  bitterly, 
I  think  she  is  as  fine  a  creature^ 
That  ever  I  wish  my  eyes  did  see. 

so    She 's  got  more  rings  on  her  forefingers, 

And  round  her  waist  has  diamond  string*. 
She 's  got  more  gold  about  her  clothing, 
Than  your  new  bride  and  all  her  kin. 

31  "  She  wants  you  to  send  her  one  ounce  of  bread, 
And  a  bottle  of  your  wine  so  strong, 
And  asks  if  you  have  forgot  the  lady, 
That  set  you  free  from  your  iron  chains." 

as   He  stamped  his  foot  upon  the  floor. 
He  broke  the  table  in  pieces  three, 
**  Here 's  adieu  to  you,  my  wedded  brid^ 
For  this  fair  Lady  I  will  go  seel " 

23    Then  up  bespoke  the  new  bride's  mother, 
And  she  was  a  lady  of  a  high  degree, 
is  you  have  made  a  bride  of  my  daughter,—" 
*'  Well,  she  is  none  the  worse  for  me, 

94  "Bat  since  my  fair  one  has  arrived, 
A  aecond  wedding  there  shall  be, 
Your  daughter  came  on  a  horse  and  saddle, 
She  may  go  home  in  her  coach  and  three." 

S5    He  took  this  fair  lady  by  the  hand. 

And  led  her  over  the  marble  stones, 
He  changed  her  name  from  Susannah  fair, 
And  now  is  the  wife  of  Lord  Bakcuian. 

36   He  took  her  by  her  lily-white  hand, 

And  led  her  through  from  room  to  room, 
He  has  dunged  her  name  from  Susannah  frur, 
And  is  called  the  wile  of  Lord  Bakeman. 


Digitized  by  Google 


212 


youmal  of  Anuruan  Folk-Lcre, 


xni.  THE  ELFIN  KNIGHT. 

A. 

*•  Blow  ye  winds,  blow."  No.  3,  in  "  Family  Songs,"  compiled  by  Rosa  S.  Allen,  in 
whose  family  it  has  been  traditional  for  many  generations. 


f~l  


Yoa   most  make  me    a     fine    Hoi- land  aUrt:  Blow,  Uow, 


i 


blowt      jtt  winda  blow.      And    not  have 


1r- 


tr — 


stitch  of  nee  -  die- work :        Blow,  ye  winds  that    a  -  rise,  blow,  blow. 

1  You  must  make  me  a  fine  Holland  shirt : 

Blow,  blow,  blow,  ye  winds  blow. 
And  not  have  in  it  a  stitch  of  needle-work : 
Blow,  ye  winds  that  arise,  blow,  blow. 

2  You  must  wash  it  in  yonder  spring, 
Where  there 's  never  a  drop  of  water  in. 

3  You  must  dry  it  on  yonder  thorn. 
Where  the  sun  never  yet  shone  on. 

4  My  father 's  got  an  acre  of  land, 
You  must  dig  it  with  a  goose  quilL 

5  You  must  sow  it  with  one  seed, 
.  You  must  reap  it  with  your  thumb  nail. 

6  You  must  thrash  it  on  yonder  sea, 
And  not  get  it  wet,  or  let  a  kernel  be. 

7  You  must  grind  it  on  yonder  hill, 
Where  there  yet  has  ne'er  stood  a  mill. 

8  When  you 've  done,  and  finished  your  woric, 
BriQg  it  unto  me,  and  you  shall  have  your  shirt 


Digitized  by  Google 


Tradiiional  Ballads  in  New  England, 


213 


B. 

Recorded  about  1S75,  ^*  ^'t  Provideuce,  R.  I.,  from  the  singing  of  an  aged  roan, 
bom  in  the  year  i8oa 


-1 


want  70a     to    make  me 


brie  aliirt. 


Pus  '  ley     and  sage, 


rose 


ma  -  ly      and     thyme,  With 


-4- 


oat 


nee  -  dk 


or 


ny     fine     work,  And 


I 


then    yoo    shall  be 


tme  lov 


I  I  want  you  to  make  me  a  cambric  shirt, 

Parsley  an  J  sage,  rosemary  and  thyme, 
Without  any  needle  or  any  fine  work, 
And  then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

a  Go  wash  it  out  in  yonder  well, 
MThere  there  'a  never  no  water  nor  drop  of  rain  fell 

3  Go  bang  it  out  on  yonder  thorn, 

Where  there  'a  never  no  blossom,  since  Adam  was  bom. 

4  Now,  since  you  have  asked  me  questions  three, 
I  pray  you  would  grant  me  the  same  liberty. 

5  I  want  you  to  buy  me  an  acre  of  land, 
Between  the  salt  water  and  the  sea  sand. 

6  Go  plough  it  all  up  with  one  cuckold's  hom, 
Cro  SOW  it  all  dowD  with  one  peppercorn. 

7  Go  reap  it  all  up  with  a  sickle  of  leather, 
And  bind  it  all  up  with  one  cock's  feather. 

a 

CoBtribuled  Match,  1904,  by  L  L.      '^Hnefand,  N.    fbnnerly  of  Lynn,  Mais. 

I  You  go  and  make  me  a  cambric  shirt, 
I«et  every  rose  grow  merry  in  time. 


Digitized  by  Google 


214  yaumal  af  American  Folh-Lan* 

Without  any  seam  or  needlework, 
Then  you  shall  be  a  true  lover  of  mine. 

%  Go  wash  it  out  on  yonder  hOl, 
Where  rain  never  was,  and  dew  never  leD. 

3  Go  hanfi:  it  out  on  yonder  thorn, 

That  never  was  budded  since  Adam  was  bom. 

4  And  now  you  have  asked  me  questions  three, 
I  hope  you  11  answer  as  many  for  me. 

5  Yon  go  and  boy  me  an  acre  of  land» 
Between  the  salt  water  and  the  sea  sand* 

6  Go  plough  it  all  o'er  with  an  old  ram's  hom, 
Go  sow  it  all  o'er  with  one  peppercorn. 

7  Go  reap  it  all  down  with  a  peacock's  feather, 
Go  thrash  it  all  ont  with  the  sting  of  an  adder. 

8  And  when  yon  have  done,  and  finished  your  wofk, 
Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you  the  shirt* 

D. 

**  Love's  Impotsibility.*^  From  "  Songs  for  the  MilUont"  printed  in  this  country  aboot 
1844.   Contributed  by  J.  E.  W.,  Boston,  Mass. 

X  Canst  thou  make  me  a  cambric  shirt,  — 
Savory,  sage,  rosemary,  and  thyme, 
Without  e'er  a  needle,  or  one  stitch  of  worl^ 
And  I  will  be  a  true  lovier  of  thine, 
And  I  will  be  a  true  lovier  of  thine. 

• 

3  Canst  thou  wash  it  at  yonder  well. 
Whose  water  ne'er  sprung,  nor  rain  ever  fell  ? 

3  Canst  thou  dry  it  at  yonder  thorn, 

Where  blossoms  ne'er  blew,  since  Adam  was  born  ? 

4  Canst  thou  buy  me  an  acre  of  land. 
Betwixt  the  salt  water  and  the  sea  sand? 

5  Canst  thou  plough  it  with  a  cow's  horn, 
And  sow  it  all  over  with  one  peppercorn? 

6  Canst  thou  reap  it  with  straps  of  leather, 
And  tie  it  all  up  in  a  peacock's  feather? 

PhU^  Bony, 

Boston,  Mass. 


Digiiizeu  by  GoogI 


Aleutian  S lories* 


215 


^        ALEUTIAN  STORIES. 

I.  THE  SAD  WOMAN. 

Both  the  natives  of  Atka  and  Attn  tell  the  following  story,  which 
was  related  to  me  by  Mrs.  C  A  Anderson,  a  native  of  Attu. 

Many,  many  years  ago  the  people  of  Atka  and  Attu  were  continually 
at  war  with  each  other,  frequently  surprising  each  other  with  fatal  re- 
sults. At  this  particular  time,  the  Atka  warriors  gathered  a  large  fleet 
of  bidarkas»  and  one  dark  night  fell  on  the  Attu  inhabitants,  of  whom 
but  three  escaped,  two  boys  and  a  woman.  The  boys  were  soon  dis- 
covered in  the  cave  where  they  were  hid  and  killed,  but  the  woman 
was  not  found.  After  the  victors  had  departed,  the  woman  came 
out,  and  was  painfully  surprised  to  know  that  she  was  the  only  human 
being  on  the  island.  For  seven  years  she  lived  in  this  solitary  state, 
and  during  all  this  time  neither  smiled  nor  laughed.  She  lived  mostly 
on  sea-lions  and  sea-otters,  which  she  killed  with  clubs  while  they  were 
on  the  rocks.  In  the  eighth  year  her  sadness  came  to  an  end  in  the 
following  manner.  She  had  as  companions  a  young  duck  and  sea- 
gull whom  she  had  befriended ;  one  day,  as  she  was  fishing  along 
the  beach,  these  two  birds  began  to  fight,  which  so  amused  her  that 
she  laughed  out.  Not  long  after,  some  suitable  driftwood  came 
ashore,  and  she  set  about  building  a  new  home.  While  busily  en- 
gaged with  her  stone  hatchet  in  trimming  a  log,  she  thought  she 
heard  a  noise  behind  her,  and  on  looking  around  saw  a  man.  This 
so  frightened  her  that  she  cut  ofl'one  of  her  fingers.  A  little  later 
some  more  Atka  people  came  over  and  settled  in  Attu,  and  they  are 
the  ancestors  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  that  island. 

Another  ending  of  this  same  story  is  that  this  man  and  woman 
married,  and  that  from  them  all  the  people  of  Attu  are  descended. 

II.  TUB  WOMAN  WHO  WAS  FOND  OF  INTESTINES. 

Once  there  lived  an  Aleut  with  his  wife  and  little  boy.  The  wife 
was  very  fond  of  intestines,  and  early  each  morning  the  husband 
would  go  out  in  his  bidarka  hunting,  and  return  in  the  evening  with 
a  boat  full  of  intestines  which  he  gave  to  his  wife,  telling  her  to  keep 
what  she  wanted  for  herself,  and  distribute  the  rest  among  her  neigh- 
bors. 

The  wife  was  somewhat  puzzled  by  the  husband's  actions;  she 
could  not  understand  why  he  went  so  early  in  the  morning,  where  he 
got  so  many  intestines,  or  his  reasons  for  wishing  to  have  them  dis- 
tributed among  the  villagers.  She,  of  course,  did  not  know  that  her 
husband  had  a  mistress  in  the  village  whom  he  went  to  see  while  his 
wife  was  asleep,  and  that  he  desired  the  intestines  distributed  in 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


2l6 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


order  that  his  wife's  rival  might  have  a  share.  All  of  a  sudden,  with- 
out explanations,  the  man  ceased  going  out  early,  and  when  he  did 
go^  he  came  back  but  lightly  loaded.  This  did  not  in  the  least  dear 
up  the  mystery  to  the  wife.  But  one  day,  when  he  had  gone  some- 
what later  than  usually,  his  mistress  called  on  his  wife,  whom  she 
found  busy  sewing  a  kamalayka  out  of  the  intestines  her  husband 
brought.  The  two  got  into  a  conversation,  and,  among  other  ques- 
tions, the  mistress  asked  ; — 

"  Does  your  husband  love  you  ?  " 

"Yes." 
Do  you  love  him  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Do  you  know  where  he  gets  all  the  intestines  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Can  you  guess  why  he  has  them  distributed  over  the  village  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  said  the  mistress,  "but  you  must  not  tell  him  I 
told  you.  Kvery  clay  your  husband  goes  to  the  village  where  your 
parents  and  relatives  live  and  where  you  livetl  before  your  marriage, 
and  kills  the  people  there  and  brings  their  intestines  to  you.  Yes- 
terday there  were  but  five  people  remaining  in  the  village  :  your 
mother,  your  two  sisters,  and  two  brothers.  He  killed  your  mother 
and  sisters  yesterday,  and  to-day  he  went  to  bring  the  intestines  of 
your  brothers.  He  is  in  love  with  another  woman  of  this  village, 
whom  he  visits  niL;htly  when  you  have  fallen  asleep." 

With  this  parting  shot  she  left  the  house,  leaving  the  pi)or  wife 
weeping  so  bitterly  that  the  kamalayka  was  hot  from  her  tears.  For 
the  rest  of  the  day  she  did  not  stir  from  the  house,  but  sat  lamenting 
and  sewing.  Towards  evening  her  little  boy  rushed  in  announcing 
the  approach  of  his  father,  which  she  generally  anticipated  with  plea- 
sure, and  always  went  down  to  the  beach  to  meet  him  ;  but  this  time 
she  neither  answered  nor  made  the  least  motion.  A  few  minutes 
later  the  little  son  came  a^cain  saying,  "Father  is  here,"  but  all  the 
reply  he  got  was  a  new  outburst  of  weeping. 

Mis.sing  the  usual  meeting  and  greeting  of  his  wife,  the  father 
asked  the  little  boy  where  his  mother  was,  and  when  told  of  the  state 
she  was  in,  he  hastened  to  the  house,  where  he  found  her  on  the  floor 
shedding  bitter  tears  and  sewing  the  kamalayka. 

"  Why  do  you  weep  ?  has  some  one  offended  you  ?  ** 

"  No  one  has  offended  me." 

«*  Why  then  this  lamentation  ? " 

"I  was  thinking  of  my  mother,  sisters,  and  brothers,  and  my  other 
relatives  in  my  native  village,  and  I  wondered  how  they  were  getting 
along,  and  this  made  me  wee^." 


Digitized  by  Google 


Aleutian  Stories. 


217 


He  did  not  attempt  to  cheer  her,  but  after  a  pause  he  said,  "  I  did 
not  kill  many  animals  to-day  —  two  only."  This  enraged  her  so  that 
she  jumped  up  from  the  floor,  picked  up  the  little  boy,  who  was  near 
her,  and  threw  him  at  him,  saying,  "  If  my  two  brothers  do  not  satisfy 
you,  take  him  also,"  The  boy's  forehead  came  in  contact  with  the 
edge  of  a  sharp  knife  on  the  father's  breast,  making  quite  a  gash 
from  which  the  blood  flowed  freely.  This  the  mother  noticed  before 
escaping  out  of  the  house. 

Putting  aside  the  boy,  the  man  made  a  dash  for  the  woman,  but 
she  got  out  of  his  reach,  and  being  the  better  runner  of  the  two  he 
did  not  succeed  in  laying  hands  on  her.  She  would  let  him  come  up 
quite  close  to  her,  and  then  dash  away  again  until  he  saw  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  chase  and  gave  it  up. 

In  a  short  time  the  boy's  wound  healed,  but  it  left  a  very  notice- 
able scar.  Now  that  his  mother  was  gone,  his  father  placed  him  in 
the  care  of  his  sister,  with  instructions  that  he  should  under  no  cir- 
cumstances be  allowed  to  go  very  far  from  home.  In  this  manner 
he  passed  a  few  years  longer,  until  he  became  the  proud  possessor  of 
a  bow  and  arrows,  with  which  he  often  amused  himself.  One  day, 
while  indulging  in  his  favorite  sport,  he  began  to  wonder  why  his 
father  and  aunt  forbade  his  going  far  from  the  house  ;  and  the  more 
he  thought  about  it  the  more  anxious  did  he  become  to  go,  until  he 
finally  concluded  "to  go  just  a  little  distance  beyond  that  hill  to  see 
what  is  there."  On  the  way  he  noticed  a  hillock  just  ahead  of  him, 
at  which  he  discharged  his  arrow,  then  ran  and  got  it,  aimed  at 
another  and  another,  and  became  so  absorbed  in  this  amusement 
that  he  did  not  observe  how  far  from  home  it  was  taking  him.  One 
hillock  somewhat  different  from  the  others  especially  attracted  his 
attention  as  offering  a  good  mark.  He  took  aim  and  sent  his  arrow 
flying  right  into  the  centre  of  it ;  but  what  was  his  surprise  on 
approaching  the  supposed  hillock  to  discover  that  it  was  a  barrabara, 
and  that  the  arrow  bad  gone  inside  through  the  hole  in  the  top.  When 
he  peeped  in,  he  was  frightened  at  the  bigiit  of  a  very  wild-looking 
woman  who  stared  at  him,  and  he  began  to  cry.  Why  do  you  cry  ?  " 
the  woman  asked.  "  I  want  my  arrow."  *'  Come  in  and  get  it,"  the 
woman  mvited.  But  he  was  too  scared  to  do  that ;  he  however  got 
up  courage  enough  to  stick  his  foot  in,  hoping  to  draw  it  out  that 
way,  and  he  had  nearly  succeeded  when  he  heard  the  woman  move. 
At  this  he  ran  away  in  tears.  The  woman  called  him  back,  saying : 
"Do  not  be  afraid  of  me.  I  am  your  mother.  It  is  I  who  threw 
you  at  your  father,  making  the  scar  on  your  forehead.  Come  in,  I 
will  not  harm  you."  When  he  saw  that  it  was  really  his  mother,  he 
went  to  her  and  remained  with  her  two  days.  During  that  tune 
she  told  him  his  father's  wicked  deeds,  how  he  mistreated  and  neg- 


Digitized  by  Google 


2l8 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 


lected  ber  for  another,  and  finally  wrought  on  him  so  that  he  swore 
he  would  revenge  her  wrongs.  She  bade  him  go  home^  but  attempt 
nothing  for  the  present,  and  make  no  mention  of  what  he  had  seen 
and  heard. 

During  the  boy's  absence  the  father  was  away  hunting,  but  the 
aunt  was  quite  worked  up  over  the  long  absence^  and  ran  about  the 
fields  looking  for  him.  When  he  returned  she  asked  him  all  sorts  of 
questions  as  to  his  whereabouts,  but  all  the  satisfaction  she  got  from 
him  was  that  he  had  lost  his  way  and  could  not  get  back.  She 
offered  him  food,  which  he  refused  to  touch,  and  finally  refused  to 
answer  her  when  spoken  to.  Toward  evening  of  the  same  day  his 
father  returned,  and,  when  told  that  the  boy  would  neither  eat  nor 
drink,  asked  what  was  the  matter  with  him ;  but  for  an  answer 
the  boy  turned  his  back  on  him  and  went  to  sleep.  The  Either  then 
inquired  of  the  aunt  whether  anything  unusual  had  occurred  and 
whether  the  boy  had  been  far  from  home,  and  to  all  this  she  replied 
that  all  during  his  (father's)  absence  the  boy's  life  had  gone  on  as 
ordinarily,  and  that  he  was  not  out  of  sight  of  the  house  the  whole 
time. 

As  the  boy  grew  older  he  avoided  his  father  more  and  more,  and 
when  he  reached  early  manhood  the  father  lost  control  over  him  and 
actually  feared  him.  One  day,  while  the  older  man  was  away  hunt- 
ing, the  young  man  took  his  bow  and  arrows,  some  food  and  water, 
and  set  out  to  see  his  mother.  Before  going,  he  told  his  aunt  that 
he  intended  going  quite  a  distance  from  home,  and  not  to  be,  there- 
fore, uneasy  over  his  long  absence.  He  went  to  the  place  where  he 
had  last  seen  his  mother,  and,  as  she  was  not  there,  he  wandered  on 
until  on  the  following  day  he  came  in  sight  of  some  barrabaras  and 
two  men.  They  answered  him  when  he  spoke  to  them,  but  when  he 
wished  to  enter  into  one  of  the  barrabaras  they  barred  his  way. 
While  they  were  thus  disputing,  his  mother  appeared  on  the  scene 
and  motioned  to  the  men  to  let  him  pass.  When  he  came  inside  he 
was  greatly  surprised  at  the  quantity  of  furs  that  was  lying  about  in 
great  disorder,  and  at  the  abundance  of  meats  and  other  eatables  that 
he  found  there.  He  was  certain  he  had  never  seen  anything  like 
it  before.  After  eating,  his  mother  told  him  to  spend  the  night 
there,  and  in  the  morning  take  as  many  of  the  best  furs  as  he  could 
carry  and  go  back  to  the  village  of  his  father,  in  order  to  tempt 
him  and  his  relatives  to  come  hunting  in  this  neighborhood,  which 
would  offer  an  opportunity  to  repay  him  for  what  he  had  done.  The 
boy  did  as  he  was  told,  took  with  him  a  heavy  load  of  precious  furs, 
and  started  back. 

In  his  absence,  the  mother  and  the  people  with  whom  she  was 
living  made  elaborate  and  crafty  preparations  for  the  reception  of  the 


.  d  by  Googl 


Aleutian  Storks, 


319 


expected  guests.  In  the  large  barrabara,  where  the  feasts  and  dances 
were  always  held  and  where  visitors  were  generally  received,  quanti- 
ties of  oil  were  sprinkled  about  and  covered  up  with  grass.  Along 
the  walls  seal-bladders  full  of  oil  were  concealed,  and  screened  with 
straw  mats.    And  in  this  place  the  visitors  were  to  be  received. 

The  yoiinc;  man's  father  was  home  on  his  return,  and  received  the 
present  of  furs  which  his  son  made  him  with  much  pleasure,  for  the 
boy  seemed  so  kindly  disposed  that  the  father  hoped  that  his  natural 
affection  for  his  parent  had  returned.  He  inquired  the  whereabouts 
of  the  hunting  grounds  where  the  son  had  secured  these  skins,  and 
the  latter  told  him  that  it  was  not  very  far,  and  that  it  was  very  rich, 
and  that  he  planned  to  go  back  the  next  day  to  the  same  place,  and 
if  he  and  his  men  cared  to  accompany  him,  he  would  be  glad  to  show 
them  the  way.  His  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  following  morning 
a  large  party  left  the  village  for  the  hunting  ground. 

Some  of  the  people  of  the  mother's  village  had  been  on  the  look- 
out, and  when  they  saw  the  large  party  approaching,  they  changed 
themselves  into  wild  beasts,  —  bears,  wolves,  foxes,  etc.  The  hunters 
marked  them  and  shot  at  them,  but  it  had  no  other  result  than  to 
drive  the  beasts  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  village.  These  tactics  the 
men-beasts  repeated  until  the  hunters  were  decoyed  into  the  village. 
Seeing  so  many  barrabaras,  the  men  asked  the  hoy  who  the  people 
were  that  lived  in  them.  "  They  are  friendly  people,"  he  replied, 
"  with  whom  I  spent  the  night  the  last  time  I  was  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. To-morrow  morning  we  will  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  vil- 
lage, where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  game."  The  people  of  the  village 
greeted  them  very  cordially,  and  assigned  a  place  for  the  night  to 
each  one  (tf  them;  the  father  and  son  were  given  the  barrabam 
where  the  latter  had  been  entertained  on  his  previous  visit  Al- 
though the  mother  was  in  the  same  room  with  them  they  were  not 
aware  of  it,  for  she  had  concealed  hersell  Everywhere  about  them 
were  scattered  the  richest  furs,  and  the  food  before  them  was  the 
choicest  and  best,  and  so  much  of  it  that  it  rather  made  the  older 
man  uneasy,  for,  though  an  old  hunter,  he  had  never  seen  anything 
like  it  before.  In  the  evening  all  the  people  of  the  village,  includ- 
ing the  guests,  went  to  the  large  dance-hall,  where  the  foinial  recep- 
tion was  held  and  the  guests  entertained  as  was  customary.  One 
by  one  they  descended  through  the  hole  in  the  roof,  the  only  en- 
trance there  was.  The  Interior  was  lighted  up  by  two  rows  of  stone 
lamps  filled  with  oU,  and  grass  wicks.  On  one  side  of  the  room  sat 
the  local  men,  while  the  visitors  faced  them  from  the  other;  the 
centre  was  occupied  by  the  women,  and  on  the  two  sides  sat  seven 
or  eight  men  with  drums  in  their  hands,  on  which  they  played  and 
accompanied  their  singing.  Thqr  would  take  turns ;  first  the  local 


Digitized  by  Google 


220 


youmal  of  American  Folk^Lore. 


men  would  sing  their  local  songs,  and  then  the  visitors  sang  theirs. 
To  this  music  the  women  danced  with  men  whom  th^  invited  from 
either  side. 

Everything  moved  along  smoothly  and  joyfully  until  the  father 
recognized  his  wife  among  the  women.  She  was  dancing  and  mov« 
ing  towards  him.  At  this  sight  he  turned  pale  and  looked  for  away 
to  get  out,  but  the  ladder  had  been  removed.  1  he  woman  moved  up 
to  him,  grasped  his  hand,  and  dragged  him  to  dance  ;  but  he  resisted. 
The  boy,  who  sat  near,  urged  him  and  pushed  him  on,  but  all  in  vain. 
Then  the  woman  began  to  sing  him  a  song  in  which  she  went  over 
all  his  misdeeds,  his  unfaithfulness,  his  cruelties,  his  filsehoods,  as 
well  as  many  of  his  other  shortcomings,  and  concluded  with  these 
words,  "  You  and  your  men  shall  never  leave  this  place  alive."  When 
she  had  said  this,  all  the  local  people,  including  the  mother  and  son, 
were  turned  into  birds  or  Hying  insects  and  flew  out  through  the  hole 
in  the  roof.  The  visitors,  unable  to  follow  them,  remained  behind. 
On  the  outside  grass  and  wood  were  ignited  and  thrown  in,  which 
set  on  fire  the  grass  and  oil  inside.  Then  the  smoke  hole  was  stopped 
up  ;  and  in  this  way  all  those  who  were  inside  were  smothered  to 
death.  A  few  days  later  the  son  went  to  his  father's  village,  de- 
stroying it  as  completely  as  his  father  had  destroyed  his  mother's. 
He  spared,  however,  his  aunt,  whom  he  brought  back  with  him. 

IV.  THE  MAN  AND  WOMAN  WHO  BECAME  SEA-OTTERS. 

This  is  also  an  Attu  story  told  to  me  by  Mrs.  Anderson.  With 
some  few  changes  il  is  told  everywhere  among  the  Aleuts,  and  runs 
as  follows :  — 

Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  a  certain  village  a  married  couple ; 
and  one  day  the  husband  told  the  wife,  We  are  going  to  make  a 
feast,  and  we  are  going  to  invite  your  brother-in-law.  Go  and  gather 
some  herbs  and  roots,  and  then  go  to  the  beach  and  bring  some 
moss  from  the  rocks."  He  himself  went  to  get  some  seals  or  ducks. 
On  his  return  he  busied  himself  preparing  the  dishes.  This  done*  he 
sharpened  his  knives,  and  commanded  his  wife  to  call  the  expected 
guest  She  knew  that  her  husband  was  jealous  of  her  brother4n-law 
and  planned  to  kill  him,  but  was  forbidden  by  her  husband  to  say 
anything  to  him  about  it  She  went  and  called  him ;  and  as  they 
were  coming  toward  the  house  she,  walking  behind,  thought  con- 
tinually of  the  fate  that  was  awaiting  him,  yet  fear  of  her  husband 
prevented  her  from  saying  anything. 

When  they  came  into  the  house  she  looked  at  the  two  men  and 
saw  how  much  the  handsomer  of  the  two  the  brother-in-law  was. 
The  husband  turned  to  the  invited  guest,  and  said :  "  I  prepared  a 
feast  for  you ;  I  have  planned  it  for  many  years.   Come  and  eat  with 


Aleutian  Stories. 


221 


me."  They  sat  down  on  the  floor,  having  the  food  before  them  in 
a  hollowed  rock.  In  the  mean  time  the  woman  was  outside,  weeping 
because  the  man  she  loved  more  than  her  husband  was  about  to  be 
killed.  The  meal  started  off  pleasantly,  but  the  husband  was  watch- 
ing his  chance,  and  once  when  the  brother-in-law  had  an  unusually 
full  mouth  and  could  not  defend  himself  he  jumped  on  him,  seized 
him  by  the  throat,  cut  his  head  off,  and  said :  "  Now  you  have  your 
feast." 

This  clone  he  left  the  house  and  sat  down  among  the  rocks,  wait- 
ing to  see  what  his  wife  would  do.  She  went  in  and  picked  up  the 
head,  washed  it,  put  it  into  an  intestine  bag  finely  trimmed  with  sea- 
otter  fur,  and,  after  observing  the  whereabouts  of  her  husband,  started 
off  with  it  towards  the  cliff  near  the  house.  She  went  quite  a  dis- 
tance before  her  husband  noticed  her  and  started  in  pursuit,  calling 
to  her,  ''Where  are  you  going.?"  She  answered:  "You  will  see 
which  way  I  am  going;  you  killed  him  and  you  will  never  see  me 
again."  As  he  increased  his  speed  she  began  to  run  until  she 
reached  the  top  of  the  cliff,  from  which  she  threw  hersetf  into  the 
water  below.  The  husband  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  herifisappear. 
He  stood  there  watching  the  spot,  bdieving  her  drowned ;  but  to  his 
great  surprise  there  emerged  two  wtaMmt  and  one  went  west  while 
the  other  went  east  He  went  back  to  the  house;,  where  be  took  his 
bunting  gear  and  his  btdarka  and  said,  "  I  will  end  their  lives  and 
mine  too."  Saying  this  he  launched  his  skin  boat,  got  into  it,  and 
paddled  away  from  the  shore,  while  suiging  to  himself 

"  I  wiU  end  their  life, 
And  I  win  end  mine 
I  hear  the  binb  singliig 
That  sing  in  the  spriogdme^ 
So  I  am  goin&"  etc. 

And  be  upset  bis  bidarka  and  drowned  himself. 

V.  A  SEA-OTTER  STORY. 

This  Story  differs  but  little  from  the  one  before  it,  and  was  told 
me  by  an  old  Aleut  of  Belkofsky  (Alaska  Peninsula).  I  give  all  the 
versions  I  have  of  this  same  story  in  order  to  show  how  it  differs  from 
village  to  village. 

In  a  certain  place  there  lived  a  man  with  his  wife  and  nephew. 
One  day  the  man  went  away,  and  on  his  return  learned  that  the  two 
bad  dishonored  him  during  his  absence.  When  he  went  away  a 
second  time  the  woman  said  to  the  boy,  ''I  will  die  when  you  die." 
On  his  return  the  man  noticed  a  number  of  sticks  (used  as  tools)  and 
asked  his  wife,  "  Who  made  these  for  you  ? "  **  Your  nephew,"  she 
replied,  "  made  them."  Observing  some  wooden  damps,  he  inquired 

VOL.  XVUL  —  NO.  70.  16 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


222 


ybumai  of  AmerUan  FoU^Lare, 


once  more,  "  Who  made  these  for  you  ? "  Again  she  answered,  "  Your 
nephew  made  them."  Then  the  man  began  to  prepare  some  roots 
for  eating,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  called  to  his  wife  and  nephew 
to  eat.  The  boy  tried  to  eat  the  food,  of  which  he  was  generally 
fond,  but  somehow  he  could  not  swallow  it.  This  was  so  funny  that 
it  made  the  man  and  woman  laugh.  The  man  then  upbraided  the 
boy  and  his  wife  with  their  criminal  conduct,  and  ended  by  cutting 
the  boy's  head  off  and  giving  it  to  the  woman.  She  turned  to  it  and 
said,  '*  I  promised  that  I  would  die  with  you  and  I  will."  Putting  on 
her  parka,  she  took  the  head  and  started  for  the  bluff  close  to  the 
sea.  The  husband,  seeing  the  way  she  was  going,  started  in  pursuit, 
but  she  was  already  on  the  summit  before  he  could  come  up  to  her. 
She  waited  until  he  was  quite  close  and  then  turned  to  the  head  and 
repeated,  *'  I  said  I  would  die  with  you  and  I  will."  This  said,  she 
threw  herself  off  the  bluff  and  disappeared  in  the  water.  The  man 
stood  there  watching,  and  very  soon  he  saw  emerging  two  sca-otlers 
who  went  out  to  sea. 

VL  THE  BROTHER  AND  SISTER  WHO  BECAME  HAIR-SEALS. 

This  story  was  told  me  by  the  chief  of  Unga  Island. 

In  a  certain  family  there  were  twelve  brothers  and  one  sister.  She 
lived  in  a  hut  away  ffx>m  the  rest  of  the  family.  There  were  no 
other  men  living  in*  the  neighhorhood,  and  so  she  was  somewhat 
surprised  when  some  man  came  to  see  her  at  night.  She  did  not 
know  who  It  was»  but  suspected  that  it  was  one  of  her  brothers,  and 
in  order  to  find  out  which  one  of  them  it  was,  she  prepared  some  red 
paint,  and  when  the  man  was  about  to  leave  she  dipped  her  hands 
into  the  paint  and  put  them  on  his  shoulders.  The  next  day»  as  all 
her  brothers  were  outside  playing,  she  went  among  them  and  de- 
tected marks  of  paint  on  the  shoulders  of  the  oldest  Going  back 
to  her  barrabara,  she  sharpened  her  knife  and  placed  It  alongside  of 
her.  That  night,  as  usual,  the  man  came  and  slept  with  her,  but  as 
he  started  to  leave  she  threw  her  knife  at  him  and  cut  the  sinews  of 
one  of  his  legs.  The  following  morning  she  went  about  her  work  as 
customary,  when  some  one  came  to  announce  that  her  oldest  brother 
was  sick,  the  sinews  of  one  of  his  legs  being  cut 

She  went  to  him,  got  him  out  of  bed,  and  set  off  with  him.  Their 
mother,  learning  the  state  of  affairs,  said,  "  We  reared  them  that 
they  might  be  a  help  to  us  and  work  for  us ;  but  now  they  have 
gone  and  ruined  themselves."  The  two  went  a  long  distance  untfl 
they  arrived  at  the  bluff,  over  which  they  threw  themselves,  and  a 
short  time  after  they  appeared  as  hair-seals. 

F.  A.  GpUUr. 

Cambriogs,  Mass.  ' 


Digitized  by  Google 


Caingang  Deluge  Legend,  233 


CAINGANG  DELUGE  LEGEND.^ 

In  times  past  there  ivbs  a  great  flood  which  submerged  all  the  land 
inhabited  by  our  ancestors.  Only  the  top  of  Mt  Crinjijinb^  emerged 
from  the  waters.  The  Caingangs,  Cayurucr^s  and  Cam<5s  swam 
towards  the  mountain  carrying  in  their  mouths  burning  wood.  The 
Cayurucr^s  and  the  Cam^s  became  tired  and  were  drowned, — their 
souls  went  to  live  in  the  centre  of  the  mountain.  The  Caingangs 
and  a  few  Curutons  (Ar^s)  reached  with  difficulty  the  top  of  Crinji- 
jinb^,  where  they  remained,  some  on  the  ground,  and  others  (by  rea- 
son of  lack  of  space)  clinging  to  the  branches  of  trees.  There  they 
passed  several  days  without  food,  for  the  waters  did  not  subside. 

They  expected,  indeed,  to  die»  when  they  heard  the  song  of  the 
samcura  birds,  who  came  carrying  earth  in  baskets  and  threw  it  into 
the  waters,  which  slowly  subsided.  They  cried  out  to  the  saracuras  to 
make  haste,  and  the  birds  did  so,  repeating  their  sonj:^  and  asking  the 
geese  to  help  them.  In  a  short  time  they  reached  the  top  with  the 
earth,  so  that  the  Caingangs  who  were  on  the  ground  coiiltl  get  away. 
Those,  however,  who  clung  to  the  branches  of  the  trees  were  trans- 
formed into  macaques  and  the  Curutons  into  bur-ios.  The  saracuras 
did  their  work  on  the  side  where  the  sun  rises,  and  thus  our  waters 
all  run  to  the  west  and  flow  into  the  great  Parand. 

When  the  waters  dried  up,  the  Caingangs  established  themselves 
close  to  Crinjijinb6.  The  Cayurucr^s  and  Cam^s,  whose  souls  had 
gone  to  dwell  in  the  centre  of  the  mountain,  began  to  open  roads  in 
the  interior.  After  much  labor  they  succeeded  in  getting  out  by  two 
paths.  In  the  Cayurucr6  opening  broke  forth  a  beautiful  valley,  very 
level  and  without  stones,  wherefore  to  this  day  they  have  kept  their 
small  feet.  It  was  ditTerent  with  the  Cam^s,  whose  path  opened 
through  stony  ground,  bruising  their  feet  and  causing  them  to  swell  in 
walking,  —  hence,  to  this  day,  they  have  kept  their  feet  large.  In 
the  path  which  they  opened  there  was  no  water,  and,  being  thirsty, 
they  had  to  beg  it  from  the  Cayurucres,  who  allowed  them  to  drink 
what  they  needed.  When  they  got  out  from  the  mountain,  they  or- 
dered the  Curutons  to  bring  the  baskets  and  gourds  which  they  had 
left  below,  but  the  latter,  through  laziness,  remained  there  and  never 
joined  the  Caingangs  again,  for  which  reason,  we,  when  we  meet 
them,  lay  hold  of  them  as  our  escaped  slaves. 

The  night  after  leaving  the  mountain  they  kindled  fire,  and  with 
ashes  and  coals  made  tigers  {ming),  and  said  to  them :  "  Go,  eat  people 

^  This  lepfcnd  was  told  by  the  chief  Arakxrf.  For  the  Enplish  version  the 
Editor  is  responsible.  The  Portuguese  original  will  be  found  in  Rev.  do  Mus* 
FmuLt  1902. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


224 


ybumal  of  American  Folk'Lore, 


and  hunt."  And  the  tigen  went  about  roaring.  As  they  had  no 
more  coal  to  paint  with,  they  could  only  make  with  ashes  the  tapirs 
(oyaro)t  to  which  they  said :  '*  Go,  eat  and  hunt"  But  these  had  not 
come  out  with  perfect  ears,  and,  for  that  reason,  did  not  hear  the 
order,  and  asked  again  what  they  were  to  da  The  Cayurucr^  busy 
making  other  animals,  said  to  them  in  an  ill  mood :  "  Go^  eat  leaves 
and  twigs  of  trees."  This  time  they  heard,  and  that  is  the  reason 
why  tapirs  eat  only  leaves,  twigs  of  trees,  and  fruits.  The  Cayunicr^ 
was  making  another  animaL  The  teeth,  tongue^  and  some  nails  were 
lacking,  when  it  began  to  grow  daylight  Since  nothing  in  the  way 
of  making  could  be  done  in  the  daytime,  he  put  into  the  animal's 
mouth,  in  haste,  a  fine  rnd,  and  said :  "Since  you  have  no  teeth,  live 
by  eating  ants."  That  is  why  the  tamandm^  or  ant-eater  {f6ti),  is  an 
unfinished  and  imperfect  animal.  The  next  night  they  continued 
and  made  many  animals,  among  them  the  bees.  At  the  time  these 
animals  were  made,  the  Cayurucr^  made  also  others  to  combat  them, 
e,  g.  the  "  American  lion,"  venomous  snakes,  wasps,  etc. 

After  these  labors,  they  set  out  to  join  the  Caingangs,  but  found 
that  the  tigers  were  bad  and  ate  many  people.  In  passing  a  deep 
river,  they  made  a  bridge  of  a  tree  trunk,  and,  when  all  had  crossed, 
the  Cayurucri  said  to  one  of  the  Cam^s  that,  when  the  tigers  were 
on  the  bridge,  he  was  to  push  it  off  so  that  they  would  fall  into  the 
water  and  be  killed.  The  Camd  did  so,  but  of  the  tigers  some  fell 
in  the  water  and  dived,  and  others  leaped  on  the  bank  and  clung 
there  by  their  claws.  The  Came  wanted  to  throw  them  back  into  the 
river,  but,  when  the  tigers  roared  and  showed  their  teeth,  he  was 
seized  with  fright,  and  let  them  get  away.  This  is  why  we  have 
nowadays  tigers  on  land  and  tigers  in  the  water. 

They  reached  a  great  plain,  where  they  joined  the  Caingangs  and 
considered  how  to  marry  the  youths  and  maidens.  First  they  mar- 
ried the  Cayurucrd  to  the  Cam^s,  (girls),  and  then,  as  there  was  a 
superfluity  of  men,  they  married  these  to  the  Caingangs  (women). 
Hence  the  Cayurucr^s,  Cam^s,  and  Caingangs  are  relatives  and 
friends. 

Then  they  wanted  to  have  festivals,  but  knew  neither  how  to  sing 
nor  how  to  dance.   One  day  some  Cayurucr^s,  who  were  out  hunting, 

saw,  at  the  edge  of  a  clearing  in  the  wood,  by  the  trunk  of  a  great 
tree,  a  little  clear  spot.  Against  the  trunk  of  the  tree  were  some 
rods  with  leaves,  and  one  of  them  had  a  gourd  stuck  on  end.  They 
departed  and  told  the  Cayurucr^  about  it.  He  made  up  his  mind 
to  go  there  the  next  day  and  verify  the  matter.  So  he  went  to  the 
clearing  cautiously  and  hid  near  the  trunk.  After  awhile  the  little 
rods  began  to  move  slowly  from  bottom  to  top  and  a  feeble  voice  be- 
gan to  sing :  Eminotint  vc,       /;  Ando  xb  cu  t         ha^  ha^  ha^  and 


Digitized  by  Google 


Caingang  Deluge  Legend  225 

the  little  gourd,  with  a  cadenced  movement,  produced  this  sound : 
Xii,  xii,  xii,  .  .  .  The  Ca)rttrucr^  approached  the  trunk,  when  sud* 
denly  all  song  and  movement  of  the  rods  ceased,  but  they  continued 
on  the  same  trunk.  He  withdrew,  and  returned  the  next  day  with 
several  friends.  They  cautiously  approached  the  same  spot  and  saw 
and  heard  the  same  things  as  on  the  day  before.  After  the  first 
song  a  voice  sang  this  other :  Dd  cam4m  amji^  canamhaug,  cbiy&ngdd^ 
gmi  MO  titn  gire  que  matin  .  ,  .  /  que  matin.  They  learned  the  song, 
approached  the  trunk,  but  saw  only  the  rods.  Then  they  brought 
them  with  them,  made  others  like  them,  and  prepared  to  have  a  great 
festival  On  that  day  the  Cayurucr^  opened  his  mouth  and  sang  the 
songs  which  he  had  heard  in  the  clearing,  making  with  the  rod  with 
the  gourd  on  it  and  with  his  body  the  movements  he  had  seen.  His 
companions  imitated  him,  and  this  is  why  we  learn  to  sing  and  dance 
without  knowing  who  is  the  teacher. 

After  some  time  the  Cayurucr^  met  on  the  road  a  mirini  ant-eater 
{kakrckin)  and  lifted  his  stick  to  kill  him.  The  ant-eater  began  to 
dance  and  to  sing  the  songs  heard  in  the  clearing.  Then  the  Cayu- 
rucrd  knew  that  this  was  his  dancing-teacher.  The  ant-eater  asked 
for  his  stick,  and  after  having  danced  with  it,  gave  it  back  and  said 
to  him  :  "The  child  that  your  wife  has  within  her  womb  is  man.  and 
let  this  be  established  between  us,  that  when  you  or  yours  meet  me 
and  mine  and  give  their  sticks  and  would  fain  dance  with  them,  it  is 
a  sign  that  your  wives  will  give  birth  to  male  children.  If  they  would 
leave  without  dancing,  the  children  will  be  girls."  The  Cayurucr^ 
returned  much  pleased,  and  we,  when  we  meet  the  mirim  ant-eater, 
always  renew  this  experience,  which  almost  always  gives  certain  re- 
sults. The  mirim  ant^ater  knows  many  other  things  we  arc  igno- 
rant of,  and  we  think  that  they  are  the  first  people  who  through 
magic  took  on  the  form  which  they  now  have. 

Telemaco  M.  Borba, 

Note.  Thislegend  of  the  Caingang  Indians  of  the  Province  of  S.  Panto,  Brazil, 
is  interesting,  apart  from  the  immediate  question  of  the  deluge,  by  reason  of  the 
number  of  other  things  for  which  it  endeavors  to  account :  Westward  course  of 
•treams  of  the  country,  origin  of  monkeys,  small  feet  of  Cayurucr^s  and  large  feet 
of  CuB^ft,  origin  of  tigers  aad  tapirs  and  their  foodphaUts,  ant>eaters,  imperfections, 
origin  ol  aoog  and  dance^  Idrdcnoirledgc  of  sex  ol  children,  etc  ^  EorroR. 


Digitized  by  Google 


I 


226  jfournal  0/  American  Folk'Lore, 


4r     CADDO  CUSTOMS  OF  ^HILDHOOD. 

The  following  brief  and  imperfect  notes  on  Caddo  customs  of 
childhood  were  obtained  from  an  old  man  named  White-Bread. 

The  lodge  is  always  placed  so  that  it  faces  the  east  This  is  dooe 
that  the  sun,  as  it  arises  out  of  the  east  to  shine  upon  another  day 
and  bless  all  things^  may  bless  the  inmates  of  the  lodge.  VV^hen  a 
child  is  bom  it  is  carried  to  the  door  of  the  lodge  and  held  there  as 
the  sun  rises  that  it  may  see  the  child  and  bless  it.  Then,  if  the 
child  be  a  boy,  the  father  places  a  tiny  bow  and  arrow  in  his  hands 
that  it  may  grow  to  a  good  hunter  and  ward  off  dangers.  Before  the 
child  is  born  a  bright  fire  is  kindled  and  kept  burning  for  ten  days 
and  nights  after  the  birth  to  keep  away  evil.  There  is  a  great  animal 
with  wings  who  eats  human  beings,  especially  babies,  but  the  animal 
cannot  come  near  the  light.  A  greater  monster  than  this  is  the  can- 
nibal person.  In  ever}'  tribe  there  are  some  of  these  wicked  peo|)le. 
They  look  like  any  one  else,  but  at  night,  when  it  is  dark,  they  set 
forth  and  steal  human  children  to  eat.  Like  the  animal  who  eats 
human  beings,  they  cannot  go  near  the  light,  and  so  j  ieojde  keep  the 
fire  kindled  to  frighten  them  away.  Then,  too,  the  fire  is  related  to 
the  sun,  because  it  gives  heat  and  light,  and  so  it  gives  a  blessing  to 
the  child. 

At  the  end  of  the  tenth  day  the  mother  and  father  carry  the  child  to 
the  river,  and  all  bathe.  After  that  the  fire  is  allowed  to  smoulder,  but 
it  is  not  put  out  entirely  until  after  the  child  is  two  years  old.  From 
that  time  until  the  child  is  eight  or  ten  it  is  allowed  to  play  and  grow 
in  its  own  way.  Then  the  grandmother,  or  some  old  person,  calls  the 
child  into  the  lodge  and,  telling  it  to  sit  still  and  behave,  she  teaches 
it  If  the  child  is  a  boy,  she  tells  him  how  to  take  care  of  himself  so 
that  he  will  grow  up  to  be  a  strong  man.  She  tells  him  how  to  act 
that  he  will  gain  the  good  will  of  the  tribe,  and  she  tells  him  stones 
about  boys  who  would  not  listen  to  the  teachings  of  their  granJ- 
mothers,  and  the  trouble  that  they  caused  when  they  grew  to  be  men. 
And  she  tells  him  about  boys  who  have  listened  to  their  grandmothers, 
and  how  they  grew  up  to  be  great  and  wonderful  men.  Then  she 
tells  the  boy  to  go  to  the  river  every  morning  to  swim  and  bathe,  no 
matter  how  cold  the  water  is.  He  is  taught  to  say  this  prayer  to  the 
water :  "  Grandfather,  make  me  strong  to  endure  all  things,  that  heat 
and  cold,  rain  and  snow  may  be  as  nothing  to  my  body/*  As  he  re* 
turns  to  the  lodge  he  is  taught  to  pick  up  a  stick  and  carry  it  to  the 
fire,  saying :  "Grandfather,  help  me  to  live  and  become  a  good  man, 
and  to  help  others  to  live."  To  the  rising  sun  he  Is  taught  to  pray : 


Digitized  by  Google 


Caddo  Customs  of  Childhood*  227  * 

"  Grandfather,  protect  me^  keep  me  from  dangers  and  give  me  a  long 
life  and  success." 

At  another  time  the  boy  is  taught  that  there  are  many  bad  and 
dangerous  places  on  the  road  leading  to  the  spirit-land,  and  that  he 
will  be  caught  in  some  of  these  places  if  he  does  not  heed  what  is 
taught  hint  She  says,  "There  are  six  bad  places  on  the  way  to  the 
spirit-land.  The  first  place  is  where  the  dogs  stay.  If  you  whip  or 
mistreat  or  kill  a  dog,  the  dog^  when  it  dies,  goes  to  its  people  and 
tells  what  you  have  done.  When  you  die,  you  have  to  pass  the  place 
of  the  dogs»  and  the  chief  of  the  dogs  goes  and  sits  by  the  road  and 
waits  for  you.  When  you  come  he  tells  you  to  look  for  fleas  on  his 
head,  and  when  you  find  one  he  tells  you  to  bite  it  When  you  bite  it, 
you  become  a  dog.  Then  he  takes  you  to  where  the  dogs  stay,  and 
there  they  mistreat  you  as  you  mistreated  them  on  earth.  They 
keep  you  there  and  never  let  you  get  away,  so  that  you  cannot 
continue  your  journey.  For  this  reason  we  place  a  bead  on  the  little 
finger  of  a  dead  person,  so  that  he  may  bite  it  instead  of  the  flea  and 
so  fool  the  dog  and  esoqie  him.  Along  the  road  there  is  another 
place  where  you  hear  some  one  calling  you.  If  you  form  the  habit 
during  life  of  standing  about  talking  about  people,  you  will  turn  your 
head  and  wait  for  the  person  who  is  calling.  Then  you  will  stand 
and  say  mean  things  about  some  one  until  you  forget  that  you  are 
going  on  a  journey  and  become  a  tree  by  the  roadside.  If  you  learn 
to  go  through  life  attending  to  your  own  affairs,  you  will  not  pay  any 
attention  to  the  voice,  but  go  straight  ahead.  Soon  you  will  come 
to  a  place  where  there  are  two  large  rocks  pounding  each  other.  You 
will  have  to  pass  between  these  rocks.  If  you  listen  well  to  all  that 
you  are  told,  and  remember  that  you  were  told  about  the  rocks,  you 
can  pass  through.  If  you  forget  what  you  have  been  told,  you  will 
be  crushed  by  the  pounding  rocks.  Next  you  will  come  to  a  stream 
of  water  that  looks  very  small ;  but  it  is  not  small,  for  the  banks 
stretch  away,  and  it  becomes  a  great  river.  If  you  are  quick  to  do 
all  that  you  are  told  in  this  world,  you  will  reach  the  stream  when 
the  banks  are  close  together  and  you  can  jump  across  ;  but  if  you  are 
slow  to  do  what  you  have  to  do  on  this  earth,  you  will  reach  the  river 
after  the  banks  have  spread  and  you  will  be  too  late  to  jump  across, 
but  will  fall  into  the  water  and  become  a  fish.  As  you  journey  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  should  you  get  across,  you  will  come  to 
persimmon-trees.  If  in  this  world  you  want  everything  you  see  and 
always  try  to  get  things  that  you  do  not  need,  just  because  some  one 
el  se  has  them,  you  will  stop  under  a  tree  to  gather  persimmons.  Then 
you  will  wander  lo  ihe  nc.xL  tree  and  the  next,  until  you  lose  your 
way  and  forget  that  you  are  on  a  journey.  Then  you  will  become  a 
raccoon  and  live  forever  among  the  trees.  Should  you  escape  the  pcr- 


Digitizeci  by  Coogle 


228  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

siiniDOii-trees,  you  will  soon  meet  a  person  along  the  road.  He  will 
ask  yon  to  help  him  to  do  some  work.  If  you  are  forgetful  in  Kf e 
and  h^^  one  thing  and  do  not  finish  it,  but  go  off  about  something 
else^  you  will  forget  that  you  are  on  a  journey  and  you  will  stop  and 
help  this  man.  You  will  work  until  you  are  nothing  but  skin  and 
bone.  Then  you  will  die»  but  you  will  soon  come  to  life  only  to  work 
yourself  to  death  again.  Then  you  will  come  to  life  again,  and  so  on. 
There  is  no  end.  This  is  the  last  danger  that  you  meet  on  the 
way." 

After  the  boy  has  been  taught  about  all  the  dangers  that  beset  him 
on  the  way,  and  entreated  to  follow  closely  the  teaching  of  his  elders 
that  he  may  esc^ie  those  evils,  he  is  taught  what  is  in  store  for  him 
when  at  last  he  reaches  the  end  of  his  journey.  All  this  is  done  to 
encourage  him  to  lead  a  good  life  and  grow  up  to  be  a  good  man. 

Geofge  A,  Darsey, 


L/iyiiized  by  Google 


SupersHlions  from  Louisiana* 


229 


SUPERSTITIONS  FROM  LOUISIANA. 

Thb  following  items  of  superstition  have  been  obtained  from  negro 
informants ;  they  include,  as  will  be  observed,  many  which  are  uni- 
versal among  white  people  also,  and  have  been  recoarded  in  coUec* 
tions: — 

1.  If  one  plants  a  cedar-tree,  he  will  die  when  the  tree  is  large 
enough  to  shade  a  grave. 

2.  To  sweep  out  a  room  after  dark  will  cause  some  of  the  family 
to  leave  home. 

3.  If  a  child  sweeps  the  floor,  a  stranger  will  come. 

4.  If  a  garment  is  cut  on  Friday,  it  must  be  finished  the  same  day 
or  its  owner  will  not  live  to  wear  it  out 

5.  It  is  bad  luck  to  start  on  a  journey  or  to  make  a  move  on 
Friday. 

6.  It  is  bad  luck  to  move  a  cat. 

7  It  is  good  luck  to  put  on  a  garment,  accidentally,  wrong  side 
out 

8.  To  find  a  pin  with  the  point  towards  you  gives  good  luck :  the 
Other  way,  bad  luck. 

9.  If  friends  use  the  same  towel  at  once*  their  friendship  will  be 
broken. 

10.  "  Wash  together,  friends  forever.** 

11.  If  a  bird  puts  one's  hair  in  her  nest,  that  person  will  suffer 
from  headache  while  the  bird  is  sitting. 

12.  If  one  feels  a  breath  of  warm  air,  it  comes  from  a  ghost.  Turn 
the  pocket  wrong  side  out  and  the  spirit  does  no  harm. 

13.  A  rooster's  crowing  at  the  front  door  brings  company. 

14.  Breaking  a  mirror  means  seven  years'  bad  luck. 

15.  If  a  girl  spills  dish-water,  she  will  lose  her  sweetheart. 

16.  If  a  baby  is  allowed  to  look  in  a  mirror,  it  will  be  cross-eyed. 

17.  If  an  empty  cradle  is  rocked,  the  baby  will  die. 

18.  Rocking  an  empty  chair  will  cause  a  death  in  the  family. 

19.  If  one  sleeps  with  his  head  to  the  foot  of  the  bed,  he  will  soon 
be  carried  from  the  house  feet  foremost. 

2a  If  a  screech-owl  is  heard  near  the  house  of  a  sick  person,  it  is 
a  sure  sign  of  death. 

31.  If  a  cow  Is  milked  on  the  ground,  she  will  go  dry. 

22,  It  is  bad  luck  to  pass  through  the  house  with  a  bucket  of 
water  on  the  head. 

33.  If,  when  going  from  homei  one  hears  an  owl  hoot,  he  must  go 
back,  or  evil  will  befall  him. 


Digitized  by  Google 


230  JourTtal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

24.  If  a  rabbit  crosses  the  road  in  front  of  one^  he  most  walk 
backward  beyond  the  place  where  the  rabbit  crossed. 

25.  If  one  has  to  turn  back  after  starting^  he  must  make  a  cross 

mark  to  prevent  bad  luck. 

26.  If  the  nose  itches,  company  is  coming*  and  sneezing  before 
breakfast  means  the  same  thing. 

27.  Telling  a  dream  before  brealifast  makes  it  come  true. 

28.  Drop  a  dish-rag,  and  some  one  will  come  home  hungry. 

29.  Spilling  salt  will  bring  a  family  quarrel^  unless  some  of  the  salt 
is  burned. 

30.  If  the  right  eye  twitches^  it  means  laughter  ;  the  left,  tears 

31.  If  the  right  palm  itches^  one  shakes  hands  with  a  friend;  the 
left,  with  a  stranger. 

32.  Transplanting  parsley  will  cause  the  death  of  one's  children. 

33.  If  one  sprinkles  mustard  seed  round  his  bed,  he  will  not  be 
troubled  by  witches. 

34.  Any  one  who  refuses  to  step  over  a  broom  is  a  witch. 

35.  It  is  bad  luck  to  move  a  broom  from  one  house  to  another  un- 
less the  end  is  sawed  o£L 

Geoirgi  Williamson, 

Grand  Cai«e,  La. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


231 


R£CORD  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE. 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

Algonkian.  General.  To  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Thirteenth 
Session  of  the  International  Congress  of  Americanists,"  New  York, 
1902  (£aston»  Pa.,  1905),  Dr.  A.  F.  Chamberlain  contributes  (pp. 
5-8)  a  brief  paper  on  "  The  Algonkian  Linguistic  Stock,"  pointing 
out  its  importance  for  the  student  of  the  Indian.  —  Cheyenme,  In  the 
same  volume  (pp.  135-146),  Mr.  George  B.  Grinnell  has  a  valuable 
article  on  the  "  Social  Organization  of  the  Cheyennes,"  in  which  he 
describes  briefly  the  clan  system  of  this  people,  consisting  of  eleven 
and  perhaps  fourteen  gentes.  In  olden  times  "  the  rule  forbidding 
marriage  within  the  clan  was  absolute,  and  not  to  be  violated."  De- 
scent was  in  the  mother's  line.  The  children  of  a  foreign  woman  be- 
long to  the  father's  clan  ;  a  captive  woman  to  the  clan  of  the  husband 
she  takes.  Captive  boys  who  marry  Cheyenne  girls  belong  to  the 
wife's  clan.  Each  clan  had  its  special  tabus,  ceremonies,  medicines, 
etc.  The  Suh'-tai  section  of  the  Cheyenne  are,  perhaps,  recent  mi- 
grants from  the  north,  —  the  other  section  is  the  TsTstsIs'tas,  some- 
times called  "  Sand-hill  People."  The  Cheyennes  used  to  say  that 
the  Suh'-tai  were  Crees.  A  few  notes  on  the  Suh'-tai  language  are 
given  (pp.  143,  143),  —  it  is  harsh  and  guttural.  The  readiness  with 
which  nicknames  grow  up  (p.  144)  will  interest  the  "nickname" 
school  of  totemism.  The  young  people  have  little  or  no  knowledge 
of  the  things  of  ancient  times.  —  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist " 
(n.  s.  vol.  vii.  pp.  37-43)  Mr.  Grinnell  describes  "Some  Cheyenne 
Plant  Medicines."  Seventeen  species  of  plants  and  two  dyes  are 
recorded,  but  this  by  no  means  includes  all  the  Cheyenne  remedies. 
Among  the  plant  medicines  are  Balsamorrhiza  sagittata,  Mttitha 
CanadensiSy  ArctosiapJiylos  iiva-nrsi,  Aconts  calamus^  Atiapltalis  mar" 
garitacca.  Among  the  diseases  prescribed  for  are  stomach  and  head 
troubles,  vomiting,  nose-bleed,  bowel-cramps,  sores,  fever,  plant- 
poisoning,  paralysis,  sore  throat,  etc.  Herb-healing  'is  practised  by 
men  and  women  alike."  Medicine-bundles  are  carried  about  the  per- 
son. —  Ojibwa,  In  the  same  journal  (pp.  69-73)  D.  I.  Bushnell,  Jr., 
writes  of  **  An  Ojibway  Ceremony,"  describing  the  dances  and  other 
ceremonials  in  connection  with  "  a  reunion  of  the  Kingfisher  people  " 
at  Basswood  Lake  on  the  international  boundary,  in  October,  1899. 
A  ehippeezung  (or "  apron ' ')  was  a  prominent  object  in  these  rites.  A 
feast  of  moose  meat  and  rice  and  blueberry  stew  followed.  The  in- 
terior of  the  largest  wigwam  is  described ;  also  the  drum,  its  covering 
and  their  symbolism,  etc.  —  Textile  Fabrics,  To  the  same  journal 
(pp.  85-93)  I^r.  C  C  Willoughby  contributes  an  article  on  ''Textile 


Digitized  by  Google 


2$2  yaurttal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

Fabrics  of  the  New  England  Indian^'*  in  which  the  condusioii  is 
reached:  *'The  teztOe  products  o£  the  New  England  Indians  were  ol 
a  relatively  high  order;  baskets^  bags,  matting,  and  twined  woven 
doth  were  made  of  a  quality  probably  not  excdled  by  any  of  the  AI- 
gonquians,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  by  existing  examples,  it  is 
doubtful  if  embroidered  cloth  of  any  North  American  tribe  exceeded 
in  workmanship  or  artistic  merit  that  produced  by  the  natives  of  New 
England  and  their  neighboring  kindred"  Beautiful  garments  were 
made  of  the  iridescent  feathers  of  the  wild  turkey,  —  usually  the  wofk 
of  old  men,  but  sometimes  made  by  women  for  their  children.  — 
Mokiean,  In  the  same  journal  (pp.  74-84)  Professor  J.  Dynelcy  Prince 
has  an  article  on  "A  Tale  in  the  Hudson  River  Indian  Language." 
Phonetic  text,  English  translation,  and  word-analysis  are  given  of  a 
tale  of  adventure  and  murder  (a  woman  is  the  chief — passive  — 
figure)  obtained  from  the  Mohicans  now  resident  on  the  so-called 
Stockbridge  Reservation  at  Red  Springs,  Wisconsin.  The  relations 
between  Mohican  and  Munsee  are  about  the  same  in  degree  as  those 
which  exist  between  Dutch  and  High  German."  In  this  text,  accord- 
ing to  Professor  Prince,  "  we  probably  have  the  last  specimen  of  the 
tongue  which  was  heard  for  centuries  in  the  neighborhood  of  New 
York  city  and  alonjx  the  banks  of  the  great  Matkanctuk,  or  '  Mohican 
river,'  as  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  called  the  great  Hudson." 

Athapasc.\n.  Navaho.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902 
(Easton,  Pa.,  1905),  Mr.  Alfred  M.  Tozzer  writes  about  "A  Navajo 
Sand  Picture  of  the  Rain  Gods  and  its  Attendant  Ceremony  "  (pp. 
147-156),  describing  with  some  detail  the  making  a  sand-picture  in 
Chaco  Cafton,  New  Mexico,  in  1901,  in  connection  with  the  ceremony 
known  as  the  "Night  Chant,"  "held  primarily  to  cure  two  Na\*ajo 
Indians,"  both  suffering  from  violations  of  tribal  law.  The  actual 
painting  of  the  picture  took  about  six  hours.  The  strictness  with 
which  these  pictures  are  traditionally  transmitted  is  shown  by  Mr. 
Tozzcr's  statement :  "  Mr.  Matthews  collected  the  material  for  his 
memoir  twenty  years  ago,  and  still  the  sand-picture  which  he  calls 
•the  gods  with  the  fringe  mouths,'  and  which  came  on  the  eighth  day 
of  the  ceremony,  is  the  identical  picture,  even  in  many  minor  details, 
which  was  made  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  ceremony  which  I  wit- 
nessed twenty  years  after  and  a  hundred  miles  east  of  where  he 
worked."  The  star-lore  of  the  Navaho,  in  connection  with  these 
ceremonies,  is  of  considerable  interest  —  the  grouping  is  indicated 
by  the  holes  in  the  gourd  rattle. 

Caddoan.  In  the  "Froceedmgs  of  the  International  Congress 
of  Americanists,*' Thirteenth  Sesston,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Dr.  Gea  A.  Dorsey  has  an  article  (pp.  67-74)  on  ^  One  of  the  Sii- 


Digitized  by  Googl 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lore.  233 

cred  Altars  of  the  Pawnee."  The  ceremony  described  is  that  of  the 
"skull  bundle"  altar,  held  in  the  spring  through  the  desire  of  somd 
woman  of  the  tribe,  who  has  had  a  dream,  had  Tirawa  speak  to  her, 
or  has  '*  had  it  in  her  heart "  to  give  it.  Besides  the  more  or  less 
public  rites  there  is  a  secret  performance^  confined  to  one  or  two  men. 
At  a  certain  point  the  "owner"  of  the  altar  "makes  a  speech  and 
says  they  are  ready  to  begin,  and  virtually  turns  the  ceremony  over 
to  the  priests," — these  act  now  for  him,  and  "  the  owner  has  no  longer 
control  of  the  ceremony."  The  whole  ceremony  "  prepares  the  fidds 
lor  the  planting  of  the  com."  After  the  ceremcmy  comes  the  plant- 
ings and  while  the  com  is  growing  comes  the  buffalo-hunt,  the  success 
of  which  proves  the  favor  of  Tirawa.  Dr.  Dorsey  observes  concern* 
ing  the  rather  high  idea  of  a  "great  spirit"  found  among  these  In* 
dians:  "That  the  Pawnee  obtained  any  of  their  ideas  concerning 
Tirawa,  or,  in  fact,  concerning  any  forms  of  their  religion  from  the 
whites,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  believe."  Within  the  last  three  or 
four  years  the  altar  ceremonies,  which  have  been  largely  given  up 
since  the  Pawnee  left  Nebraska  for  Oklahoma,  have  been  revived, 
and  "  I  think  they  arc  themselves  surprised  at  the  amount  of  know- 
ledge which  they  retain  of  the  old  rituals." 

Eskimo.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Mme.  Signe  Rink  publishes  (pp.  279-304)  "A  Comparative  Study 
of  Two  Indian  and  Eskimo  Legends."  The  tales  compared,  of 
which  texts  are  given,  are :  "  The  Jelch  Legend  "  of  the  Haidas  and 
the  Greenlandic  tale  of  '*  Ernisuitsok,  or  the  Barren  Wife,"  "  Scan- 
nagan  n uncus.  Legend  of  the  Fin-back  WTiale  Crest  of  the  Haidas," 
and  the  Greenlandic  talc  of  "  Kagsagsuk,  the  Orphan."  The  author 
concludes  that  "the  Greenlandic  ones  arc  the  versions  or  copies  and 
not  the  reverse,"  also,  that  "both  of  the  stories  treated  here  have 
been  appropriated  by  the  Eskimo  on  the  American  coast  between 
California  or  Vancouver  Island  and  the  Aleutian  chain." 

Haidan  (Skittagetan).  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International 
Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton, 
Pa.,  1905),  Dr.  John  R.  Swanton  has  an  article  (pp.  328-334)  on  the 

Social  Organization  of  the  Haida."  The  essential  points  were 
"the  division  into  two  great  exogamous  clans  (Raven  and  Eagle),  a 
division  reflecting  itself  in  the  terms  of  relationship,"  and  the  organ- 
ization of  each  house  under  one  house-chief,  —  "  the  organization  of 
families  and  towns  was  simply  a  larger  application  of  that  of  each 
household."  A  rigid  distinction  between  the  mother's  and  father's 
sides  existed,  — "theoretically  they  could  not  have  the  same  personal, 
house,  or  canoe  names,  or  wear  the  same  crests,  and  only  in  a  very 
few  cases  was  this  rule  mfringed."    Moreover,  "a  man  was  initiated 


Digitized  by  Google 


234 


yournal  of  A  mcrican  Folk- Lore, 


into  the  secret  society  by  his  opposites,  and  when  he  died  they  con* 
ducted  the  funeral."  Husband  and  wife  were  never  buried  together, 
—  Ravens  lay  with  Ravens,  Eagles  with  Eagles.  Sometimes,  even, 
the  wife  "betrayed  her  husband  into  the  hands  of  her  own  people 
when  they  were  at  war  with  his  family."  The  Haida,  however,  "  had 
no  such  thing  as  a  clan  government  or  clan  ownership.  Each  Haida 
household  was  complete  in  itself,  and  "all  it  required  was  a  name 
and  a  certain  amount  of  isolation  to  develop  into  an  entirely  inde- 
pendent family,  and  there  was  a  constant  tendency  in  that  direction." 
The  chief's  power  rested  mainly  on  the  amount  of  his  property,  and 
often  very  largely  with  himself.  The  order  maintained  by  war-parties 
is  noteworthy.  —  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist  "  (vol.  vii.  n.  s. 
pp.  94-103)  Dr.  Swanton  writes  of  "  Types  of  Haida  and  Tlingit 
Myths."  The  article  is  based  on  the  observation  of  more  than  250 
stories  of  the  Haida  and  Tlingit  Indians  of  the  North  Pacific  coast. 
The  plots  of  36  of  these  tales  are  briefly  indicated.  Borrowing  has 
taken  place  both  ways.  In  the  case  of  the  legend  of  the  brothers 
who  travelled  about  overcoming  monsters,  the  story  has  been  trans- 
mitted from  the  Tlingit  to  the  Haida  without  losing  its  Tlingit  names 
and  atmosphere."  The  conventional  expressions  or  "  mythic  for- 
mulae "  differ  with  these  two  stocks  (a  number  of  examples  of  such 
are  given).  In  Haida  four  "  is  nearly  always  the  story  or  mystic 
number;  two  appears  quite  as  often  in  Tlingit." 

KoLUSCHAN.  In  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (n.  s.  vol.  xni. 
p.  172)  Dr.  J.  R.  Swanton  has  a  brief  note  on  the  "Tlingit  Method 
of  Catching  Herring-eggs."  During  the  herring  run  "  hemlock 
boughs  were  fastened  together  and  laid  down  in  rows  for  the  fish  to 
spawn  upon."  —  In  the  same  journal  Dr.  Swanton  discusses  (pp 
94-103)  "Types  of  Haida  and  Tlingit  Myths."    See  Haidan. 

Pueblos.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Professor  William  P.  Blake  discusses  (pp.  203,  204)  "  The  Racial 
Unity  of  the  Historic  and  Prehistoric  Aboriginal  People  of  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico."  Among  the  points  emphasized  are  :  Unity  of 
architecture,  similarity  of  pottery,  unity  of  decorative  art,  general 
use  of  ckalehihuitl.  —  In  the  same  volume  (pp.  107-130)  Mr.  Gcor;;e 
H.  Pepper  discusses  in  detail  "The  Throwing-stick  of  a  Prehistoric 
People  of  the  Southwest/' <-- a  weapon  "used  in  the  southwestern 
part  of.  the  United  States,  probably  before  the  advent  of  the  cliff- 
dwellers."  The  nearest  rdative,  outside  this  region,  is  in  the  Jalisco 
country  (Menco).  The  fetish  of  the  ceremonial  throwing-stick,  or 
atlatl,  was  the  snake.  Ceremonial  usages  are  connected  with  this 
weapon,  wherever  it  is  found. 

SiouAN.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  ol 


Digitized  by  Google 


Record  of  American  Folh-Lore,  235 

Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Dr.  Clark  Wissler  has  an  article  on  "Symbolism  in  the  Decorative 
Art  of  the  Sioux"  (pp.  339-345)i  treating  chiefly  of  moccasin-de- 
signs, primarily  the  art  of  women.    Dr.  Wissler's  monog^pb  on 

this  subject  has  already  been  noticed  in  this  Journal. 

Southern  United  States.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Interna^ 
tional  Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902 
(Easton,  I'a.,  1905),  Mr.  Clarence  B,  Moore  writes  of  "Archaeologi- 
cal Research  in  the  Southern  United  States"  (pp.  27-40),  rdsumdng 
the  result  of  his  investigations  during  the  last  eleven  years,  —  the 
full  details  having  appeared  in  the  author's  monographs  in  the  "Jour- 
nal of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,"  Philadelphia,  vols.  ix.-xiL 
The  most  recent  work  was  done  on  the  northwest  Florida  coast, 
where  urn-burial  occurs,  although  not  in  the  peninsular  part  of  the 
State.  In  the  latter  region  "bunched  burial"  is  most  prevalent. 
The  muck  deposits  of  the  southwest  Florida  coast  yield  little.  The 
mounds  of  the  peninsular  area  contain  many  copper  objects, — 
native  copper  from  Lake  Superior,  probably.  The  majority  of  the 
mounds  investigated  "  date  from  a  period  anterior  to  the  coming  of 
Europeans."  The  shell-heaps  "were  dumping  places  for  refuse." 
The  makers  of  some  of  the  St.  John's  shell-heaps  had  no  earthenware. 

YuMAN.  Diegucnos.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International 
Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton, 
Pa.,  1905),  Miss  C.  G.  Du  Hois  has  an  article  on  "The  Mythology  of 
the  Diegucnos,  Mission  Indians  of  San  Diego  County,  California,  as 
proving  their  status  to  be  higher  than  is  generally  believed"  (pp. 
IOI-106),  giving  extracts  from  a  version  of  the  story  of  Chaup,  "the 
embodied  principle  of  the  great  meteors  of  the  crystalline  California 
sky."  The  Dieguefios  "were  star-gazers,  perhaps,  beyond  other 
Indians."   The  story  was  originally  related  in  a  nine-hour  recital. 

MEXICa 

AzTBCAN  (Nahuatlan).  In  "Globus"  (vol.  Ixxzvil  1905,  pp. 
I10-112),  Dr.  Eduard  Seler  writes  briefly  of  Mischformen  mexi- 
kanischer  Gottheiten."  Examples  are  given  of  the  "mixed  forms" 
of  deities,  embodying  in  one  person  different  qualities,  not  agreeing 
with  the  priestly  redaction  of  the  tonalamail  era.  TepeyoUotli,  Xipe, 
and  Quetzalcoatl  are  some  of  the  gods  thus  treated.  —  In  the  same 
journal  (pp.  136-140),  Dr.  K.  Th.  Ihneuss  discusses  "Der  Kampf  der 
Sonne  mit  den  Stemen  in  Mexico."  The  author  considers  that  the 
unitary  idea  in  the  evolution  of  ancient  Mexican  religion  has  been  "  the 
combat  of  the  sun  with  the  stars."  All  the  deities  are  conceived  of 
as  having  come  as  stars  from  heaven.  The  sun  fights  with  the  stars, 
and  the  conquered  are  offered  up  in  sacrifice.   Star-swallowing  is 


Digitized  by  Google 


236 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


necessary  for  the  well-being  of  the  stm.  There  is  a  complete  parallel 
between  heavenly  and  earthly  processes.  The  influence  of  the  star 
idea  on  ceremonies,  etc,  is  noted.— In  the  '*  Proceedings  of  the 
International  Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y., 
1902  (Easton,  Fa.,  1905),  Walter  Lehmann  discusses  at  some  length 
(pp.  249-264)  *<Tomoanchan  und  andere  Bezeichungen  des  Westens 
xur  Erde  in  der  merikanischen  E^mologie."  Among  the  terms 
studied  are  those  for  sunset,  n^ffkt,  earth,  west,  maige,  daum,  hailpk^, 
eoitms,  etc.  The  earth,  and  particularly  the  west,  where  daily  the 
sun  vanished,  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  ancient  Mezicana. 
The  west  is  the  prototype  of  the  earth.  Tamoanckan  u  the  paradise 
of  the  west,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  name  of  the  mythic  home  of 
the  undivided  Mexican  people, — In  the  same  volume  (pp.  265-268) 
Miss  Adela  Breton  writes  about  "Some  Obsidian  Workings  in 
Mexico,"  treating  of  several  in  the  states  of  Hidalgo,  Michoacin,  and 
Jalisco.  Near  Tulancingo  are  "some  small  shady  caves,  to  which 
the  workers  brought  their  roughly-shap>ed  pieces  to  finish."  Out  of 
"cores"  the  Mexicans  made  burial  objects.  —  In  the  same  volume 
(pp.  213--216)  H.  Newell  Wardle  discusses  "Certain  Clay  Figures  of 
Teotihuacan."  The  author  concludes  that  "  the  jointed  clay  images 
from  Teotihuacan  are  not  foundations  for  mummy-bundles,  but  prob- 
ably representatives  of  the  goddess  Cinteotl,  such  as  were  hung 
across  the  fields  to  watch  over  the  young  seed  and  aid  its  growth." 
Also,  "with  arms  and  legs  rattling  in  the  breeze,  they  served  inci- 
dentally as  scarecrows."  —  In  the  same  volume  (pp.  171-174)  Dr. 
Eduard  Seler  has  a  brief  article  "On  Ancient  Mexican  Religious 
Poetry,"  in  which  he  gives  the  native  text  and  a  translation  of  a 
song  to  the  god  Xipe,  —  the  real  content  of  the  song  is  sowincc  and 
harvesting.  This  is  "  the  song  of  the  terrible  god  of  the  festival  of 
flaying  men,  of  the  god  of  the  Sacrificio  ghdiatorio.  It  is  one 
of  the  chants  found  in  Sahagun,  and,  previously  to  Seler,  edited  by 
Brinton  in  his  "  Rig-veda  Americanus."  Says  Dr.  Seler  in  conclu- 
sion :  "  It  affords  a  strong  argument  that  the  religious  sentiment  and 
the  religious  phantasy  of  these  people  ought  not  to  be  judged  by  the 
bloody  ceremonies  of  a  highly  developed  superstitious  cult  alone ; 
that  there  are  lying  at  the  bottom  sources  of  a  primitive  pure  feeling, 
with  which  we  too  might  easily  conform." 

Hieroglyphs.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress 
of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
pp.  175-188,  Professor  Nicolas  L^^on  has  an  article,  "Data  about  a 
New  Kind  of  Hieroglyphic  Writing  in  Mexico,"  treating  of  "a  new 
kind  or  mixed  hieroglyphical  writing,"  found  on  a  clay  statuette  from 
Mixtecan  Cuilapan,  an  onyx  vase  from  Tlalixtac,  and  many  other 
similar  objects  from  the  Oaxaca  valley  (Monte  Alban,  etc.).  The 


Digu_cj  Ly  Google 


Record  of  American  Folk^Lon. 


237 


author  concludes  that  "  there  exists  a  hieroglyphical  mixed  writing, 
seemingly  developed  all  over  the  Mixtecan  region,  in  the  State  of 
Oaxaca,  in  which  are  found  the  elements  and  the  form  of  the  Maya, 
and  possessing  signs  of  the  Nahua  writing."  Many  extracts  from 
literature  relating  to  this  region  and  their  objects  are  given. 

Oaxaca.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Francisco  Belmar  publishes  (pp.  193-202)  an  article  on  "Indian 
Tribes  of  the  State  of  Oaxaca  and  their  Languages."  The  pre- 
Columbian  chief  inhabitants  of  this  territory  seem  to  have  been  the 
Mixtecs  and  the  Zapotecs,  and  the  language  of  the  latter  "presents 
signs  of  being  one  of  the  most  archaic  in  the  State."  According  to 
Mr.  Belmar,  Zapotec  and  Mixtec  have  a  common  origin.  In  the 
Zapotecan  group  he  includes  (besides  minor  and  sub-dialects) :  Zapo- 
teca,  Papabuco,  Chatino,  Chinantec ;  and  in  the  Mixtecan  :  Mixtec, 
Amuzgo,  Mazatec,  Ixcatec,  Cuicatec,  Popoloco  (Chocho),  Trique. 
The  Zoquean  (Zoque-Mixe)  family  embraces :  Zoque,  Ayook  (Mixe), 
etc.  The  Chontal  is  probably  Nahuatl ;  Huave,  Mayan.  Mexican 
is  also  one  of  the  languages  of  Oaxaca. 

Zapotecan-Mixtecan.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International 
Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton, 
Pa.,  1905),  Abraham  Castellanos  has  an  article  on  "  Danni  Dipaa," 
the  fortified  hill  occupied  by  the  Mixtecs  at  the  coming  of  the  Span- 
iards,  —  Monte  Alban.  The  dolmen,  the  pyramids  and  temple  of 
the  sun,  etc.,  are  described,  and  the  legends  connected  with  these 
edifices  noted  (the  chief  Cosijoeza,  the  princess  Donaji,  etc.). 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Indian  Character.  In  "Globus"  (vol.  Ixxxvil  1905,  pp.  128- 
131),  Dr.  Karl  Sapper  discusses  "Der  Charakter  der  mittelameri- 
kanisdieii  Indianer."  Among  the  general  traits  noted  are  control  of 
emotion  (noteworthy  in  chUdren  as  a  result  of  education  and  exam- 
ple), temperance  in  all  actions,  subordination  to  those  in  authority. 
The  Indian  is,  of  course*  capable  of  violent  emotions,  acts,  passion, 
etc  At  his  festivals  he  gives  way  to  himself,  and  drinks,  dances, 
talks  ad  HHhtm,  The  forcible  imposition  of  European  culture  works 
no  good. 

Mayan.  In  the  same  journal  (pp.  272,  273)  Professor  E.  Fdrste- 
mann  has  a  brief  article  on  "  Die  sp&testen  Inschrif ten  der  Mayas,*' 
in  which  he  seeks  to  show  that  an  inscription  from  Chichen^Itza  and 
one  from  Saochani  bear  dates,  respectively,  1581  and  1582.  They 
represent  a  brief,  fleeting  renaissance  of  Mayan  hopes,  in  the  last 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Previous  Mayan  dates,  according  to 
Fdrstemann,  reach  only  to  the  first  quarter  of  that  century. — Dn 

VOL.  zvm.        70.  17 


Digitized  by  Google 


238 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore* 


Alfredo  Chavero't  paper  on  "Falemke  Calendar,  the  Signs  of  .the 
Days,"  which  appears  in  English  in  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Americanists,"  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Fa.,  1905), 
ppi  41-5 1»  with  notes  in  Spanish,  pp.  5 1-^5,  has  already  been  noticed 
in  this  Journal  in  its  Spanish  form  (1902).  —  In  the  same  volume  (pp. 
189-192)  Mr.  Edward  H.  Thompson  has  an  article  on  '^The  Miual 
Paintings  of  Yucatan,"  treating  briefly  of  wall  paintings  at  Chichen- 
Itza,  Tjuli,  and  Chacmultun,  those  at  the  last  two  places  being  of 
great  importance.  Mr.  Thompson  thinks  that  **  evidence  is  slowly  but 
surely  being  brought  forth  to  prove  that  these  artists  in  colors  played 
a  part  among  these  people  second  only  to  their  brothers,  the  sculptors." 
Also  that  "  in  every  one  of  the  important  groups  there  was  at  least 
one  building  upon  whose  walls  were  depicted,  in  outline  or  colors,  the 
history  of  the  group,  or  the  record  of  certain  important  events  during 
a  stated  period."  According  to  the  author,  "  the  principal  colors  in 
.  use  among  these  people  were  a  deep  and  a  brick  red,  a  chocolate 
brown,  two  shades  of  blue,  a  bright  gamboge  yellow,  turning  to  a 
tan  yellow  by  age,  two  shades  of  green,  and  a  color  that  may  have 
been  a  purple  shading  into  brown."  They  had  also  white  and  black, 
of  course.  Most  of  these  piij^ments  were  "made  by  the  natives  from 
plants  by  processes  not  entirely  unknown  to  the  Mayas  of  to-day. 
The  oxides  of  iron  and  certain  earth,  resembling  yellow  ochre," 
were  also  in  use.  —  In  the  same  volume  (pp.  245-247)  is  printed  an 
abstract  of  a  paper  by  Leon  Douay,  "  De  la  non-parente  de  certaines 
langues  de  I'Ancicn  Monde  (en  particulier  du  japonais)  avec  celles 
du  Nouveau  et  sp^cialement,  du  groupe  Maya."  The  author  con- 
cludes that  "  the  Japanese  radicals  are  totally  unrelated  to  the  Maya 
monosyllables."  The  same  holds  with  regard  to  Chinese  and  Maya. 
Also  with  respect  to  the  language  of  the  Guanches.  —  In  the  same 
volume  (pp.  157-170)  Dr.  Eduard  Seler  has  an  article  "On  the 
Present  State  of  Our  Knowledge  of  the  Mexican  and  Central  Amer- 
ican Hieroglyphic  Writing."  After  briefly  noticing  the  two  groups 
of  Mexican  codices,  —  one  confined  to  calendaric  and  astrological 
purposes,  the  other  represented  by  the  Codex  Nuttall  and  the  allied 
Vienna  MS.,  the  author  proceeds  to  rdsumd  recent  studies  in  Mayan 
epigraphy,  particularly  the  work  of  Forstemann  (this  laid  open  the 
whole  framework  of  the  codices),  Schellhas  (names  of  deities),  Thomas 
(the  discovery  that  Plates  25-2S  of  the  Dresden  Codex  are  to  be 
explained  by  the  xma  kaba  kin  ceremonies,  as  described  by  Landa), 
Maudslay  (initial  series  of  Copan  stehL),  Goodman  ("chronological 
calendar,"  numeric  value  of  "face  glyphs,  etc.").  Dr.  Seler  fails  to 
agree  with  Goodman  that  "all  figures  and  all  glyphs,  and  every  detail 
of  figures  and  glyphs  are  nothing  else  than  numbers ;  the  whole  bulk 
of  the  codices  and  the  inscriptions  is  confined  to  arithmetic  problems.** 


.  d  by  Googl 


Record  of  American  Folk^Lore* 


239 


The  Landa  alphabet  "is  based  on  a  misconception  of  the  Maya 
graphic  system,  and  is,  perhaps,  no  more  than  a  Spanich  fabrication, 
or,  at  least,  a  development  suggested  to  the  Yucatec  people  by  the 
European  method  of  writing."  Dr.  Selers  own  discoveries  relate  to 
the  disposition  of  the  glyphs  in  the  codices,  the  nature  of  the  glyphs 
of  the  four  cardinal  points,  the  "intimate  connection  between  the 
day-signs  of  the  Mexicans  and  the  Maya  day-signs>"  the  real  length 
of  the  katun,  the  *' infallible  calendar,"  etc. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Argentine.  Misiones.  In  "Globus"  (vol.  lxxx\ni.  1905,  pp.  248- 
254),  Father  F.  Vogt  describes  "  Verba-  und  Holzgcwinniing  im  Mi- 
siones-Tcrritoriiim."  The  article  contains  information  concerning 
the  history  of  the  cultivation  of  the  famous  ma  ti' or  "Paraguay  tea." 
—  Pre-Columbian  Migrations.  In  the  "Journal  de  la  Societc  des 
Am^*ricanistes  de  Paris"  (n.  s.  vol.  ii.  pp.  91-108),  M.  Eric  Boman 
has  an  article  on  "Migrations  pre-Columbiennes  dans  le  nord-ouest 
de  I'Argcntine,"  in  which  are  discussed  the  old  Guaranf  burial  grounds 
in  the  valleys  of  San  Francisco  and  Lerma,  the  "Calchaqui"  chil- 
dren's cemetery  on  the  border  of  the  Gran  Chaco,  etc.  The  special 
burial  ground  for  little  children,  discovered  by  M.  Boman  in  I90i,at 
Arroyo  del  Medio,  extends  farther  north  the  range  of  "Calchaqui 
culture."  In  the  Chaco  the  Calchaqui  were  followed  by  the  Guarani, 
then  by  the  Guaycuru.  Urn-burial  seems  to  have  been  employed  by 
the  Calchaqui  for  little  children  only. 

Brazil.  Caiary-Uauapes  Region.  In  "  Globus  "  (vol.  Ixxxvii.  1905, 
pp.  281-283)  is  a  brief  account  of  Dr.  Theodor  H.  Koch's  travels 
(January-December,  1905)  in  the  region  of  the  Caiary-Uauapc-s, 
among  various  Indian  tribes,  speaking  numerous  languages  and  dia- 
lects,—  Tukano,  Tariina,  i'lra-tapuyo,  Uanana,  Kobcua,  Maku,  etc. 
The  language  of  the  Umana  on  a  tributary  of  the  Yapurd  is  a  pure 
Cariban  dialect,  and  the  whole  wide  territory  between  Alto  Uauap^s 
and  Caqueta  (Alto  Yapurd)  is  occupied  by  Cariban  tribes,  —  really 
one  language.  The  unfair  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  whites  is 
commented  on. 

Calchaquian.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  International  Con- 
gress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton, 
.Pa.,  1905),  Dr.  Juan  B.  Ambrosetti  discusses  (pp.  9-1 5)  the  Ressem- 
blance  entre  les  civilisations  Pueblo  et  Calchaqui"  Both  are  desert 
euUteres,  The  zodmorphic  fetishes  are  strikingly  similar  in  form 
and  ornamentation.  Other  n^prochenunts  exist  in  picture-writings, 
.potteiy  and  its  ornament,  decoration,  etc,  stone  implements,  urn-  . 
burial,  the  ehaekins  and  pakost  headdress  of  idols,  terra-cotta  pipes, 
basketry,  mythology,  and  ceremonies.  The  Calchaqui  culture^  now 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


240  journal  of  American  Folk^Lore. 

extmct»  is  thus  vciy  similar  to  that  of  the  Fueblos  of  Arizona  and 
NeW  Mexica 

.  Cariban.  In  the  "Ftoceedings  of  the  Inteniational  Congress  of 
Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,N.Y.,i902  (Easton^Fa.,  1905),  Mr. 

C.  van  Fanhuys  has  an  article  (pp.  205-208)  on  **  Indian  Words  in 
the  Dtttch  Language  and  in  Use  at  Dutch  Guiana*"  in  which  he  gives 
a  list  of  Indian  words  from  De  Martins'  Galibi-Latin-French  dictionary 
in  use  in  the  Netherlands  (e,  g,  kaaimant  htm,  c^libri,  U^r,  mtamas, 
taekattt  mauiac),  and  in  Dutch  Guiana  (r.  g  casser^,  mamkot  Mc», 
sagmtfyn,  aigami, /iatmoM,  awarra,  ain^,  etc),  though  in  De  Mar- 
tins' dictionary  a  number  of  these  words  are  not  Qarib,  but  Arawak,  or 
even  Tu^  Other  words  not  in  De  Martins',  but  used  in  Surinam  or 
the  Netheriands,  from  Arawak,  Tupi,  Carib^  etc. :  kamaka  {fkm^fmat^ 
BatataSt  ta^na^  pdgcUat  fdvuit  warappa,  tamanoat  warimha.  The  In- 
dian element  in  Surinam  Dutch  is  evidently  quite  large.  The  Negro* 
English,  which  "contains  Dutch,  .English,  Spanish,  Portuguese, 
French,  Carib,  Arawak,  and  African  words,"  is  deserving  of  thorough- 
going study. 

Peru.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,'1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Professor  L^n  Lejeal  has  an  article  (pp.  75-83)  on  "  La  Collection 
de  M.  de  Sartiges  et  les  •  Aryballas' p^ruviens  du  Mus^e  Ethnog^ 
phique  du  Trocad^ra"  The  home  of  the  Peruvian  "  aryballe  "  is  the 
Inter-Sierras.  The  sea-shell  ornamentation  is  iuigeturis.  See  Qm-^ 
chuan. 

QuiCHUAN.  To  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (vol.  viL  n.  s. 
pp.  49-6S)  Dr.  A.  F..Bandelier  contributes  an  article  on  "The  Ab- 
original Ruins  at  Sillustani,  Peru."  This  place  was,  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest,  in  possession  of  the  Colla,  a  people  of  Aymaran  stock.  The 
name  Sillustani,  so  far  as  known,  does  not  appear  in  any  Spanish 
source,  and  "may  be  a  Quichua  term  introduced  subsequent  to  the 
sixteenth  century,  when  the  Quichua  Indians  began  to  encroach  on 
the  Aymard  range."  The  ruins  consist  of  towers,  andenes,  etc.,  and 
the  condition  of  the  stone  buildings  "leads  to  the  inference  that  work 
on  them  was  abandoned  before  completion."  The  architecture  and 
masonry  at  Sillustani  bear  the  stamp  of  Inca  work,  and  they  resemble 
structural  remains  at  Hudnuco,  Coati,  Kalaki,  etc.  Most  of  the  pot- 
sherds are  of  the  Cuzco  type.  These  ruins  are  probably  the  deposi- 
torieSf  which,  according  to  Cieza,  the  Inca  erected  at  Hatun-KoUa* 
—  depositories  for  stores  of  potatoes,  etc.,  received  in  tribute. 

In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress  of  American- 
ists," Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905),  M.  L^n 
Douay  publishes  (pp.  243,  244)  a  brief  "Contribution  k  I'^tude  du 
mot  Kechua  Titicoca  ou  Titikaka,"  in  which  an  impossible  etymo- 

ft 


.  J  ^    L  v  Google 


Record  of  American  FoLk-Lore,  241 

logy,  based  on  Mayan  resemblances,  is  put  fortb.  —  In  tbe  same 
irolume  ^  217-325)  Mr.  Stansbiuy  Hagar  bas  an  article  on  **  Cuzco^ 
tbe  Celestial  City."  Tbe  topograpby  of  tbe  city,  tbe  names  of  tbe 
wards  and  districts,  tbeir  symbolism,  etc.,  are  discussed.  According 
to  Mr.  Hagar,  '*  it  is  probable  tbat  every  district,  every  square,  and 
every  street  in  ancient  Qizco  bore  tbe  name  of  some  asterism  or 
heavenly  object,  witb  wbicb  many,  or  all  of  tljem,  corresponded  in 
position."  Also  Cuzco  was  not,  properly  speaking,  an  epitome  of  tbe 
empire,  but  tbe  sacred  and  tbe  sacred  empire  were  planned  to  be 
epitomes  of  the  celestial  world."  At  tbe  basis  of  tbe  Peruvian  sym* 
bolls tn  lies  "tbe  system  of  mamas  (mothers),  a  name  given  to  the 
spiritual  prototypes  (existing  invisibly  in  tbe  sky)  of  things,  which 
gave  them  birth.  Imitation  produced  harmony  with  the  object  im- 
itated and  "  thereby  obtained  for  the  imitator  participation  in  the* 
desired  qualities  and  powers  of  that  object" 

GENERAL. 

Early  Amebicam  Writings.  In  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902 
(Easton,  Pa.,  1905),  Mr.  Joseph  D.  McGuire  has  ah  article  (pp.  17- 
26)  on  "Anthropological  Information  in  Early  American  Writings," 
containing  a  r6sum6  of  such  matter  as  indicatives  of  its  importance: 
Trade,  government,  art,  weapons,  implements,  religion,  food,  agricul- 
ture, clothing  and  ornament,  hunting  and  fishing,  industries,  etc, 
are  some  of  the  topics  touched  upon. 

Education.  In  the  "  American  Anthropologist "  (vol.  vii.  n.  s. 
pp.  I -16),  Professor  Edgar  L,  Hewett  has  an  article  on  "Ethnic 
Factors  in  Education,"  in  which' the  author  points  out  some  of  the 
evils  of  the  Indian  and  Philippine  policies  of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment, besides  indicating  the  pronouncements  of  anthropology  con- 
cerning the  treatment  of  primitive  peoples.  Ethnic  mind  and  ethnic 
traits  are  persistent  realities,  and  the  development  of  a  race  must  be 
from  within,  —  "a  civilization  from  without  is  usually  harmful,  often 
destructive,  and  always  undesirable."  Anthropological  sciences 
should  have  a  prominent  place  in  normal  schools  and  other  institu- 
tions for  the  training  of  teachers.  The  author  well  says  :  "A  sound, 
commonplace  aim  to  keep  in  view  in  educating  Americans  is  to  viake 
better  Americans ;  in  educating  Indians,  to  make  better  Indians  ;  in  . 
educating  Filipinos,  to  make  better  Filipinos^  The  teacher's  art  de- 
mands "an  understanding  of  the  modifications  effected  by  society  or 
individual  psychic  states  "  and  a  comprehension  also  of  the  environ- 
mental influences  which  in  the  course  of  ages  have  created  and  main- 
tained primitive  life. 

Jesup  North  Pacific  Expedition.    In  the  "^oceedings  of  the 


Digitized  by  Google 


242  jfour7ial  0/  American  Folk- Lore, 

International  Congress  of  Americanists»"  Thirteenth  Session*  N. 
1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905),  Dr.  Franz  Boas  rfeum^s  (pp.  91-100)  the 
results  of  the  investigations  of  the  Jesup  North  Pacific  Expedition^ 
1897-1902.  A  mass  of  valuable  somatic,  linguistic,  sociological,  re* 
ligious,  and  mythological  information  has  been  accumulated,  which  is 
yet  to  be  thoroughly  examined.  Among  the  conclusions  indicated 
are:  In  a  broad  cl  issification  of  languages,  the  languages  of  north- 
western Siberia  should  be  classed  with  the  languages  of  America. 
The  Chukchee,  Koryak,  Kamchadal,  and  Yukaghir  must  be  classed 
with  the  American  race  rather  than  with  the  Asiatic  race  (so  prob- 
ably also  some  of  the  other  isolated  tribes  of  Siberia).  In  British 
Columbia  and  parts  of  Alaska  the  investigations  have  shown  ezten* 
sive  migrations  to  have  taken  place,  particularly  on  the  coast 

Petroglvphs.  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Con- 
gress of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton, 
Pa,  1905),  Prof.  W.  J.  Holland  describes  (pp.  1-4)  "The  Petroglyphs 
at  Smith's  Ferry,  Pennsylvania."  Among  the  figures  are  those  of 
an  eagle  carrying  away  a  papoose,  deer  and  panther  tracks, "  thunder- 
bird,"  fighting  buffalo,  turkey-foot,  etc. 

Popular  Fallacies.  To  the  "American  Anthropologist"  (vol. 
vii.  n.  s.  pp.  104-113),  Henry  W.  Henshaw  contributes  an  article  on 
"  Popular  Fallacies  respecting  the  Indians,"  treating  of  absurd  and 
unfounded  ideas  concerning  the  origin  of  the  Indians,  their  languages, 
alleged  nomadism  d  I'outrance,  ownership  of  land,  ideas  of  royalty, 
knowledge  of  medicine,  "Great  Spirit,"  "  Happy  Hunting  Grounds," 
division  of  labor,  population,  degeneracy  of  mixed  bloods,  pygmies 
and  giants,  mound-builders  and  cliff-dwellers,  stolidity  and  taciturnity. 
The  Indians  are  neither  descended  from  the  ancient  Israelites  nor  do 
any  of  them  hark  back  to  the  mediaeval  Welsh  :  the  speech  of  all 
Indian  tribes  is  not  mutually  intelligible ;  all  Indians  are  not  and 
were  not  excessively  nomadic ;  neither  individual  nor  family  had  ab- 
solute right  to  land  ;  they  had,  for  the  most  part,  simple  chiefs,  whom 
the  Europeans  magnified  into  kings  ;  the  medical  art  was  rooted  in 
sorcery;  no  belief  in  a  single,  unitary,  overruling  "  great  spirit " 
existed;  "the  happy  hunting  ground  "  implied  future  existence,  but 
not  our  heaven  and  hell ;  the  position  of  woman  was  fairer  than  is 
generally  believed,  and  often  high  ;  the  pre-Columbian  Indian  popu- 
lation of  America  has  been  much  exaggerated ;  the  muced-blood  has 
been  miscredited  with  degeneracy  not  his  own ;  pygmies  and  giants 
are  mjrthical  here  as  elsewhere;  mound-builders  and  cliff-dwellers 
were  alike  Indians ;  the  Indian  «  has  a  £air  sense  of  humor,  and  is  by 
no  means  a  stranger  to  jest,  laughter,  and  even  repartee." 

PvcuiBS.  In  a  brief  article^  entitled  "Are  there  Pygmies  in 
French  Guiana?  "  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress 


Piqiti-nrl  hy  'jpt^lt- 


Record  of  American  Folk-Lare.  243 

of  Americanbts/'  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  i902(£astOD,  Pa.,  1905, 
pp.  131-133)1  Mr.  L.  C.  Van  Panhuys  firints  some  notes  concerning 
the  alleged  existence  of  the  Maskalilis,  a  pygmy  race  of  troglodytes, 
"  dwarfs,  smaller  than  the  Akkas  in  Africa  ;  redskins  with  long  black 
hair."  They  are  naked  noctivagants,  kidnappers,  plantation-thieves, 
and  are  much  feared  by  the  Indians  and  the  Negroes.  "  Is  it  a  truth 
or  a  l<^nd  ?  "  asks  the  author.    It  may  be  simply  folk-lore. 

Wampum,  etc  In  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  International  Congress 
of  Americanists,"  Thirteenth  Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905), 
Mr.  L.  C.  Van  Panhuys  has  a  brief  article  (pp.  273-275)  on  "  Ways 
of  Paying  in  the  New  Netherlands,  at  Dutch  Guiana,  and  in  the 
former  Dutch  colonies  o£  British  Guiana," — scewani,  wam/um, 
leavers,  sugar,  etc 

A,  F»  C  and  /.  C.  C. 


Digitized  by  Google 


244 


Jourtial  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


RECORD  OP  NEGRO  FOLK-LORE. 

Bush  Negroes.  In  his  article  "  About  the  Ornamentation  in  Use 
by  Savage  Tribes  in  Dutch  Guiana  and  its  Meaning,"  in  the  "  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  International  Congress  of  Americanists/'  Thirteenth 
Session,  N.  Y.,  1902  (Easton,  Pa.,  1905,  pp.  20^212),  Mr.  L.  C  Van 
Panhuys  treats  of  the  ornaments  and  ornamental  motifs  of  the 
Bush-N^groes,  "the  most  original,  remarkable,  and  interesting  people 
in  the  present  Guiana,"  as  Professor  Joest  has  called  them.  They  , 
are  "the  descendants  of  runaway  slaves  brought  from  Africa,  and 
have  established  themselves  in  several  tribes,  under  chiefs  or  •  Gram- 
mans,'  with  a  kind  of  republican  form  of  government  "  Their  chief 
tribes  the  Aucaners  (Djoecas)  still  make  use  of  a  "  drum  language," 
for  purposes  of  warning.  The  ornaments  of  the  Aucaners  (Djoecas) 
and  of  the  Saramaccaners  (of  the  Upper  Surinam)  differ  markedly. 
The  most  characteristic  ornament  of  the  Aucaners  is  the  eye  of  the 
iguana.  In  Bush-Negro  ornamentation,  "  each  artist  has  his  own 
individual  work  and  makes  his  own  combinations,  yet  the  ornaments 
are  strongly  under  the  same  (tribal)  style."  The  male  sex  is  dis- 
tinctly marked  (arrow  sometimes  =  phallus).  Snake  and  bird  de- 
signs are  numerous  and  represented  in  connection  with  religious  ideas, 
while  plants  are  very  rare.  Tattooing  designs  "  are  the  most  conven- 
tional and  seem  to  have  been  copied  from  each  other."  As  carv- 
ing gourds  and  tattooing  are  woman's  work,  there  are  "special  female 
ornaments;"  needle-work  ornaments  are  made  by  men  and  women 
in  company.  Concerning  the  relations  of  these  Negroes  with  Indians, 
the  author  observes  :  "Coast  Indians  paint  ornaments  on  hammocks 
made  by  Bush-Negroes,  and  given  to  them  for  that  purpose.  Further, 
we  have  Indian  ornaments  in  'Kivejus'  and  feather-work."  Also: 
"  As  far  as  my  knowledge  of  Indian  ornaments  permits,  I  should  say 
that  their  ornaments  have  undergone  no  influence,  neither  from  the 
Bush-Negroes,  nor  from  the  more  civilized."  The  coast  Indians, 
who  cling  strongly  to  their  own  primitive  customs,  may  have  adopted 
some  superstitions  from  the  Bush-Negroes.  Some  of  the  Indians 
have  learned  "the'lingoa  geral'  of  the  colony,  the  so-called  negro- 
English."  In  his  article  on  "  Indian  Words  in  the  Dutch  Language, " 
in  the  same  volume,  Mr.  Van  Panhuys  states  that  the  language  of 
the  Bush'-Negroes  ocmtaiiis  words  from  ei|^ht  different  languages. 

A,  R  a 


Digitized  by  Google 


In  Memoriam :  Washington  Maitluws,  245 


IN  MEMORIAM:  WASHINGTON  MATTHEWS. 

To  the  many  losses  suffered  by  this  Society  is  to  be  added  the 
beloved  name  of  Washington  Matthews,  who  passed  away  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  April  19,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two. 

Dr.  Matthews  was  bom  in  Killiney,  a  suburb  of  Dublin,  Ireland, 
July  17,  1843.  In  infancy  he  lost  his  mother,  and  was  brought  to 
America  by  his  father,  a  physician,  who  settled  at  first  in  Wisconsin 
(still  a  territory),  and  afterwards  in  Iowa.  In  i860  the  young  man 
undertook  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1863  received  a  medical 
degree  from  the  State  University  at  Dubuque.  In  the  same  year 
he  entered  the  United  States  service,  and  through  the  remainder  of 
the  civil  war  did  duty  as  acting  assistant  surgeon.  In  1868  he  was 
commissioned  as  assistant  surgeon,  in  1871  captain  and  assistant 
surgeon,  in  1889  major  and  siirc:con,  In  1865  he  served  as  post 
surgeon  at  Fort  Union,  Montana,  and  about  this  time  became  inter- 
ested in  the  study  of  Indian  tribes,  for  which  he  had  opportunities  at 
various  posts,  coming  into  contact  with  the  Arickarces,  Hidatsas, 
and  Mandans.  In  1871,  at  Kort  Buford,  his  quarters  and  all  his 
manuscripts  were  consumed  by  fire.  In  1872  he  published  in  New 
York  a  "Grammar  and  Dictionary  of  the  Hidatsas,"  of  which  a 
second  edition,  entitled  "Ethnography  and  Philology  of  the  Hidatsa 
Indians,"  was  issued  from  the  Government  Printing  Office  in  1877. 
For  the  five  succeeding  years  he  was  employed  in  California,  Nevada, 
Oregon,  Idaho,  and  Wash i nekton,  particularly  in  campaigns  against 
hostile  Indians.  In  1880  he  went  to  New  Mexico,  where  he  became 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  Navahos.  During  the  subsequent 
time  he  made  his  home  in  Washington,  and  in  his  latter  years  be- 
came subject  to  painful  infirmities,  especially  lameness  and  deafness, 
difficulties  trying  to  an  active  temperament,  but  which  he  endured 
not  merely  with  resignation,  but  with  the  most  exemplary  courage 
and  equanimity. 

Dr.  Matthews  was  a  member  of  this  Society  from  the  year  of  its 
organization  (1888).  He  was  elected  vice-president  in  i<S94,  and 
president  in  1895.  To  this  Journal  he  has  contributed  several 
articles:   "Noqoilpi,  the  Gambler,  a  Navajo  Myth,"  1889,  ii.  89; 

The  Gentile  System  of  the  Navajo  Indians,"  1890,  iii.  89;  "The 
Study  of  Ceremony,"  1896,  x  257;  "The  Study  of  Ethics  among 
the  Lower  Races,"  1899^  xiL  i.  His  ^Navaho  Legends  '  made  the 
fifth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Society  (1897).  Here  may  also 
be  mentioned  papers  entitled  :  "A  of  the  Navajo's  Mythology," 
American  Antiquarian,  April,  1883  \  "The  Mountdn  Chant,  a  Na- 
vajo Ceremony,"  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 


Digitized  by  Google 


246  jfournal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

1887  (noticed  in  this  Journal,  il  76) ;  "  Prayer  of  a  Navajo  Shaman/' 
American  Anthropologist,  April,  1888  (t  166) ;  and  his  complete 
account  of  the  "  Night  Chant,"  American  Museum  of  Natural  His* 
tory  Memoirs,  vol.  vi.  1902  (reviewed  in  this  Journal,  xvi  61). 

The  writings  of  Dr.  Matthews  represent  the  new  method  in  the 
study  of  aboriginal  mythology,  according  to  which  legends  are  treated, 
no  longer  as  mere  curious  tales,  but  as  an  essential  part  of  the  racial 
life,  iliustrate^i  and  interpreted  by  abundant  notes  and  illustrations. 
It  has  been  said  that  Navaho  Legends  "  was  the  best  tribal  study  of 
the  sort  made ;  nor  to  this  day  can  it  be  affirmed  that  the  cone* 
sponding  material  of  other  continents  has  been  edited  in  a  mat- 
ter equally  satisfactory.  Among  minor  pap>ers  may  especially  be 
mentioned  the  beautiful  "  Study  of  Ethics  "  above  noted ;  this  arti- 
cle, translated  in  L'Humanit^  Nouvelle,"  dealing  with  a  field  still 
imperfectly  explored,  finely  shows  the  intimate  relations  existing 
between  the  author  and  the  race  with  which  he  deals.  Seldom  has 
it  happened  that  any  investigator  has  brought  to  his  task  so  x-aluable 
a  combination  of  qualities,  or  been  equally  able  to  penetrate  the 
mentality  he  examines.  When  we  consider  his  career,  rcL!;ret  mingles 
with  admiration  ;  had  he  been  assisted  with  the  necessary  means,  he 
might  have  perfected  the  study  o'f  Navaho  thought  and  accomplished 
an  equally  brilliant  account  of  Mandan  beliefs.  For  the  lack  of  such 
perception,  a  chapter  of  mental  history,  to  the  end  of  time,  will  ex- 
hibit sad  lacunas.  Yet  the  gifts  of  the  gods  are  usually  recogaizcd 
too  late,  and  it  is  well  to  rejoice  in  what  we  possess. 

If  the  private  life  of  Dr.  Matthews  could  be  fully  set  forth,  it 
might  be  judged  to  outweigh  even  his  public  services.  Delightful 
simplicity  and  frankness,  combined  with  such  knowledge  of  tlic  world 
and  extensive  acquaintance  as  an  active  experience  must  needs  be- 
stow, gentleness  and  compassion  united  to  fearless  courage,  a  shrink- 
ing modesty  unaffected  by  the  intimacy  with  primitive  life,  joined  to 
accuracy  and  clarified  by  knowledge,  aversion  to  vulgar  publicity  not 
exclusive  of  pleasure  in  the  recognition  of  worthy  praise  ;  a  broad 
and  massive  nature,  neither  desiccated  by  erudition  nor  hardened  by 
experience  ;  a  character  which,  had  its  light  chanced  to  have  set  on 
an  eminence,  might  have  illuminated  a  whole  community. 

Dr.  Matthews  was  poet  as  well  as  artist ;  the  quality  of  his  verse 
reflects  delicacy  and  tenderness.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Loomis, 
who  is  to  prepare  a  biographical  account,'  will  include  at  least  some 
of  his  few  pieces.  Before  the  writer  of  this  inadequate  tribute  lies 
one  such  composition,  from  which  an  extract  may  properly  be  added. 

'  A  preliminary  notice  has  already  appeared  in  Out  West,  May,  1905.  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  America  also  furnishes  a  Biographical  Sketch  "  to  which 
the  writer  is  indebted  for  fiwts  and  dates. 


Digitized  by  Googli 


In  Memoriam :  Washingion  Maithms*  247 

Its  title  is  "The  Pagan  Martyrs;"  the  author  describes  a  visit  to 
the  mesa  of  Zufti,  ascent  to  its  ternioes»  entrance  into  the  estufa 
in  which  are  intoning 

learned  priests  who  hold 
A  law  as  ancient  as  the  code  Mosaic, 
A  cult  as  that  of  Baal  or  Indn  old,  * 

notes  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards*  with  ensuing  persecutions,  and. 
proceeds:— 

So,  not  for  images  with  pallid  faces 

Would  Zufii's  sons  their  swarthy  gods  despite 
Nor  take  the  proffered  bargain  which  replaces, 

With  feast  of  saint,  a  day  of  pagan  rite,  — 
(Such  saint  as  they  of  Acomi  believe  in; 

For  there  the  Indian  sings  his  song  oi  praise, 
Where  the  fiir  itatoe  of  the  Royal  Stephen 

Supplants  the  warf[od  of  the  ancient  days). 

Though  well  they  knew  the  doom  of  death  was  meted 

To  him  who  in  idolatry  was  found, 
They  oft,  in  stealth,  to  deserts  far  retreated. 

Or  met  in  Nature's  temples  underground; 

And  there  they  taught  their  children  tales  of  WOnder, 

And  all  the  serrets  of  the  priestly  line; 
On  high  ToyAlani,  the  Mount  of  I  hunder, 
They  laid  the  gifts  at  Ahayuta's  shrine. 

But  Faith,  long  sufferiqg,  is  at  last  victorious ; 

And  prmse,  to-day,  to  old-time  gods  they  ^ng, 
No  more  in  trembling,  but  with  voice  uproariouSt 

Safe  'neaih  the  shelter  of  the  Eagle's  wing. 
Bright  are  the  fires  in  the  esiu/as  lowly, 

Quenched  are  tiie  tapers  in  tiie  Christian  fsne^ 
Where  now  the  stranger  spoils  the  altar  holy, 

No  longer  guaided  by  the  anns  of  Spain. 

W.  W.N. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lort, 


RECENT  FOLK-LORE  MEETINGS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Thb  first  regular  meeting  of  the  Berkel^  Folk-Lore  Club^  foonded 
May  5, 1905,  was  held  in  the  evening  of  August  i8»  at  the  Uniw- 
sity  of  California. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  draft  an  oiganization  reported  as 
follows :  — 

REPORT  OF  THE  COmilTTEB. 

The  Committee  appointed  May  3, 1905,  by  unanimous  vote  of  the 
charter  members  of  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  to  report  on  a 
scheme  of  organization  for  the  Club*  beg  leave  to  submit  the  fol- 
lowing:— 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  BERKELEY  FOLK-LORE  CLUB. 

1.  This  Society  shall  be  called  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club. 

2.  Besides  the  fifteen  charter  members,  to  wit :  Messrs.  LangC^ 
Mitchell,  Goddard,  Dresslar,  Hart,  Setchell,  Merriam,  RichardsoOt 
Fryer,  Gayley,  Miller,  Ritter,  Keeler,  Noyes,  and  Kroeber,  members 
shall  consist  of  such  men  members  of  the  Academic  Senate  of  the 
University  of  California,  and  such  men  members  in  good  standing  of 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  as  are  unanimously  elected  by  the 
Club  ;  and  of  such  only. 

3.  The  officers  shall  be  a  President,  Vice-president,  and  Secretaiy, 
who  shall  constitute  an  Executive  Committee  which  shall  arrange 
lor  all  me^ngs  and  transact  all  business  of  the  Club. 

4.  Four  or  more  meetings  annually  shall  be  held,  at  the  first  o£ 
which  in  each  academic  year  the  officers  shall  be  elected. 

5.  Five  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business. 

6.  Amendments  to  this  constitution  may  be  proposed  at  any  meet- 
ing of  the  Club  and  adopted  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  those  present  at 
the  next  meeting. 

The  Committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  this  constitution  and 
the  immediate  organization  of  the  Club  under  its  provisions. 

Signed:  A.  L.  Kroeber, 

Charles  Keeler, 
G.  R.  Noyes. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  was  discussed  and  accepted,  the 
proposed  constitution  being  thereby  adopted. 
The  following  officers  were  then  elected:  — 
President,  A.  F.  Lange. 
Vice-president,  Charles  Keeler. 
Secretary^  A.  L.  Kroeber. 


Digitized  by  Googli 


Recent  Folk-Lore  Meetings  in  California,  249 

New  membeiB  elected  were :  Ftofessor  F.  W.  Futnam,  Dr.  B.  P. 
Kurtz,  and  Professor  H.  K.  SchiUing. 

The  Committee  on  the  establishment  of  a  CaUfomia  Branch  of 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  reported  as  follows : — 

RBPORT  OF  TH£  COMMITTEB. 

« 

The  Committee  appointed  May  3,  1905,  on  vote  of  the  charter 
members  of  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  to  report  on  the  feasibility 
of  the  establishment  of  a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk- 
Lore  Society,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  recommendations 

That  the  formation  of  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  provides  an 
opportune  basis  for  the  establishment  and  successful  development  of 
a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  which  will 
extend  the  work  undertaken  by  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  to  a 
wider  sphere  of  influence  and  bring  it  before  a  larger  body  of  persons, 
thus  enhancing  the  promotion  of  folk-lore  interests  on  the  Pacific 
coast.    Be  it  resolved  therefore, 

That  a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  be 
h  ^reby  organized  by  such  of  those  present  as  signify  their  willing- 
ness ;  and 

That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  arrange  for  a  meeting, 
including  a  programme,  in  Berkeley,  on  the  evening  of  August  28; 
said  committee  to  submit  at  this  meeting  a  formal  draft  of  organiza- 
tion, with  nominations  for  ofhcers,  for  the  California  Branch  of  the 
American  Folk-Lore  Society. 

Signed:         A.  L.  Kroeber, 

Charles  Keeler, 
G.  R.  NoYES. 

This  report  was  adopted,  and  the  following  Committee  appointed 
under  its  provisions  to  report  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  California 
Branch  on  August  28  :  J.  C.  Merriara,  G.  R.  Noyes,  A.  L.  Kroeber, 
W.  C.  Mitchell,  and  Charles  Keeler. 


Digitized  by  Google 


350 


ycmmudof  Ameruam  Faik-Lprt. 


MOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

A  LotnsiAKA  Legend  concervtng  Will  o'  the  Wisp.  —  The  follow- 
ing tale  was  obtained,  about  1890,  from  Aunt  Cindy,  a  very  old  negress, 
who  could  remember  events  that  happened  some  seventy  years  ago,  and 
who  had  at  her  tongue's  end  the  history  of  every  family  and  plantation, 

"  Mr.  Ivey  "  was  supposed  to  have  died  and  been  interred  in  a  vault  under 
an  oak-tree ;  however,  the  vault  was  afterwards  found  open,  and  the  cofhn 
diaoovered  to  oontain  nothing  but  "moanen,"  or  the  faMods  worn  by  pall- 
beaien^  and  thrown  on  the  coffin  before  Ae  bricking  up  of  the  vanlt  The 
g;roand  in  the  vicinity,  also,  was  seen  to  be  mailced  with  trades  made  bj 
doven  feet ;  it  was  known,  therefore,  that  tbe  devil  had  carried  off  the 
coipse.  The  crime  which  had  occasioned  such  seizure  was  explained  in 
connection  with  a  neighboring  cabin,  in  a  comer  of  the  garden,  provided 
with  one  small  window  and  a  strong  door  ;  here  it  was  said  that  Mr. 
Ivey  had  formerly  immured  his  brother.    According  to  the  narrator  :  — 

"Well,  Mr.  Ivey  done  had  dat  built  for  Mr.  Jakey,  his  brother,  what 
owned  dis  place  afore  1  was  born,  I  'spects.  Dey  say  how  ^Tr,  Jakey  war 
a  powerful  good  master,  but  he  was  tuk  outen  his  mind,  an'  it  wan  t  sate 
ter  go  nigh  him,  so  Mr.  Ivey  bidlt  dat  little  bouse,  an'  shut  him  up  fer  years 
an'  years.  Now  dIs  is  what  I  done  heard  talked  among  der  white  people 
in  der  big  hoose^  iiow  Mr.  Ivey  got  tired  er  waitin'  fer  his  brother  ter  die 
so  he  could  git  der  place,  kase  Mr.  Jakey  ain't  never  mairied  an'  Mr. 
Ivey  would  git  it  all.  No  one  ever  seed  Mr.  Jakey  ater  he  was  put  in  dar, 
'cep'n  jest  Mr.  Ivey,  an'  so  nobody  did  n't  know  ter  trufe  of  it  when  Mr. 
Ivey  told  how  Mr.  Jakey  was  daid  all  of  a  sudden,  an*  he  was  a  gwine  ter 
bury  hira  under  der  oak  in  a  bran  new  brick  vault.  Well,  dey  suttenly 
did  have  some  kind  of  er  funeral,  but  dar  was  n't  no  preacher  an'  no 
mourners,  an'  dem  niggers  what  toted  dat  coffin  say  how  it  was  powerful 
light.  You  see,  chile,  dat  coffin  was  plum  empty,  kase  Mr.  Jakey  was  seen 
a'ter  dat,  an'  alive  too.    Yes,  <ilive —  as  sure  as  yer  here. 

**  Out  dar  in  der  bniMe  was  a  poor  iriiite  what  bad  a  litde  place  on  der 
aidge  of  der  swamps  an'  dey  do  say  how  Mr.  Ivey  done  give  it  to  htm. 
Well,  it  was  out  m  dat  turruble  place  where  Mr.  Jakey  was  seen  by  mote  *ix 
one  'liable  pussen.  An',  pore  cretur,  he  was  diained  ter  a  stump  an'gwine 
on  all  fours  like  a  dum'  beast,  an'  a  eatin'  grass  jes  like  dat  ole  man  what 
Miss  useter  read  about  in  der  Bible.  WeU,  one  day  he  done  broke  his 
chain  an*  wan'ered  off  in  ter  de  swamp  an*  no  one  never  seed  him  a'ter  dat, 
an'  no  one  never  found  his  poor  ole  bones.  An'  dat  cofl&n  was  jest  left 
empty  dar  in  der  brick  vault.  An'  Mr.  Ivey  took  der  place  an'  all  Mr. 
Jakey's  money  an'  made  big  craps  an'  bought  er  lot  of  new  niggers,  an' den 
dar  was  high  doin's  in  der  big  house,  an'  den  in  de  midst  of  der  feastin'  an' 
drinkin'  an  sinnin'  Mr.  Ivey  was  done  called  ter  his  account  Oh,  I  remeiiK 
hers  right  well  dat  time  an'  der  big  funeral,  an'  der  pall-bearers  vid  crape 
mourners  what  jes  clear  der  ground  *  dem  same  mourners  what  I  tole  yer 
about~  an'  dey  open  der  vault  an'  put  Mr.  Ivey  hi  ertong  wid  Mr.  Jak^ 


-  Digitized-byr  GdO^* 


Notes  and  Queries. 


empty  coffin,  but  bless  yer,  chile,  der  devil  would  n't  let  Mr.  Ivey  rest  dar 
while  his  brother's  'mains  was  a-bleachin*  out  in  der  sun  an'  rain,  so  he 
was  jes  natch'ly  sont  down  in  der  swamp  ter  find  Mr.  Jakey's  poor  ole 
bones,  an'  dar  he  hunts  an'  hunts  wid  a  lighted  pine  knot,  all  in  ermong 
der  cypress  knees.  Unc'  Jim  he  *s  done  teed  him  lots  er  times  when  he 's 
been  ninnin'  der  drain  wheel  dark  rainy  nights.  Yes,  he 's  done  seed  him 
A-teaiin'  an'  a-lopin'  over  dem  ridges^  hit  pine  knot  a  blazin'  an'  a  flamin' 
spite  of  der  rain,  an'  he  can't  ttop  nor  rest  kase  he 's  druv  all  der  time  by 
dem  bad  sperlts  following  him  an'  tormentin'  him. 

"  Dem  trashy  yoong  niggers  do  say  as  how  dat  light  dancin'  an'  bobbin' 
in  der  swamp  'round  der  drninin'  wheel  an*  un'er  de  ole  oak  is  er  Jack- 
lantern —  but  me  an'  Unc'  Jim,  we  knows  it's  Mr.  Ivey  a-buntin'£er  Mr. 
Jakey's  bones." 

Mrs.  C,  V,  Jamison, 

New  Orleans,  La. 

The  Cottonwood-Tree  :  Louisiana  Si  i  ekstition. — The  perpetual 
movement  q£  the  cottonwood-tree  was  explained  by  the  same  narrator  as 
follows :  — 

**Well,  chile,  yer  see  dis  vu  iHiat  my  oie  Mitt  uteter  tell  me.  Dem 
tame  kind  er  treet  growed  in  dat  garden  whar  der  bleated  Lord  prayed  der 
night  afore  he  was  cmcified,  an'  when  Judas  cum  dar  along  'er  dem  sol- 
diers ter  'tray  der  Lord  an'  take  him  erway  ter  nail  him  on  der  cross,  dey 
done  chop  down  one  of  dem  trees  and  made  der  Saviour  ob  der  world  tote 
it  up  ter  Calvery.  An'  dey  made  der  cross  outen  it,  an'  dem  trees  sensed 
how  it  was  der  blessed  Lord  what  was  fxwine  ter  suffer  an'  die  on  one  of 
'em,  and  dey  jes  tuk  ter  tremblin'  an' shiverin' with  fear.  An' dey  never 
stop  yit,  an'  never  will  while  one  of  dem  grows,  kase  dey  is  der  kind  er  tree 
what  der  cross  of  Calvery  were  made  of." 

Dt  WiTca*'ooicAK  am'  i>s  Spinnin'-Whbil,  Tbb  Witch  ntsvnmtD 
ROM  rcSntbring  hkr  Skot:  a  Talb  from  Louisiana.—- One  time  dey 
wuz  a  man  whar  rid  up  at  night  ter  a  cabin  in  de  eedge  o*  de  swamp.  He 
wuz  dat  hongry  an'  ti'd  dat  he  tay  ter  histef :  EC  I  kin  git  a  hunk  o' 
co'n-pone  and  a  slice  o' bakin',  I  doan  kur  what  I  paysl"  On  dat  here 
come  a  yaller-ooman  spankin'  out'n  de  cabin.  She  wuz  spiy  on  her  foot 
ez  a  catbird,  an'  her  eyes  wuz  sof  an*  shiny.  She  ax  de  man  fer  ter  light 
an'  come  in  de  cabin,  an'  git  some  supper.  An'  Lawd  !  how  he  mouf  do 
water  when  he  cotch  a  glimpst  er  de  skillet  on  de  coals  1  He  luk  it  so  well 
dat  he  stay  ;  an'  he  sot  eroun'  in  dat  cal)in  ontwcl  he  git  so  fat  dat  de 
grease  fa'r  run  out'n  he  jaws  when  he  look  up  at  de  sun.  De  yaller-  ooman 
the  spen'  her  time  cookin'  fer  him,  an'  waitin'  on  him  wi'  so  much  oberly, 
dat  at  las'  de  man,  he  up  an'  marry  dat  yalIer<'ooman. 

At  fus'  dey  git  erlimg  tollable  well,  but  a'ter  erwhUe  he  gin  ter  notice 
dat  sump'n  curus  'bout  dat  yaller*'ooman.  She  ain'  never  in  de  cabin  when 
he  wake  up  in  de  night  time  !  So,  he  mek  up  his  min'  fer  ter  spy  on  her. 
He  lay  down  one  night  on  de  fo'  pot'  bed  in  de  comder,  ten'  luk  he  sleep. 


Digitized  by  Google 


252 


jourtial  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


De  yaller-'ooman  watch  him  out'n  de  een  o'  her  ey^  an'  when  she  hear 
him  gin  a  sno*  (caze  cose  he  'ten  luk  he  sno')  she  jump  up  an*  pat  a  juba  in 
de  middle  o'  de  flo'.  Den  she  reach  down  a  big  gjidi'on  fum  de  wall,  an' 
rake  out  some  coals,  an*  haul  de  big  spinning-wheel  close  ter  de  ha'ih. 
Den,  she  sot  herse'f  down  on  dat  gridi'on,  an'  soon  ez  it  wuz  red-hot  she 
'gin  ter  spin  her  skin  off'n  her  body  on  de  spinnin'-wheel.  "  Tu*n  an' 
spin,  come  oil  skin,  tu'n  an'  spin,  come  ofT  skin."  An'  fo'  de  Lawd,  de 
sidn  come  off'n  dat  witcb-'ooman's  body,  berginning  at  de  top  o'  her  bead, 
ez  slick  es  de  sbtish  come  off  de  ear  o'  corn.  An'  when  it  wuz  fa^t  ofl^  dan 
she  wuz  a  gret  big  yaller  cat  Deo,  she  tuk  her  skin  an  chuck  it  onder  de 
bed.  "Lay  dar,  skin,"  she  say,  "wi'  dat  fool  nigg^  sno'in'  in  de  bed, 
ontwel  I  come  back.    I  gwine  ter  ha'  some  fiun,  I  is." 

Wi'  dat  she  jump  out'n  de  winder  an'  lope  off.  Soon  ez  she  wuz  gone 
de  man,  he  jump  out'n  de  bed  an'  tuk  out  skin  an'  fill  it  plum  full  o'  salt 
an'  pepper,  un'  th'ow  it  back  ondcr  de  bed.  Den  he  crope  out  an'  watch 
thro'  de  key-hole  ontwel  de  witch-'ooman  come  home.  She  laugh  whilse 
she  wuz  rakin'  out  de  skin  fum  onder  'de  bed,  an'  shakin'  herse'f  inter  it 
But  when  she  feel  de  salt  an'  pepper,  she  laugh  on  de  yether  side  her  mout 
She  moan  an'  groan  so  you  kin  hear  her  a  mile  I  But  she  ain  able  ter  git 
out'n  dat  skin,  an'  de  nan  watch  her  tboo  de  key^le  twel  she  fall  down 
an'  die  on  de  flo'. 

Mrt.  M.  £.  M,  Dtmt. 

New  Orleans,  La. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 

BOOKS. 

Publications  of  the  Folk-Lore  Society  LI II.  [1903].    County  Folk-Lore. 
Vol.  IV.    Printed  JLxiracts  No.  6.    Examples  of  Printed  Folk-Lore  con- 
cerning NoRTHUMBCRLAND  coUccted  by  M.  C  Bauous  and  edited  bf  ' 
NoRTHOOTB  W.  Thouas.  Published  for  the  Folk-Lore  Society  by  David 
Nutt^  57'59  Long  Acre^  London,  1904.  Pp.  xv,  180. 

Publications  of  the  Folk>Lofe  Society  LI.  [1903].  Folx-Lors  op  nt 
Mt;8Qt)AKiE  Indians  or  North  America  and  Catalogue  of  Musquakie 
Bead  work  and  other  Objects  in  the  Collection  of  the  Folk-Lore  Society 
by  Mary  Alicia  Owen.  With  eight  Plates  and  figures  in  the  text. 
Published  for  the  Folk-Lore  Society  by  David  Nutt  London,  1904. 
Pp.  ix,  147. 

The  President  of  the  Society,  in  his  preface  to  this  book  of  Northumber- 
land folk-lore,  observes  that  its  smallness,  as  compared  with  previous  vol- 
umes, "is  due,  not  to  the  paucity  of  Northumberland  Folk-Lore  to  be 
recorded,  but  to  the  fact  that  so  much  of  it  has  already  seen  the  light  in 
the  publications  of  the  Society."  The  topics  considered  are  :  Superstitious 
beliefs  and  practices  (superstitions  relating  to  natural  objects,  trees  and 
plants,  animals ;  gobltndom,  vitchcrsft,  leechcraft,  magic  and  divinationi 
anperstitioa  generally),  traditional  customs  (festtfal,  ceremonial  costoms* 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes. 


253 


games,  local  custom),  traditional  narratives  (tales,  ballads  and  songs, 
place  Ic|;ends  and  traditions,  drama)  folk-sayings  (jingles,  nursery^rhymes, 
etc.,  proverbs,  nidcnames,  place-names,  and  sayings).  There  are  recorded 
here  many  quaint  and  curious  items  "  about  the  pld-fashioDed  country-life 

of  the  Northumberland  Border,  its  rough  gaiety,  its  bonfire  festivals,  its 
harvest-homes,  its  boisterous  weddings,"  etc.  As  an  example  of  cure  by 
cumulative  qualification  the  following  item  (p.  56)  may  be  cited  :  "  If  a 
child  be  ill,  seven  men,  whose  fathers,  grandfathers,  and  great-grandfathers 
have  been  blacksmiths,  collect  in  a  circle,  at  the  centre  of  which  the  indis- 
posed child  is  laid  upon  an  anvil,  and  the  circle  wave  their  hammers  over 
Hs  head  andntter  with  great  force  the stroke<groan, '  hegh  t '  If  the  child  is 
terrified,  the  symptom  is  favorable ;  if  it  be  regardless  of  their  menaces,  life 
issupposed  to  be  in  its  socket  To  secure  the  charm  each  smith  has  6d., 
ale,  and  bread,  and  cheese."  In  some  par(sof  northern  England  "May 
goslings  "  (p.  73)  were  once  as  common  as  "  April  fools."  Among  the 
children's  games  are :  AU-in-the-well,  chucks  and  marvels,  neivy-neiv)'-nick- 
nack  (guessing  hand  jrame),  London  Bridj^e,  Two  old  Jews,  Johnny  Lingo, 
etc.  The  corn-baby  lias  the  names  Keney,  corney-doll,  kern-doll,  kern- 
babby,  mell-doll ;  and  in  Morpeth  "  a  Mell  supper  followed  the  Harvest 
Home,  and  the  Kern,  or  Chum  Baby  is  said  to  take  its  name  from  the 
rich  cream  that  forms  part  of  the  repast  "  (p.  125).  The  cumulative  song 
on  pages  138,  139  begins  with 

The  first  day  of  Christmas  my  true  love  sent  to  me 
One  partridge  on  a  pear  tree, 

and  runs  to 

The  twelfth  day  of  Christmas  my  true  love  sent  to  me  • 
Twelve  lords  a-leaping,  eta 

The  "Noah  Play  "  (pp.  160-167)  is  from  an  ancient  play  belonging  to 
the  Company  of  Shipwrights  in  Newcasde'upon-Tyne. 

Miss  Owen  s  monograph  has  been  considered  at  some  length  elsewhere 
in  this  Journal. 

Naturokpuhl  und  Natursymbolik  bu  Hbiniucb  Heikb.  Ein  Beitrag 
zur  Wiirdigung  seiner  Kunst  und  Persdnlichkeit  von  Dr.  phil.  Alexan- 
der Pachb.   Hamburg  und  Leipzig:  Leopold  Voss,  1904.   Pp.  164. 

The  four  sections  of  this  work  treat  Heine  as  nature-poet,  the  nature- 
symbolic  element  in  Heine's  works,  the  literaiy4iistorical  position  of 
Heine's  nature-symbolism,  forms  and  peculiarities  of  Heine's  nature-sym- 
bolism (esthetico<ritica1).  Heine  is  noteworthy  among  nature-poets  as 
"uniting  a  pronounced  Germanic  and  an  innate  Oriental  nature-feeling." 
This  he  does  charming  and  naively,  as  no  other  German  poet  He  halts 
also  often  between  the  classic  and  the  romantic.  Added  to  these  qualities 
are  his  humor  and  irony.  Part  of  his  position  towards  nature  is  seen  from 
the  phrase  he  applies  to  her:  "O  Natur  1  du  schone,  stumme  Jungfrau  ! 
Ich  verstehe  Deine  Sterne,  und  Du  verstehst  meine  Tranen."  He  sees  the 
momentary  and  is,  therefore,  realistic  and  true.  He  is  "  the  father  of  mod- 

VOL.  XVtII.~N0.  70.  18 


254 


jfoumal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


em  imprassioBalisni."  As  compared  with  Goethe,  the  Oriental  dement  in 
Heine,  by  reason  of  his  half-Asiatic  blood,  is  much  more  at  home  and 
usable  for  his  own  purpose,  wliile  with  the  former  the  loosely  cast  mantle  of 
Oriental  stuff  seems  still  foreign  and  lets  the  German  form  peep  betrajring^y 

through  again  and  again.  The  first  and  earliest  teacher  of  Heine  wa?  the 
German  folk-song  (pp.  99-105).  traces  of  whose  influence  crop  out  e\  erv- 
where.  Like  the  folk,  the  poet  has  "  an  overpowering  love  for  lindens,  night- 
ingales and  moonshine,"  and  for  him  as  for  them  blood  and  tears  have  a 
secret  productive  power.  Both  use,  too,  the  parallel  between  the  life  of 
iiatm«  and  the  life  of  man.  Equally  great  is  the  love  of  both  for  die  roa^ 
The  influence  of  Wilhebn  Muller,  which  Heine  himself  acfcnoiriedged,  was 
also  great  It  enabled  him  to  make  the  old  folk-so^g  into  the  new  poet- 
song.  To  BrentanoandTieck  he  also  owed  not  a  little^— the  latter  in  his 
second  romantic  period.  The  flower-embolism  of  Heine  is  particnlarly 
interesting  in  its  relations  with  folk-song  and  with  the  works  of  those  poets 
who  influenced  him.  The  statistics  of  comparisons  with  flowers,  animals, 
natural  objects,  etc.,  given  on  pages  139-140,  include  starry  eyes,  pearly 
teeth,  rosy  mouth,  lips,  and  cheeks,  vtolet  and  sapphire  eyts,  go/Jcn  locks, 
ruby  mouth  and  lips,  pink  mouth  and  lips,  hands,  fingers,  arm,  bosom, 
nose,  foot,  ears,  swan  arm,  hand,  neck,  bosom,  etc.  Characteristic  of  Heine 
is  the  introduction  of  QvXi\xTt-fiMti/s  into  the  poetic  and  classic.  His  re- 
action to  the  Orient  is  good,  although  he  never  saw  it  As  an  example  of 
his  mingling  of  diverse  things  may  be  dted  this  phrase, "  Sitsze  Ananasduft 
der  Hoflichkeit"  While  Heine  feeb  and  uses  the  elves,  niies,  foiries,  and 
goblins  of  Teutonic  folk-though^  he  never  takes  over  into  his  poetry  die 
real  gods,  Wodin,  Baldur,  Donar,  etc.  This  notably  marks  his  treatment 
of  the  old  nature-myth  as  compared  with  the  classical.  Being  at  once 
Oriental  and  German,  Heine  is  a  poet  who  lends  himself  remarkably  well 
for  comparison  with  the  genius  and  creations  of  the  foUu 

A.  F,  a 


RECENT  ARTICLES  OF  A  COMPARATIVE  NATURE  IN  FOLK- 
LORE AND  OTHER  PERIODICALS. 

Art.  Groos,  K. :  ''Die  Anfange  der  Kunst  und  die  I  h  eerie  Darwins,"  Hess. 
Bl.f.  Vollksk.  voL  iii  (1904),  pp.  98-112.  Groos  does  not  accept  Darwin's  view  of 
the  origin  of  art  in  the  sexual  life  of  primitive  man.  Social4%ligioas  life  is  more 
powerM  as  a  factor  in  the  higiierdeveiopmentof  art  than  is  courtship.  The  need 

of  self-representation  is  one  of  the  autonomous  motifs  of  artistic  production,  and 
although  unmistakably  in  relation  with  courtship,  is.  even  in  the  animal  world,  not 
limited  to  it  alone,  but  shows  its  artistic  significance  most  clearly  where  it  is  freed 
trorn  sexuality,  and  takes  on  an  individualistic  or  a  social  character. 

Child-Mythology.  Cbamberhuo,  A.  F.^mTI.  C:  '*  Studies  of  a  Child," 
Pedag.  Sem.  vol.  xi.  (1904X  pp-  264-292,  452-483-  Besides  other  linguistic  and 
psychological  material,  contains  data  concerning  the  obiter  dicta,  imagination, 
nature-observations,  poetry  and  song,  stories,  analogy-lore,  etc.,  of  a  three-year 
old  girl. 

Day-Drbams.  Smith,  T.  L. :  <•  The  Paydiolegy  of  Da]^Dreams,*'  Amtr,  j0mn. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes, 


255 


of  Psyckoh  voL  zv.  (t904X  pp-  465-488.  Gives  results  of  investigation  of  school- 
children. The  dreams  of  the  youngest  children  who  could  write  (7  to  8  years) 
were  "almost  entirely  ol  play  and  good  times  witli  a  sprinkling  of  the  fairy  story 
type  of  dream."  For  girls  from  8  to  lo  "  the  iairy-iaie  form  of  day-dream  pre- 
dominatet  above  all  othien»"  and  tbe  4eus  ix  nuukima  **  Is  moat  frequently  a  fabry 
godmother,  though  wishiiig  caps,  a  magic  hmp  or  ring,  also  figure." 

Father  and  Son  Combat.  Potter,  M.  A. :  **  Additional  Variants  of  the 
Father  and  Son  Combat  Theme,"  Folk-Lore  (Lond  ),  vol  xv.  1904,  pp.  216-220. 
Cites  examples  from  Hawaii,  New  Zealand  (Maori;,  Balkan  countries,  etc 

FoLK-LoRE  IN  School.  Lamieri,  V.:  '*Folk<lore  e  pedagogia,"  JUv.  dL 
Psieal.  apph  «Ua  Ptdag*  ed  uUa  PHenpaioL  Bologna,  1905,  voL  i.  pp.  a6-3i. 
Author  describes  the  results  of  the  introduction  into  the  schod  lor  the  feeble- 
minded of  a  jG^amc  of  '  proverbs.  '  When  the  repertory  of  known  proverbs  is  at 
an  end,  the  children  invent  them. 

FoLK-boNG.  Bockel,  O. :  "  Das  Volkslied  dcr  polnischen  Oberschlesier  vergli- 
chen  nit  der  deutschen  Volkspoesie^"  MUt,  d,  SehUs.  Get.  /.  Vfiiksk.  (BreslanX 
1904,  pp.  40-65.  Compares  as  to  inaterial.and  form  the  foUtsongs  ol  tiie  Poles  of 
Upper  Silesia^  as  recorded  by  Rogers,  with  German  follc-poetry. 

Hearing.  Chamberlain,  A.  F. :  "Primitive  Hearing  and  '  Hearing  Words,"* 
Amer.  Journ.  Psychol,  vol.  xvi.  (1905),  pp.  1 19-130.  Treats  briefly  lore  about 
acnteness  of  hearing,  folk-conception  of  deafness,  "  earmindedness,"  ear  and  hear* 
ing  in  f<rfk-lore  and  nydiology. 

"Hog-faced  Daughter."  Bookenoogen,  C.  J.:  Het  meisjc  met  het  var- 
kenshoofd,"  V'olkskuude  (Gent),  vol.  xvi.  1904,  pp.  1-17.  Cites  Dutch  fly-sheet  of 
1641  describing  the  hog-headed  girl  born  in  Amsterdam;  a  song  on  this  topic 
from  a  collection  of  songs  printed  in  1805  related  doubtless  to  the  fly-sheet  ac- 
count; a  print  (dated  1640)  in  the  Bodleian  Dbrary,  Oxibni,  about  a  **  Hog-faced 
Genttewoman  '*  bom  at  Wirkham  in  HoUand;  a  song,  **The  Long-Noe*d  Lass,* 
printed  at  London,  1672-1695,  etc.  Dr.  B.  considers  the  tale  to  belong  to  folk, 
lore  rather  than  history.  More  or  less  related  are  the  legends  of  the  origin  of  the 
^milies  Porcelet  and  Trazenies,  of  the  Guelpbs,  the  tale  of  the  Knight  and  the 
Swan,  the  Sicilian  Re  Porcoy  etc. 

Juridical  Fouc-Lorb  of  Children.  De  Cock,  A.:  Recfatshandlingen 
bijde  Kinderen»**  Volkskunde  (GentX  vol.  xvi.  1904,  pp.  54-59,  104-106,  151-156. 
The  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  sections,  treating  of  laws  of  exchange,  "barring,"  and 
oaths  of  children.  In  the  oath  and  exchanf^o  formula:  the  devil,  hell,  beheading, 
etc.,  appear.    The  "barring  '  for  seats,  places,  etc.,  are  very  interesting. 

Kava-drinking.  Hough,  W.:  **  Kavapdrinldng  as  practised  by  the  Papuans 
and  Polynesians,"  Smiths,  Mise.  C0II,  (Quart  Iss.X  vol.  xlvii.  (1904),  pp.  85-90. 
Author  thinks  that  the  Papuans  invented  kava^  "  because  among  this  people  its  use 
was  prevalent,  and  the  plant  was  systematically  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing the  drink.  The  use  of  kava  cannot  be  traced  to  New  Zealand.  Its  introduc- 
tion into  Samoa  from  Fiji  is  of  historic  record.  The  Easter  Islanders  also  do 
not  know  it  Other  arts  may  be  due  to  **  the  progressive,  wooUy-haired  peoples.** 

"Milk-drinking  "  BY  Snakes.  Olbrich,  C:  "Das  Milchtrinkender  Schlao- 
gen,"  Aft'tf.  d.  Si  hies.  Gcs.  f.  Volksk.  (Breslau).  1904,  pp.  67-72.  Author  considers 
the  "  milk  "firinking  "  of  snakes  as  "an  example  of  the  strong  influences  exerted 
upon  natural  history  tradition  by  ancient  idea  preserved  in  folk-belief." 

Paradisr.  Gonkel,  H. :  Die  ParadleBeserzUhlnng,**  Dtuki  JPiM£w;Aaw(BerfinX 
vol  xzxi.  1904,  pp.  53-58.  The  legend  haib  from  Mesopotaada,  but  Paradise 
itself  had  no  local  habitation. 

Phonograph  and  Music.  Abraham,  O.  und  von  Hornbostel,  E. :  "  Ueber 
die  Bedeutung  des  Phonographen  fiir  vergleichende  Musikwisseoschaft," 


Digitized  by  Google 


256 


journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


EihMi.  (Berlin),  voL  xxxvi.  1904,  pp.  222-236.  Empbasues  need  of  more  exact 
investigation  of  music  as  a  psychological  and  culture  character  of  huoian  races, 
the  relation  between  text  and  music,  etc.    The  phonograph  is  a  great  help  here. 

Position  of  Woman.  Farneli,  L.  K. :  Sociological  Hypotheses  concerning 
fbe  PositUm  of  Women  in  Andoit  Religion,*'  ArdL  f.  Rel^sw.  (Lpzg.),  vol.  vu. 
1904,  pp.  70-94.  AuUkmt argnes  that  **the  matriarcbate  has  not  left  so  dear  an 
impiesrioii  on  dasrical  religion  as  has  been  supposed.''  Other  causes  Chan  matri- 
archy or  gynseocracy  explain  many  of  the  facts  involved. 

ruAYi'R.  Marett,  R.  R, :  "  F'rom  Spell  to  Prayer,"  Folk-I.ore  {\.ond.\  vol.  rv. 
1904,  pp.  132-165.  Treats  of  the  evolution  of  the  prayer  from  the  spell,  of  the 
relation  of  incantation  to  Invocation,  Fraser*s  Ideas  as  to  religion  and  magic,  etc. 
The  spell  belongs  to  magic,  according  to  Uie  author,  the  prayer  to  religion.  The 
Wp^Vi  passes  by  easy  gradations  into  the  prayer,  the  imperative  into  the  optative. 

"  Prophets."  Nfitchell,  H.  W. :  "  Nineteenth  Century  Prophets,"  Hist.  Mag. 
and  NoUs  and  QutrUs  (Manchester,  N.  H.),  vol  xxiii.  1905,  pp.  29-38.  Gives  a 
list  of  105  men  and  women  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  self-atyled  prophets, 
lonaders,  interpreters  of  *' new**  religions.  To  these  die  editor  adds  nine  more. 
Of  these  America  furnished  more  than  one  half. 

Proverbs.  De  Cock.  A. :  "  Spreekwoorden  en  Zegswijzen.  afkomsti*;  van 
oude  Gebruiken,"  Volk5kund€  {Gtiii)y  \o\.  xv.  1903,  pp.  221-227.  vol.  xvi.  1904, 
pp.  40-50,  77-89,  145-150.  Comparative  Study  of  Nos.  483-485  of  Dutch  pro- 
verbs relatlQg  to  monef;  486-493  to  measures  of  distance,  length,  land ;  494-501 
to  measures  of  contents ;  5o9-5crfl  to  weighing  and  wet^ts ;  $09-524  to  Imi^thood 
and  chivalry. 

"Thoughts  in  Common."  Mason,  O.  T. :  "The  Ripening  of  Thoughts  in 
Common.  '  Common  Sense  is  Thoughts  in  Common,' "  Proc.  Amer.  F kilos.  S0c, 
voLidiii.  1904,  pp.  14S-155.  Ttaats  toi^e  In  relation  to  biology,  speedi,  indus- 
tries, fine  ut,  social  life,  leamioig  and  lore,  and  religion.  Tlie  lore'dioQghts  of  a 
people  are  the  most  deep-rooted  and  pecristent,  because  indigenous  to  their  minds 
The  most  overpowering  thoughts  in  common  have  belonged  to  the  realm  of  reli- 
gion. Telepathic  influences,  if  such  exist,  are  not  the  cause,  but  the  efiect  o£ 
striking  coincidences. 

TUB  OF  Life.  Peet,  S.  D.:  **Tbe  Tree  of  Life  among  all  Nadons,**  Amur. 
AtUi^,  voL  xxvi.  1904,  pp.  1-16.  Discusses  this  symbol  in  Asia  and  America 
(Mayan  peoples  and  .Aztecs).  The  symbolism  of  the  tree  of  life  and  the  tree  of 
good  and  evil  "  have  been  embodied  in  the  religions  of  nearly  ever)-  land.** 

Women.  De  Cock,  A. :  *•  Spreekworden  en  Zegswijzen  o\  er  de  Vrouwen,  de 
Liefde  en  bet  het  Hnwelijk,"  Votkskimde  (GentX  vol.  xvi.  1904,  pp.  59-65, 107-1 13, 
i57-t6&  Nob.  262-352  of  ptoveriis  and  sayings  rdating  to  women,  love  and 
marriage,  also  Nos.  1-70  relating  to  brides  and  weddings,  with  comparative  notes. 

A.  F.  C 


I 


Digitized  by  Gooole 


THE  JOURNAL  OF 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORR 

Vol.  XVIII.— OCTOBER-DECEMBER,  1905.— No.  LXXI. 
^   .  

THE  WHIRLWIND  AND  THE  ELK  IN  THE 
MYTHOLOGY  OF  THE  DAKOTA. 

Several  years  ago,  while  engaged  in  making;  a  collection  for  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History  illustrating  the  art  of  the  Da- 
kota«  the  writer  whiled  away  the  tedious  hours  of  long  journeys  over 
the  open  plains  of  the  reservations  and  the  leisure  moments  around 
the  camp-fires  by  confidential  discussions  with  a  few  old  men  who 
seemed  to  live  entirely  in  the  past.  These  discussions  always  turned 
to  those  phases  of  life  known  to  us  as  ethics,  philosophy,  and  religion. 
The  quick  subjection  of  the  Indian,  with  its  consequent  destruction 
of  his  native  economic  and  political  life,  has  rather  intensified  his  re- 
flective and  religious  activities  than  otherwise,  by  restricting  all  other 
outlets  to  individual  aspirations  and  emotions.  I  have  heard  expres- 
sions from  them  which  among  us  would  be  regarded  as  evidences 
of  those  cynical  scepticisms  toward  the  ultimate  moral  and  religious 
sanctions  for  social  practices  which  an  extensive  accpuiintancc  with 
the  ways  of  diiierent  orders  of  man  begets  among  many  of  our 
associates.  It  seems  clear  that  mere  contact  with  our  civilization  has 
increased  the  breadth  of  the  view  of  the  Indian  and  made  him  more 
critical  in  his  attitude  toward  his  own  traditions  and  more  liberal  in 
his  attitude  toward  ours.  At  the  same  time  this  condition  has  sharp- 
ened his  interest  in  speculation  and  observation  as  to  the  true  state 
of  affsurs  in  the  unseen  world.  For  these  reasons  we  may  expect  the 
religious  ideas  now  current  among  these  people  to  be  modified-  forms 
of  their  ancient  beliefs,  but  the  mode  of  thought  and  the  method  of 
sp  xulation  by  which  these  ideas  are  realized  seem  to  be  a  survival 
of  the  past.  It  is  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  this  method  and  men- 
tal attitude  that  two  of  the  philosophical  conceptions  of  the  Dakota 
are  discussed  in  this  paper.  If  the  reader  finds  the  account  vague  and 
unsatisfactory,  the  writer  will  feel  that  he  has  in  a  measure  succeeded 
in  presenting  the  ideas  in  their  true  relation  as  they  stand  before  the 
minds  of  the  Dakota. 


Digitized  by  Google 


yaumal  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


THE  WHIRLWIND  MOTH. 

The  Dakota  believe  that  there  is  a  dose  relation  between  the 
whirlwind  and  the  fluttering  wings  of  a  moth.  The  cocoon  is 
regarded  as  the  bundle  or  mysterious  object  from  which  a  power 
similar  to  that  of  the  whirlwind  emanates.  I  was  told  that  the 
observed  facts  as  to  the  emergence  of  the  moth  from  this  bundle 
were  in  themselves  evidences  of  the  sacred  character  of  the  moth 
because  it  had  power  to  escape  from  an  inclosure.  Like  the  wind  it 
could  not  be  confined.  It  represents,  from  this  point  of  view,  the 
kind  of  power  desired  by  the  Indian  :  viz.,  to  be  intangibly  invisible, 
and  destructive  like  the  wind.  The  relation  of  this  insect  to  the 
whirlwind  is  vague  and  naive  like  most  primitive  ideas.  Some  individ- 
uals said  specifically  that  the  whirlwind  was  caused  by  the  fluttering 
wings  of  the  moth.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  best  informed 
men  explained  the  case  differently.  They  took  the  view  that  it  was 
the  wind  that  was  the  real  power.  There  was  a  deep  mystery  in  the 
wind,  since  it  was  intan^^iblc  and  visible  only  in  its  effects.  The 
moth  by  its  wings  reproduced  the  phenomenon  of  the  whirlwind,  or 
received  from  it  power  to  rise  in  the  air,  etc.  Then  all  the  other 
mysterious  acts  of  the  moth  were  explained  by  its  rapport  with  this 
power. 

The  idea  of  the  power  of  the  whirlwind  as  expressed  by  the  Dakota 

is  an  interesting^  j>sychological  fact.  The  whirlwind  to  which  they 
refer  is  always  the  harmless  little  whirl  that  one  sees  upon  the  plains 
every  clear  day.  The  long  slender  column  of  dust  betraying  its 
presence  makes  a  profound  impression  upon  the  Indian.  In  the 
whirlwind  somehow  and  somewhere  resides  the  power  to  produce 
confusion  of  mind.  How  this  idea  arose  is  not  known,  but  the 
Indian  seems  to  see  a  resemblance  between  the  visible  aspect  of  the 
whirlwind  and  the  subjective  experience  in  a  confused  state  of  mind. 
When  a  man  loses  his  presence  of  mind  he  is  said  to  have  been  over- 
come by  the  power  of  the  whirlwind.  As  this  misfortune  often  befell 
a  man  in  battle,  it  became  the  prayer  of  the  Indian  that  the  minds  of 
his  enemies  should  be  confused. 

The  buffalo  bull  is  said  to  pray  to  the  power  of  the  whirlwind 
before  going  into  a  fight.  The  proof  of  this  is  again  in  observed 
phenomena,  since  as  a  preliminary  to  an  encounter  the  bull  jvaws  the 
earth,  every  now  and  then  deftly  scooping  up  the  dust  with  his  hoof 
and  driving  it  straight  up  into  the  air.  From  a  distance  this  bears  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  effect  of  a  whirlwind.  The  interpreta- 
tion placed  upon  this  act  by  the  Indian  is  that  the  buffalo  is  praying 
to  the  power  of  the  whirlwind  to  give  him  power  over  his  enemies. 
According  to  this  conception  the  praying  is  really  an  imitation,  an 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Whirhnnd  and  th$  EUL 


259 


outward  duplication  of  the  visible  part  of  the  effects  of  the  power. 
The  assumption  in  this  case  would  be  that  the  Indian  would  pray  to 
the  whirlwind  in  the  same  manner :  that  is,  throw  up  a  handful  of 
dust  in  imitation  of  the  whirlwind.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  our 
primitive  philosopher  is  proceeding  by  deduction,  or  rather  following 
out  a  traditional  line  of  thought  for  the  interpretation  of  observed 
phenomena. 

As  previously  indicated,  the  same  interpretation  is  placed  upon 
the  moth.  It  seeks  to  secure  the  aid  of  the  whirlwind  by  imitating  it. 
The  symbol  of  the  prayer  to  this  power  is  the  cocoon  from  which  the 
moth  comes.  The  cocoon  was  often  taken  with  a  portion  of  the  twig 
or  surface  upon  which  it  was  found,  wrapped  in  an  eagle  plume,  or 
down,  and  worn  on  the  head.  This  was  rej^ardcd  as  a  perpetual 
prayer  to  the  power  of  the  whirlwind.  It  was  also  the  custom  to  carve 
the  image  of  the  cocoon  in  wood,  to  model  it  of  buckskin  and  decorate 
it  with  beads,  or  to  represent  it  graphically.  John  G.  Bourke  reports 
such  an  object  on  a  war  shirt  taken  from  a  Sioux,  in  his  paper  on  the 
Apache  medicine-men.^  The  graphic  symbol  is  found  in  the  decorative 
art  of  the  Dakota.  In  Mallery's  paper  on  sign  writing  is  a  drawing 
representing  Whirlwind  Bear  in  which  the  symbol  is  placed  over  the 
head  of  a  hear.^  This  author  is  slightly  mistaken,  however,  in  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  symbol. 

By  some  individuals  it  is  believed  that  the  bear  has  the  power  of 
the  whirlwind.  In  some  cases  the  assertion  is  made  that  it  is  the 
bear  that  controls  this  power,  and  that  one  must  pray  directly  to  the 
bear  for  aid  of  this  kind.  Sometimes  a  person  will  receive  power  from 
the  bear  in  a  dream  or  vision  and  thus  come  to  have  the  aid  of  the 
whirlwind  because  of  the  conceived  relation  between  the  two.  This 
will  change  the  symbolic  acts  of  the  warrior*  as  he  will  now  paint  his 
face  with  the  symbols  of  the  bear  and  then  appeal  to  the  power  of 
that  animal  that  the  confusing  whirlwind  may  place  his  enemies  at 
his  mercy. 

As  noted  by  Mr.  Mooney,  the  mystic  character  of  the  whirlwind 
is  a  conception  common  to  the  Indians  of  the  Plains.*  This  writer 
quotes  three  songs  in  which  the  following  occur: — 

I  bring  the  whirlwind  with  me. 
Our  father  the  whirlwind. 
Then  is  dust  from  the  whirlwind. 

The  same  author  mentions  that  in  the  affair  at  Wounded  Knee, 
Yellow  Bird,  a  prominent  man  among  the  hostiles,  stooped,  and 

*  Ninth  Report  of  the  Burmm  0/ Ethnology, 

*  Tenth  Report  tfthe  Bureau  sfEthmolegyt  fig*  96s. 

*  James  Moooey,  Famrteenth  Report  of  the  Bureau  ef  EUmohgy, 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


26o 


Journal  of  American  Folk^Lare. 


scooping  up  a  handful  of  dust,  threw  it  up  into  the  air.  By  the 
soldiers  this  was  said  to  have  been  a  signal  for  battle,  but  the  writer 
has  been  informed  from  several  sources,  both  Indian  and  white,  that 
a  companion  of  Yellow  Bird,  seeing  that  trouble  was  about  to  occur 
between  them  and  the  soldiers,  said  to  him  :  **  Now  is  the  time  to 
work  your  power,  if  you  have  it."  The  act  was  a  symbolic  appeal 
to  hib  medicine  for  aid. 

A  Biackfoot  myth  contains  the  following  incident  :  — 
A  woman  went  out  after  water.  She  saw  a  small  whirlwind  com- 
ing towards  her.  As  she  watched  it  she  saw  a  little  boy  running 
along  in  the  centre  of  the  dust  whirl.  He  spoke  to  her,  saying : 
"  Mother,  I  know  what  you  said  about  having  more  children,  but  it 
will  be  different  with  me.  I  shall  be  your  next"  After  this  she 
was  with  child. 

In  other  myths  of  the  same  tribe  occurs  the  incident  of  the  buffalo 
either  shaking  or  pawing  dust  straight  up  into  the  air  "like  a  whirl- 
wind." 

Among  the  Biackfoot  we  find  the  idea  that  there  is  a  relation 
between  the  moth  and  sleep,  but  the  psychological  conception  of  its 
f>ower  as  found  among  the  Dakota  is  wanting.^  The  moth  is  appealed 
to  when  the  Biackfoot  desire  to  have  dreams.  With  them  power  is 
always  conferred  in  a  dream.  The  medicine-men  claim  to  use  the 
power  of  the  moth  in  making  childbirth  easy,  producing  abortion, 
preventing  conception,  etc.  Sometimes  if  a  medicine-man  wishes  a 
woman  to  have  children,  he  prays  to  the  power  of  the  moth  and  slyly 
sits  upon  the  woman's  blanket.  Among  the  Dakota  the  power  of 
the  whirlwind  is  appealed  to  in  case  of  misplaced  love.  Even  in 
such  cases  it  is  believed  that  the  mind  of  the  female  is  confused 
to  such  a  degree  that  she  cannot  resist  the  pleadings  of  the  lover. 

The  most  efiective  love  charms  and  formulae  among  the  Biackfoot 
are  spoken  of  as  Cree  Medicine,  and  are  regarded  as  having  origi- 
nated with  the  Creea,  In  the  mind  of  the  Biackfoot,  at  least*  these 
are  associated  with  the  idea  of  the  power  of  the  moth.  The  image 
of  a  moth  is  sometimes  worn  on  the  head  of  a  man  in  the  belief  that 
the  power  will  pass  into  any  woman  the  wearer  may  fix  his  mind 
upon  and  cause  her  to  become  pregnant. 

The  Arapaho  use  the  same  word  for  whirlwind  and  caterpillar,  be- 
lieving the  latter  to  cause  the  former.*  Among  the  Gros  Ventre^  a 
division  of  the  Arapaho,  the  writer  found  an  axe  ornament  worked  in 
quills.  On  one  side  of  it  was  the  head  of  the  buffala  A  ray  extended 
upward  from  the  tip  of  his  horn  connecting  with  an  insect  hovering 
about.  The  owner  explained  it  as  representing  a  rapport  between  the 

^  G.  B.  GfinneO,  AmeHeam  AnikropolefgUtt  vol  UL  No.  4. 
'  Kioeber  and  Doney,  DwUHons  0/tkt  Arapaka. 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Whirlwind  and  the  EUL 


261 


buflklo  and  the  moth.  He  explained  that  these  were  two  great  pow- 
ers and  that  they  were  in  sympathy  with  each  other.  The  whole 
represented  a  dream  or  vision  by  one  of  their  ancestors  in  which  the 
ancestor  was  given  power  by  these  mythical  creatures.  The  Gros 
Ventre  decorate  the  backs  of  their  tents  with  a  cross  representing 
the  Morning  Star.  The  Blackfoot  use  the  same  decoration  but  are 
confused  as  to  its  significance.  Some  of  them  claim  that  it  represents 
the  moth  and  is  the  symbolic  prayer  for  sleep  and  mystic  dreams. 
Others  that  the  symbol  is  the  Morning  Star.  The  latter  is  doubtless 
correct  because  it  figures  in  the  Blackfoot  myths  as  such.  Yet  the 
same  symbol  is  often  used  to  represent  the  moth.  However,  the  cor- 
rect way  to  use  the  moth,  or  sleep,  symbol  is  to  cut  from  raw  hide  an 
image  of  the  insect  and  hang  it  from  the  back  pole  of  the  lodge  by  a 
thong. 

Unfortunately  the  writer  has  not  sufficient  material  for  a  compar- 
ative discussion  of  the  conception  of  the  relation  between  the  moth 
and  the  whirlwind.  That  it  anywhere  takes  the  peculiar  psychologi- 
cal form  as  found  among  the  Dakota  is  doubtful.  As  is  well  known, 
the  dragon-fly  fif^iircs  in  the  symbolic  art  of  the  Plains,  but  among 
the  Dakota,  at  least,  it  is  not  connected  with  the  idea  of  the  whirl- 
wind. With  them  it  is  venerated  as  a  being  possessed  of  the  power 
to  escape  a  blow.  They  say  it  cannot  be  hit  by  man  or  animal, 
neither  can  the  thunder  injure  it.  Hence,  this  dragon-fly  is  also  in 
touch  with  a  power  the  Indian  covets. 

THE  POWER  OF  THE  ELK. 

In  the  days  of  their  prosperity  the  young  men  of  the  Dakota 
prayed  for  power  over  the  sexual  passions  of  women  as  much  as  for 
power  over  the  arms  of  the  enemy  when  on  the  war-path.  Their 
ideals  and  ambitions  as  revealed  in  myth  and  ritual  lead  to  the 
impression  that  they  gave  far  more  than  half  their  energy  to  the  for- 
mer. Love  and  se.xual  desire  were  interpreted,  after  their  mode,  as 
manifestations  of  the  working  of  some  magic  or  supernatural  power. 
When  one  young  person  was  drawn  toward  one  of  the  opposite  sex 
by  a  power  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  it  was  considered  certain  that 
the  object  of  this  passion  had  the  use  of  sonic  ciiui  m  or  the  aid  of 
some  unseen  power  tluit  produced  the  desired  result.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  was  regarded  as  almost  useless  to  resist  such  a  power.  The 
psychological  effect  of  the  consciousness  of  this  idea  in  the  mind  of 
the  woman,  at  least,  must  have  made  the  lover's  conquest  easy.  A 
number  of  mythical  creatures  were  supposed  to  manifest  similar 
powers  over  the  sexe&   The  chief  of  these  was  the  bull  elk. 

The  Dakota  have  observed  the  influence  of  male  animals  over  the 
females  of  their  kind.  When  pairing,  the  bufialo  bulls  are  said  to 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


262  youmal  of  American  Falk'Lore. 

have  rounded  up  the  cows,  approached  them  with  pawing  and  other 
manifestations  of  anger.  Then  a  bull  would  throw  up  dust  with  his 
forefeet,  producing  an  effect  similar  to  that  of  a  small  whirlwind, 
and,  having  summoned  to  his  aid  the  power  of  the  whirlwind,  would 
turn  away.  As  he  moves  away  a  cow  leaves  the  bunch  and  follows 
him.  LikewisCi  the  stallion  is  said  to  have  power  to  herd  the  mares, 
lead  them  about,  and  subject  them  to  hb  will  His  power  is  sop> 
posed  to  have  been  given  by  the  thunder  horse,  or  the  thunder.  The 
spider  was  also  regarded  as  a  power  in  influencing  women  because 
of  his  cunning.  Yet  above  all  stood  the  male  elk.  He  travelled 
alone.  At  times  he  would  stand  on  a  hill  and  call  or  whistle  in  tones 
similar  to  those  of  the  Indian  flageolet.  ^This  call  would  bring  the 
females  to  his  side.  From  the  Indian's  point  of  view  he  seemed  to 
draw  them  from  afar  in  some  mysterious  manner.  They  say  that  he 
draws  them  with  his  flageolet  The  flageolet  thus  becomes  a  court- 
ing charm,  but  it  is  the  power  of  the  mythical  elk  that  is  appealed 
to  and  symbolized  by  the  music  It  is  well  to  note  that  while  the 
elk  is  taken  as  the  incarnation  of  the  power  over  females,  the  real  elk 
is  regarded  only  as  the  recipient  of  such  power.  The  power  itself  is 
conceived  of  in  the  nature  of  an  abstraction  similar  to  our  conception 
of  force.  The  fact  that  the  elk  seems  to  act  in  conformity  with  the 
laws  governing  this  power  is  taken  as  evidence  of  its  existence 
Then  the  idea  of  the  Indian  is  that  the  elk  possesses  the  knowledge 
necessary  to  the  working  of  the  power.  Thus  a  mythical,  or  hypo- 
thetical elk,  becomes  the  teacher  of  man. 

In  the  following  account  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  dream 
man  who  confers  the  power  of  the  flageolet  is  the  mythical  elk  hint- 
self. 

In  the  Minnesota  Lake  country  a  long  time  ago,  near  the  falls  of 
the  Mississippi,  was  a  Sioux  camp.  In  this  camp  there  was  a  young 
man  who,  as  an  orphan,  had  been  reared  by  his  grandmother.  The 
family  was  i)oor.  The  young  man  fell  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  a 
wealthy  man.  She  refused  him.  One  day  she  ridiculed  him  and 
said,  "You  are  too  poor  to  have  a  sweetheart;  go  lie  with  your 
grandmother." 

The  young  man  returned  to  his  grandmother's  tipi,  put  his  robe 
over  his  head,  and  grieved.  When  his  grandmother  came  in  with 
wood  she  saw  that  he  was  in  trouble. 

"Why  so  sorry  ?    Come,  eat  some  meat,"  she  said. 

The  young  man  explained  his  misfortune  to  her. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "I  told  you  not  to  approach  that  girl.  Why  did 
you  not  listen  to  me  You  are  poor.  You  have  no  good  clothes. 
You  do  not  make  a  fine  appearance." 

As  the  young  man  continued  to  grieve,  the  old  woman  said  to  him, 


! 

Digitized  by  Google 


Tk€  Wldrhdnd  and  the  Elk.  363 

"Now  you  must  iast.  Send  out  lor  some  one  to  make  a  sweat 

house." 

The  sticks  were  brought  and  a  sweat  house  fixed  up.  The  young 

man  was  requested  to  gather  some  sage  grass  and  spread  it  all  around 
inside  of  the  sweat  house.  Then  the  stones  were  heated,  the  young 
man  entered,  and  took  the  sweat. 

When  he  came  out  his  grandmother  told  him  to  cut  four  sticks, 
forked  at  the  end  and  as  long  as  he  was  tall.  When  the  sticks  were 
brought  the  grandmother  opened  a  square  raw  hide  bag,  took  from  it 
some  buffalo  hide,  some  deerskin,  some  red  cloth  and  tobacco.  She 
tied  up  some  tobacco  in  little  pieces  of  the  red  cloth,  and  fastened 
them  on  each  of  the  sticks.  Then  she  took  two  pieces  of  thong  of 
raw  hide  and  cut  them  in  halves,  making  four  cords  in  all. 

To  her  grandson  she  said,    Wait,  have  you  a  friend  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"Call  him." 

When  the  young  man's  friend  came,  the  grandmother  requested 
him  to  accompany  her  grandson  to  a  high  hill  far  out  from  the  camp. 
She  directed  him  to  set  up  the  four  sticks  in  the  form  of  a  square, 
place  her  grandson  in  the  centre,  make  two  cuts  in  the  skin  of  his 
breast  and  two  in  the  skin  of  his  back,  to  thrust  small  sharp  sticks 
through  the  cuts  and  tic  the  ends  of  the  cords  to  them.  The  grand- 
son was  to  face  the  cast,  and  the  ends  of  the  cord  were  to  be  tied  to 
the  four  sticks  set  up  in  the  ground. 

The  friend  did  this.  The  young  man  was  directed  to  stand  there 
during  the  day.  At  night  he  was  to  untie  the  pins  in  front  and  He 
down  upon  his  breast  His  grandmother  had  given  him  a  filled  pipe 
which  he  was  to  place  in  front  toward  the  east  Before  lying  down 
he  was  to  look  once  to  each  of  the  four  directions  and  pray  for  a  long 
time.  The  substance  of  this  prayer  was  to  be  that  he  might  seduce 
many  women,  receive  many  horses,  and  kill  many  enemies. 

This  trial  was  to  be  endured  for  four  days  and  nights. 

During  the  second  day  of  this  ordeal,  while  looking  toward  the 
east,  the  young  man  heard  something  above  him  say,  "  Young  man, 
what  do  you  wish  that  you  torture  yourself  in  this  way  ? " 

The  young  man  looked  up.  He  saw  a  man,  scarcely  visible.  The 
man  looked  old,  and  his  hair  was  white. 

Again  the  young  man  heard  the  words*  "Do  you  want  some- 
Aing?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  man.  "  I  want  many  women,  many  horses, 
and  to  kill  one  enemy.  I  have  suffered  much  because  of  my  poverty, 
now  I  want  something." 

**  Very  well,"  said  the  man,  as  he  gave  him  a  thick  red  stick 
wrapped  in  sage  grass.  "  Now,  go  home.  When  there^  take  this  bun- 


Digitized  by  Google 


264 


youmal  of  American  Foikd^are, 


die  and  tie  it  up  high  among  the  poles  of  the  tipi  where  it  will  not  be 
seen.  Go  into  the  sweat  house  every  morning  for  four  days.  You 
must  always  sleep  with  your  head  directly  beneath  the  bundle  that 
hangs  above.  When  you  have  done  this  you  will  learn  what  the  thing 
b  which  the  bundle  contains." 

The  young  man  did  as  directed.  After  the  fourth  dav  when  he 
awoke,  he  .saw  the  same  old  man,  who  said,  pointing  at  the  bundle, 
"To-morrow  night  the  whole  tribe  must  hear  this.  In  the  night 
you  are  to  go  out  and  circle  around  the  camp  blowing  upon  this 
flageolet.  You  are  to  pass  around  the  camp  four  times.  Then  go  to 
the  lodge  of  the  girl  you  desire,  strike  upon  the  pole  to  which  the 
cover  of  the  lodge  is  fastened,  and  the  girl  will  come  out  to  you." 

The  flageolet  was  inside  of  the  grass  bundle.  This  is  the  way  they 
got  the  flageolet. 

After  a  few  days  the  young  man  called  in  his  friend  and  inx-ited 
him  to  share  in  the  fruits  of  the  new  nictlicine.  The  young  man  told 
his  grandmother  that  he  would  try  that  same  girl  again.  The  grand- 
mother laughed  at  him  for  being  so  foolish  about  this  one  girl.  The 
young  man  retorted,  "  I  will  bring  all  the  women  into  this  tipi,  all 
the  women  I  want."  He  requested  her  to  go  outside  of  the  tipi, 
close  the  door,  and  allow  no  one  to  approach  the  place. 

When  they  were  alone  the  two  boys  began  to  lay  plans  for  sedu- 
cin<^  girls.  They  were  both  poor.  The  young  man  showed  his 
friend  the  secret  bundle.  lie  took  it  down  and  began  to  open  it, 
saying,  **  Now,  we  shall  steal  many  girls."  He  laid  the  bundle  on 
some  sage  grass  and  burned  some  sweet  g^rass.  The  bundle  was  held 
over  the  smoke  four  times  and  then  unwrapped.  The  young  man 
took  out  the  flageolet  and  played  softly. 

*'Now,  my  friend,  we  can  get  any  woman  in  the  camp,"  he  said. 

Then  the  flageolet  was  put  back  into  the  bundle  and  the  grand- 
mother called  into  the  tipL  Her  grandson  told  her  that  he  intended 
to  steal  a  girl  that  she  did  not  like,  bring  .her  to  their  tipi,  and  keep 
her  four  days.   During  that  time  she  was  not  to  speak  to  the  giiL 

When  night  came  the  two  boys  took  the  flageolet,  went  out  upon 
the  hUls,  and  circled  the  camp  in  the  direction  of  the  sun,  praying 
for  power  over  the  women  of  the  camp.  They  played  the  flageolet 
as  they  circled  the  camp.  The  people  in  the  tipis  heard  the  noise 
and  wondered  at  it  The  dogs  barked  and  followed  the  sound  around 
the  edge  of  the  camp.  The  women  went  out  to  listen  and  to  beat  off 
the  dogs. 

The  boys  returned  to  their  tipis  and  hung  up  the  flageolet  in  the 
top  of  the  tipi  as  before.  Then  they  went  out  among  the  tipis  and 
each  led  a  girl  away.  These  were  the  finest  girls  in  the  whole  campi 
The  next  day  their  relatives  were  looking  for  them  in  the  camp  but 


Digitized  by  Google 


The  Wkirhtnnd  and  ike  Elk. 


265 


could  not  find  them.  They  never  thought  of  looking  in  the  tipis  of 
the  poor  boys,  for,  of  course,  th^  were  so  poor  and  insignificant  that 
no  girl  would  go  away  with  them.  Finally  the  people  concluded  that 
the  girls  had  gone  to  another  camp. 

Some  of  the  women  went  to  visit  at  the  grandmother's  tipi.  They 
talked  to  her  about  the  missing  girls.  When  they  expressed  the 
opinion  that  they  had  gone  off  to  another  tribe  the  old  woman 
laughed.    She  said,  "  My  children  brought  them  home.'* 

"Oh,  no  !  that  is  not  possible,"  they  all  said  in  a  chorus. 

"Well,"  said  the  grandmother,  "look  and  see  for  yourselves." 

When  they  raised  the  door  flap  and  looked  they  saw  the  two  boys 
and  the  two  girls  together. 

"Have  you  stolen  the  girls? "  the  women  called  to  the  boys. 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply. 

The  visiting  women  hastened  to  the  mothers  of  the  girls  and 
spread  the  news.  The  families  talked  it  over,  and  the  fathers  of  the 
girls  gave  their  consent  to  the  double  marriage.  They  sent  an  old 
woman  over  to  invite  the  girls  and  their  lovers  to  live  with  them. 

When  the  boys  received  the  message  they  said,  "  No,  we  will  live 
here." 

After  four  days  they  sent  the  girls  home. 

Then  they  took  the  flageolet  again,  determined  upon  two  other 
girls,  circled  the  camp  four  times  as  before,  and  led  them  away  to  the 
grandmother's  tipi. 

After  the  boys  had  repeated  this  feat  four  times  the  people  of  the 
camp  discovered  how  they  worked  their  medicine.  The  first  to  find 
it  out  were  two  young  men.  These  called  upon  the  young  man,  whose 
name  by  the  way  was  Shoots-at-the-mark,  and  asked  him  for  help  in 
securing  girls  for  themselves.  Each  of  them  gave  Shoots-at-the-mark 
a  horse.  Now  four  boys  went  out  with  the  flageolet,  curded  the  camp» 
and  all  got  girls.  This  state  of  afiEairs  went  on  until  nearly  all  of  the 
girls  in  camp  had  spent  four  nights  in  the  tipis  with  various  young 
men. 

One  girl  in  the  camp  boasted  that  no  one  could  steal  her  away.  An 
old  woman  reported  what  she  said  to  Shoots-at-the-mark.  He  worked 
his  charm  again  and  took  her  that  very  night  Then  he  drove  her 
away  in  dbgrace.  He  made  a  song  which  he  sang  about  the  camp 
in  derision.  The  words  were :  — 

"  Shoots-at  tliL-mark  is  no  good. 
Then  why  do  you  come  ?  " 

In  course  of  time  Shoots-at-the-mark  had  received  many  horses 
from  the  young  men.  He  was  rich  now.  He  had  four  wives  and  a 
very  large  tipi  The  dream  man  who  had  given  him  the  flageolet 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


366 


youmal  of  American  Folk'Lare. 


warned  him  that  after  being  four  nights  with  a  girl  he  must  cleanse 
himself  in  the  sweat  house  and  take  the  flageolet  with  him.  If  he 
failed  to  do  this,  he  would  be  punished.  At  last  he  forgot.  The  next 
time  he  started  out  to  work  his  charm  and  circled  the  camp  for  the 
fourth  time,  something  went  wrong.  Shoots-at-the-mark  rose  in  the 
air,  circled  around,  playing  as  he  went.  The  people  watched  him  go 
up.  At  last  he  went  out  of  sight.  All  the  women  in  the  camp  were 
cr}Mnj;,  the  dogs  were  howling,  and  the  grandmother  cried  too.  There 
was  some  great  power  at  work. 

The  young  friend  of  Shoots-at-the-mark  explained  to  the  people 
that  there  was  a  penalty  for  neglecting  the  injunctions  pertaining  to 
this  power,  and  that  Shoots-at-the-mark  must  have  made  a  mistake, 

A  long  time  after  this  happened  a  young  man  fasted  in  the  same 
place  where  Shoots-at-the-mark  had  received  his  power.  He  dreamed 
about  the  man  and  the  flageolet.  In  the  dream  he  was  told  to  make 
his  own  flageolet  and  to  take  an  owl  for  a  charm.  He  did  so,  but  did 
not  have  the  power  of  the  first  man  to  use  the  flageolet 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  flageolet. 

Another  version  of  this  tale  is  that  the  young  man  first  seduced 
all  the  girls  of  the  camp.  Then  he  exercised  his  power  on  the  mar- 
ried women  until  he  had  led  all  of  them  astray.  At  last  he  ran  away 
with  his  grandmother.  This  seemed  to  have  been  the  limit,  for  the 
men  came  together  in  council  and  agreed  that  something  must  be  done 
about  it.  So  they  formed  a  plot,  and  when  the  young  man  returned 
he  was  set  upon  and  killed.  His  spirit  went  away,  circling  through 
the  air  playing  on  the  flageolet.  For  four  nights  they  heard  hira 
circle  the  camp  in  the  air.  At  such  times  the  women  were  very  much 
excited.  Then  he  was  beard  no  more. 

These  myths  are  regarded  as  expositions  of  the  methods  for  work- 
ing the  charm. 

The  flageolet  of  the  Dakota,  referred  to  in  the  above^  is  usually 
one  with  five  holes.  The  end  is  often  carved  to  represent  the  head 
of  a  bird  or  an  elk.  The  figure  of  a  nude  woman  is  often  placed  near 
the  vent.  Among  the  Blackfoot  these  instruments  usually  have  four 
holes.  The  Ojibway  seem  to  prefer  six  holes. 

Another  powerful  charm  was  made  from  a  mirror.  In  a  small  mir- 
ror was  drawn  the  figure  of  an  elk  and  around  the  edge  a  zigzag  line 
to  represent  the  lightning.  Through  the  middle  of  the  mirror  a  broken 
line  was  drawn  to  represent  the  trail  of  the  elk,  and  sometimes  his 
tracks  were  drawn  along  the  trail  line.  In  use  the  mirror  was  flashed 
so  that  the  beam  would  fall  upon  the  girl  The  trail  in  the  drawing 
implies  that  the  girl  must  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  owner  of  the 
mirror  like  the  females  of  his  kind  follow  the  male  dk.  The  lightning 
symbol  is  added  to  represent  the  thunder,  or,  according  to  some  ao> 


Digitized  by  LiO..^ 


7%e  Whirlwind  and  Uie  Elk,  267 

counts,  to  imply  that  this  is  a  charm  object  The  flashing  of  the  beam 
of  light  upon  the  girl  is  supposed  to  have  something  like  a  hypnotic 
effect  and  to  put  her  into  a  state  of  submission,  it  is  of  interest  to 
note  that  the  mythical  elk  who  figures  in  this  conception  usually  ap- 
pears with  a  hole  through  bis  body  in  the  region  of  his  heart  When 
he  appears  the  observer  can  look  through  the  opening  and  see  the 
landscape  beyond.  Then  this  is  represented  in  ceremonies  by  a  mir- 
ror hanging  over  the  heart  of  the  man  who  impersonates  the  mythical 
elk.  It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  this  same  mythical  elk  bears  a 
part  in  other  ceremonies  where  a  different  motive  moves  the  people. 

The  Dakota  made  use  of  a  painted  robe  that  may  be  called  a  court- 
ing blanket.  This  usually  bore  the  hgure  of  an  elk,  a  spider,  and  the 
whirlwind.  Sometimes  the  figure  of  a  woman  was  the  main  j)art  of 
the  design  with  zigzag  lines  extending  from  the  nostrils  of  tlie  elk 
around  the  woman,  connecting  with  the  head  of  the  spider.  These 
lines  indicate  the  direction  of  the  power  toward  the  woman,  and  that 
she  is  enveloped  by  it.  In  one  specimen  seen  by  the  writer  the  woman 
was  depicted  as  bleeding  at  the  nose  from  the  stress  of  passion 
aroused  by  the  medicine  power  of  the  elk  and  his  associates.  The 
right  to  such  a  robe  is  conferred  in  a  dream.  After  such  an  experience 
the  dreamer  goes  out  alone  and  paints  the  design  in  secret.  When 
ready  to  seduce  the  woman  of  his  desire  he  puts  on  the  robe  with  the 
design  inside.  He  takes  a  flageolet  as  described  above  and  proceeds 
as  before  with  the  formula  for  that  instrument.  When  his  purpose 
has  been  accomplished  he  wears  the  blanket  in  public  with  the  painted 
side  out.  Usually  a  score  is  made  for  each  conquest  by  drawing  the 
figure  of  a  woman  on  the  border.  The  wearing  of  the  robe  in  public 
is  to  herald  the  fact  that  the  owner's  medicine  was  .strong.  In  talking 
about  the  appearance  of  the  owner  with  the  robe  the  people  would 
remark  that  so-and-so  has  one  more  woman  on  his  robe. 

The  courting  robe  may  be  used  without  the  flageolet.  The  man 
wearing  his  robe  with  the  design  inside  goes  among  the  crowd.  The 
image  of  a  spider  is  painted  upon  the  lower  corner.  The  formula  for 
using  this  robe  is  to  so  manipulate  things  that  the  intended  victim  will 
step  upon  the  image  of  the  spider.  This  is  considered  a  sure  catch. 
The  charm  can  be  strengthened  by  the  owner  carrying  a  dead  spider 
in  his  mouth. 

Another  account  states  that,  wearing  the  robe,  the  would*be  se* 
ducer  goes  out  on  the  hills  at  night  and  plays.  The  women  of  the 
camp  will  always  come  out  to  listen.  As  they  listen  they  will  become 
excited  and  sometimes  bleed  at  the  nose.  Under  such  stress  they 
will  be  drawn  out  towards  the  sound  away  from  the  camp.  Then  one 
of  them  would  be  caught  by  the  would-be  lover  and  forced  away. 
Often  a  confederate  would  lie  in  wait  at  the  edge  of  the  camp  circle. 


Digitized  by  Google 


268  youmal  of  American  FoLk-Lore, 

There  seemed  to  be  in  the  minds  of  the  nanators  a  keenappredatioii 
of  the  fact  that  the  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  women  as  to  the 
purpose  of  the  players  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  whom  they  had  in 
mind  acted  as  a  powerful  suggestion  tending  toward  erotic  states. 

It  was  related  that  a  very  powerful  charm  could  be  worked  by 
Standing  before  the  fire  in  the  dance  tipi  and  playing  a  flageolet  \Aith 
an  eagle  feather  tied  to  the  end.  It  required  great  courage  to  do  this, 
as  the  whole  assembly  would  look  on  and  offer  jests  and  ridicule 
However,  it  was  believed  to  be  an  infallible  formula. 

When  a  young  man  desired  a  woman  who  was  menstruatinf^  ]ie 
would  go  out  at  night  in  the  direction  from  which  the  wind  csune  and 
play  four  nights.  On  the  fifth  night  he  would  boldly  take  the  woman 
from  her  tipi  out  to  the  hills  where  he  had  prepared  a  sweat  house. 
Here  a  purification  ceremony  was  performed  before  intimacy. 

These  few  examples  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Plains  have  been 
given  to  illustrate  the  type  of  thought  that  seems  to  have  prevailed 
among  the  natives.  It  seems  quite  clear  that  the  psychological 
aspect  of  these  practices  presents  problems  of  imitation.  The  wav 
to  realize  a  condition  in  nature  according  to  this  philosophy  is  to  put 
one's  self  in  the  attitude  of  the  men  or  animals  who  do  accomplish 
what  seems  desirable.  This  is  an  idealism  that  seeks  to  make  the 
play  so  intense  that  it  becomes  a  reality.  In  one  respect  the  Indian 
is  passive,  because  he  seems  to  assume  that  events  result  from  causes 
outside  of  his  will  and  in  practice  seeks  to  put  himself  in  the  atti- 
tude that  pertains  to  the  observed  phenomena  which  results  in  imi- 
tation. The  philosophical  ideas  held  by  these  people  are  in  them- 
selves interpretations,  for,  like  man  in  general,  thty  seem  to  have 
developed  formal  practices  first  and  afterwards  devised  systems  of 
philosophy  to  explain  them.  A  review  of  the  preceding  pages  vrill 
show  that  the  Dakota  has  a  fair  knowledge  of  what  takes  place  in 
the  mind  of  an  individual  when  confronted  with  certain  conditions, 
and  that  his  interpretations  are  the  results  of  keen  psychological 
introspection. 

The  accounts  we  get  from  the  natives  of  the  Plains  are  vague,  and 
often  contradictory.  A  phenomenon  Is  assigned  to  one  cause  In  one 
connection  and  another  in  a  di£Ferent  association.  Thus  a  literal 
account  of  what  one  hears  from  the  speech  of  these  people  will  not 
give  us  an  idea  of  their  philosophy.  The  interpretation  must  be 
rendered  by  the  writer.  In  this  case  the  writer  has  sought  to  give 
literally  the  thoughts  expressed  by  natives,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
has  given  the  whole  an  interpretation  based  upon  all  the  informatioo 
at  hand  and  not  from  the  above  illustrations  alone. 

Chfk  Wissler, 

Columbia  UmvERSiTV,  New  Yoke. 


^  J,  ^ud  by  Googl 


IFAo  was  ike  Mididne  Mont  269 


WHO  WAS  THE  MEDICINE  MAN?i 

r 

The  real  character  of  peoples  is  never  fully  known  until  there  has 
been  obtained  some  knowledge  of  their  religious  ideas  and  their  con- 
ception of  the  Unseen  Power  that  animates  all  life.  It  is  not  generally 
credited  by  the  white  race  that  the  tribes  of  this  continent  did  not 
differ  from  the  other  people  of  the  earth,  in  the  effort  to  understand 
the  meaning  of  life  in  all  its  infinite  variety  of  forms,  and  the  relation 
of  these  forms  to  the  great,  mysterious  Power  that  animates  all  life. 
It  is  true,  however,  that  the  natives  of  this  land  had  given  these 
themes  much  thought,  and  had  formulated  their  ideas  concerning 
them  long  before  the  European  set  foot  upon  this  soil. 

The  lack  of  intelligence  as  to  this  fact  has  been  in  part  due  to  the 
absence  of  a  written  literature  among  the  tribes  living  within  the 
area  of  the  United  States,  while  such  records  as  did  exist  have  suf- 
fered grave  misapprehension  and  mistreatment  on  the  part  of  the 
observers.  Moreover,  the  idea  commonly  entertained  by  the  white 
race  that  they  alone  possess  the  knowledge  of  a  Ciud  has  influenced 
the  mind  of  all  those  of  that  race  who  have  come  in  contact  with  the 
Indians.  We  find  that  mos^^)f  the  missionaries  who  have  labored 
among  the  Indians  did  no^  stop  to  inquire  if  the  people  had  any  idea 
of  a  Power  that  made  and  controlled  all  things.  These  well  meaning 
and  zealous  men  seem  to  have  taken  for  granted  that  savages  were 
not  capable  by  their  own  effort  of  conceiving  the  thought  of  such  a 
Power.  So,  when  they  happened  to  see  the  Indians  worshipping 
according  to  their  own  peculiar  customs,  using  fonns,  ceremonies,  and 
symbols  that  were  strange,  they  said,  "Poor  creatures,  they  are  wor- 
shipping the  devil  I "  when  in  truth  the  Indians  never  knew  a  per- 
sonad  devil  until  he  was  solemnly  and  religiously  introduced  by  the 
teachers.  The  Indians  recognized  that  there  were  evil  influences 
that  beset  mankind,  but  these  evil  influences  were  never  the  centre 
of  religious  ceremonials,  much  less  of  worship.  It  was  not  possible, 
therefore,  for  the  white  people  to  gain,  through  the  medium  of  these 
teachers,  any  definite  knowledge  of  the  real  thoughts  of  the  Indian 
concerning  the  Supreme  Being. 

Nor  has  the  Indian  fared  much  better  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
have  undertaken  to  study  him  as  an  object  of  ethnological  interest. 
The  myths,  the  rituals,  and  the  legends  of  the  race  have  been  fre- 

*  This  address  was  delivered  before  the  Fairmount  Park  Association  of  Phila- 
delphia, on  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  by  that  association,  to  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  of  Cyrus  E.  Dallin's  statue  of  the  Medicine  Man,  December  io» 
1903.  It  is  here  reprinted,  with  the  additioo  of  introductory  paragraphs,  from  the 
Proceedings  of  the  association,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Isoard  of  trustees. 


Digitized  by  Google 


ajo  youmeU  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

quently  recorded  in  such  manner  as  to  obscure  their  true  meaning, 
and  to  make  them  to  appear  as  childish  or  as  foolish.  This  has  been  in 
a  large  measure  due  to  linguistic  difficulties.  The  Indian  tongues 
differ  widely  from  the  1-nglish  language,  not  only  in  the  construction 
of  sentences,  but  in  general  literary  form.  Moreover,  the  imagery 
of  the  Indian  speech  conveys  a  very  different  meaning  to  the  mind 
of  the  Indian  from  that  which  it  conveys  to  the  mind  of  the  white 
man.  The  Indian  looks  upon  nature,  upon  all  natural  forms,  animate 
and  inanimate,  from  a  diiferent  standpoint,  and  he  draws  from  them 
different  lessons,  than  docs  one  of  the  white  race.  So  when  scholars 
give  a  literal  translation  of  an  Indian  story,  both  its  spirit  and  its 
form  are  lost  to  the  English  reader.  Or  when  the  myth  is  inter- 
preted by  an  Indian  who  has  picked  up  a  scanty  and  colloquial 
knowledge  of  English,  even  if  by  chance  he  has  himself  a  compre- 
hension of  the  meaning  of  the  myth  he  translates,  his  rendition  will 
be  one  that  no  intelligent  Indian  can  accept  as  a  true  presentation 
of  the  mythic  story.  It  is  from  translations  such  as  these  that  the 
mental  capacity  of  the  Indian  has  been  judged  and  conclusions  drawn 
as  to  his  conception  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  the  relation  of  that 
Being  to  man  and  all  other  things,  animate  and  inanimate. 

Man  is  a  religious  being.  Wherever  he  has  been  discovered  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  in  whatever  climate  or  in  whatever  condition, 
he  has  been  found  to  have  a  religion,  based  upon  some  conception  of 
a  Power  that  brought  into  existence  all  things,  and  put  into  them  life 
and  motion. 

A  broad  study  o£  the  human  race  has  shown  that  the  mind  of  man 
is  the  same  the  world  over.  However  widely  the  races  of  the  earth 
may  have  been  separated  from  each  other  by  geographic  or  other 
conditions,  all  seem  to  have  been  inspired  with  the  same  idea — that 
life  in  its  infinite  variety  of  forms  comes  from  some  mysterious  Power 
invisible  to  man.  Moreover,  all  people  seem  to  have  been  alike  im- 
bued with  the  belief  that  this  Power  possessed,  in  a  supernatural 
d^^,  qualities  similar  to  those  man  was  conscious  of  within  him- 
self, as  a  will  to  act,  an  intelligence  to  direct,  and  emotions  that  could 
be  moved  to  pity  and  to  love,  to  anger  and  to  hatred.  Therefore, 
this  Power  could  destroy  as  well  as  create ;  hence,  it  was  something 
to  be  feared,  as  it  was  equally  to  be  adored. 

When  in  the  progress  of  time  this  fundamental  idea  concerning 
the  supernatural  Power  became  more  definitely  formed  in  the  mind 
of  primitive  man,  it  followed  as  a  natural  sequence  that  he  should 
desire  to  know  how  to  conduct  himself  towards  this  Power,  and  in 
what  manner  he  should  worship  it  There  seemed  at  first  to  have 
been  but  two  ways  by  which  man  could  satisfy  himself  npdn  these 
questions. 


Digitized  by  Google 


IV/w  was  the  AlcdicuLc  Man? 


271 


One  was  by  seeking  to  come  into  direct  communication  with  the 
supernatural  This  he  found  to  be  impossible  amid  the  disturbing 
influences  of  the  manifold  activities  of  daily  life;  so,  in  order  to 
achieve  this  desired  end,  he  secluded  himself  in  the  silent  solitude 
of  the  desert,  or  he  wandered  among  the  mountains,  or  in  the  deep 
forests,  where,  undisturbed,  he  could  listen  for  the  voice  of  the 
Mysterious  One  in  the  sighing  of  the  winds  through  the  trees,  or 
look  for  his  actual  presence  in  the  storm-cloud,  among  the  fires  of  the 
lightning  and  the  crashing  of  thunder.  In  the  intensity  of  his  feel- 
ings he  heard  voices  in  the  sky,  he  saw  visions  and  had  stiange 
dreams,  all  of  which  he  believed  to  be  the  manifestations  which  his 
soul  craved.   Yet  these  but  partly  satisfied  his  longings. 

The  other  way  by  which  he  sought  to  approach  the  Mysterious 
Power — a  way  which  gave  play  to  his  imagination  and  also  to  his 
reasoning  faculties  —  was  by  seeking  to  fathom  the  secrets  of  nature 
that  surrounded  him  on  all  sides.  With  longing  patience  he  watched 
the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars.  Their  magnitude  and  the  precision  of 
their  movements  stirred  his  soul  with  sublime  thoughts.  The  air 
that  he  breathed  ;  the  rain  that  moistened  the  land ;  the  earth,  with 
its  mountains  and  valleys,  its  seas  and  rivers ;  the  seasons,  with  their 
unvarying  succession  of  changes  —  all  whispered  to  him  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Mysterious  One.  The  mist  that  dimmed  his  mind's 
\nsion  drifted  away,  and  lo  I  he  beheld  in  all  these  the  foreshadowing 
of  Jehovah,  Allah,  Wa-kon-da. 

This  search  for  a  knowledge  of  the  Mysterious  One  meant  to  early 
man  the  very  life  of  his  soul.  The  voices  that  he  heard,  the  visions 
that  he  saw,  the  dreams  that  came  to  him,  when  he  fasted  on  the 
mountains  or  in  the  desert,  were  all  sacred  to  him  ;  while  the  thoughts 
that  were  inspired  by  this  search  for  a  sign  of  the  Divine  iieing  in 
the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  and  the  earth  comforted  his  spirit,  and 
became  more  and  more  necessary  to  his  inner  life.  He  therefore 
strove  to  perpetuate  them  in  rites  and  ceremonies  and  mythic 
stories,  so  that  they  could  be  transmitted  to  his  children  and  to  his 
children's  children,  through  the  successive  ages. 

The  task  of  preserving  these  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  of  keeping 
them  before  the  people,  naturally  fell  to  men  of  character,  who  were 
given  to  serious  thought.  Such  men  were  regarded  as  peculiarly 
favored  by  the  Divine  Power,  and  for  that  reason  they  themselves 
became  either  the  leaders  in  all  interests,  both  secular  and  religious, 
or  they  were  closely  associated  as  advisers  with  the  men  who  were 
rulers  in  temporal  affairs.  They  were  the  Men  of  Mystery,  the 
Prophets,  the  Priests. 

In  such  way  began  the  religions  of  the  people  of  the  eastern  con- 
tinents, and  in  like  manner  the  knowledge  of  the  Great  Spirit  dawned 


uiyui^uj  by  Google 


2^2 


* 

yaurfial  of  American  Folk^Lare. 


upon  the  tribes  that  dwelt  in  this  land  ages  before  the  ooming  of  the 

pale-faces. 

The  Indians  that  lived  within  the  borders  of  this  country  knew  no 
written  literature.  The  record  of  their  religious  conceptions  was 
kept  by  means  of  rites,  ceremonies,  and  symbols.  Among  many  of 
the  tribes  (as  it  was  in  the  case  of  my  own  tribe)  these  symbols  were 
embodied  in  the  organization  of  the  tribe  itself,  and  in  the  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  avocations  of  the  people. 

First,  as  to  the  symbolism  emboclied  in  the  organization  of  the 
tribe.  The  plan  or  order  which  was  carried  out  when  all  the  people 
camped  together  was  that  of  a  wide  circle.  This  tribal  circle  was 
called  Hu-dhu-ga,  and  typified  the  cosmos,  the  dwelling-place  ot  the 
Great  Spirit.  The  circle  was  divided  into  two  great  divisions  or 
halves.  The  one  called  In-shta-sun-da,  represented  the  heavens,  and 
the  other,  the  Hun-ga-she-nu,  denoted  the  earth.  This  syriibolic 
division  of  the  tribal  circle  embodied  the  idea  that  the  Great  Spirit 
pervades  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Again,  each  of  the  two  great 
divisions  was  subdivided  into  clans,  and  each  one  of  the  ten  clans  of 
the  tribe  had  its  particular  symbol,  representing  a  cosmic  force,  or 
one  of  the  various  forms  of  life  on  the  earth.  The  name  of  the  clan, 
and  the  personal  names  of  its  members,  all  have  reference  to  its 
symbol.  The  personal  name  was  ceremonially  bestowed  upon  the 
child  ;  so  within  the  tribe  we  have  clan  names  that  refer  to  the  sun, 
moon,  stars,  clouds,  rain,  and  wind ;  the  earth,  hills,  lakes,  rivers, 
and  all  animals,  from  birds  to  insects.  In  this  manner  the  Indian 
recognized  that  all  things  were  created  by  the  Great  Spirit 

The  burden  of  memorizing  and  transmitting  with  accuracy,  from 
one  generation  to  another,  the  rites  and  ceremonies  common  to  the 
tribe  was  divided  among  men  selected  from  each  of  the  dans.  This 
responsibility  was  not  placed  upon  these  men  without  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  each  man's  qualification  and  fitness  to  be  so  intrusted, 
for  the  reason  that  the  recognition  of  the  Great  Spirit  as  a  ruler,  and 
the  observation  of  the  prescribed  manner  of  worshipping  him,  was 
believed  to  be  essential  to  the  continued  existence  of  the  people  as 
an  organized  body,  that  is,  as  a  tribe. 

Four  requisites  were  demanded  of  the  one  who  was  to  deal  with 
the  mysteries  enshrined  in  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  tribe. 

First,  and  most  important,  was  the  recognition  of  the  sanctity  of 
human  life.  The  man  who  was  to  mediate  between  the  people  and 
Wa-kon-da  must  stand  before  his  tribesmen  and  the  Great  Spirit  with 
hands  unstained  with  the  blood  of  his  fellow  man. 

Second,  be  must  be  a  man  whose  words  never  deviate  from  the 
path  of  truth,  for  the  Great  Spirit  manifests  the  value  placed  upon 
truth  in  the  regular  and  orderly  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies* 
and  in  the  ever-recurring  day  and  night,  summer  and  winter. 


Digitized  by  Googl^ 


JVAo  was  ike  Medicine  Man  ? 


273 


Third,  he  must  be  slow  to  anger,  for  the  patience  of  the  Great 
Spirit  is  shown  in  his  forbearance  with  man's  waywardness. 

Fourth,  he  must  be  deliberate  and  prudent  of  speech,  lest  by  haste 
he  should  profane  his  trust  through  thoughtless  utterance. 

The  men  thus  chosen  were  true  to  the  sacredness  of  their  office. 
They  protected  it  from  the  abuse  of  those  having  an  hereditary  right 
to  perform  its  duties.  There  are  instances  well  known  in  my  own 
tribe  where  men  have  refused  to  instruct  their  own  sons  in  the 
sacred  rites,  because  their  character  lacked  some  of  these  essential 
requisites.  The  honor  and  sanctity  of  the  office  was  paramount  to  - 
mere  paternal  feeling. 

These  were  the  prophets  and  priests,  these  were  the  men  who  were 
termed,  in  the  Indian  languages,  the  Men  of  Mystery,  and  by  the 
Europeans  the  Medicine  Men.  The  entire  life  of  the  Medicine  Man, 
both  public  and  private,  was  devoted  to  his  calling.  His  solitary 
fasts  were  frequent,  and  his  mind  was  apt  to  be  occupied  in  contem- 
plating the  supernatural.  His  public  duties  were  many,  and  often 
onerous.  His  services  were  needed  when  the  children  were  dedi- 
cated to  the  Great  Spirit ;  he  must  conduct  the  installation  of  chiefs  ; 
when  dangers  threatened  he  must  call  these  leaders  to  the  council 
of  war,  and  he  was  the  one  to  confer  upon  the  warrior  military 
honors  ;  the  appointment  of  officers  to  enforce  order  during  the  tribal 
buffalo  hunt  was  his  duty ;  and  he  it  was  who  must  designate  the 
time  for  the  planting  of  the  maize.  Apart  from  these  tribal  rites, 
he  officiated  at  ceremonials  which  more  directly  referred  to  the 
individual,  as  on  the  introduction  to  the  cosmos  of  a  newly  born 
babe. 

The  ritual  in  this  particular  ceremony  is  a  supplication  for  the 
safety  of  the  child  from  its  birth  to  old  age.  In  it  the  life  of  the 
infant  is  pictured  as  about  to  travel  a  rugged  road,  stretching  over 
four  hills,  marking  the  stages  of  infancy,  youth,  manhood,  and  old 
age. 

On  the  eighth  day  after  the  Htth  of  a  child  the  parents,  through 
certain  prescribed  forms,  send  for  the  Medicine  Man.  In  due  time 
he  comes,  dad  in  his  priestly  garb,  and  stands  at  the  door  of  the  tent 
wherein  the  child  lies.   Raising  his  right  hand  to  the  sky  he  caUs : 

Ho !  Ye  Sun,  Moon,  Stan,  all  ye  that  move  in  the  heavens ; 

I  bid  ye  hear  me  ! 

Into  your  midst  has  come  a  new  life. 
Consent  ye,  I  implore ! 

Make  ito  path  smooth,  that  it  may  reach  the  brow  of  the  first  hilll 

Ho !  Ye  Winds,  Clouds,  Rain,  Mist,  all  ye  that  move  In  the  airt 
I  Ud  ye  hear  me ! 

Into  your  midst  has  come  a  new  life. 
VOL.  zvm. »  NO.  71*  ao 


Digitized  by  Google 


274 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


Consent  ye,  I  implore ! 

Make  its  path  smooth,  that  it  may  reach  the  brow  of  the  second  hill  I 

Ho  I  Ye  Hills,  Valleys,  Riven,  Lakes,  Trees,  Grasses,  all  ye  ol  the  earth; 

I  bid  ye  hear  me ! 

Into  your  midst  has  come  a  new  life. 

Consent  ye,  I  implore ! 

Make  its  path  smooth,  that  it  may  reach  the  brow  o£  the  third  hUI  I 

Ho!  Ye  Birds,  great  and  small,  that  fly  in  the  air; 

Ho !  Ye  animals,  great  and  small,  that  dwell  ia  the  forest ; 

Ho !  Ye  insects,  that  creep  among  the  grasses  and  burrow  in  the  ground; 

I  bid  ye  hear  me ! 

Into  your  midst  has  come  a  new  life* 

Consent  ye.  I  implore! 

Make  its  path  smooth,  that  it  may  reach  the  brow  of  the  fourth  hill  1 

Ho !  All  ye  of  the  heavens }  all  ye  of  the  air;  all  ye  of  the  earth; 
I  bid  ye  all  to  hear  me  1 

Into  your  midst  has  come  a  new  life. 
Consent  ye.  consent  ye  all,  1  implore ! 

Make  its  path  smooth,  then  shall  it  travel  beyond  the  four  hills ! 

From  this  fragment  of  an  extended  rite,  you  may  be  able  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  Indian's  conception  of  the  entirety  of  the  universe. 

There  was  another  kind  of  Medicine  Man  very  different  in  charac* 
ter.  He  held  no  office  of  public  trust,  for  he  lacked  one  of  the  essen- 
tial qualiiicatioiis  for  such  a  responsibility,  and  that  was  truthfulness ; 
he  continually  wandered  in  thought,  word,  and  deed  from  the  straight 
path  of  truth«  He  was  shrewd,  crafty,  and  devoid  of  scruples.  The 
intelligent  classes  within  the  trihe  held  him  in  contempt,  while  the 
ignorant  of  the  community  feared  him.  His  bold  pretensions  enabled 
him  to  carry  on  successfully  his  profession  of  deception  upon  the 
simple.  He  was  a  **  Healer/*  something  similar  to  the  healer  known 
to  the  civilized  folk  noMradays  as  '*  divine,"  only  considerably  more 
so.  (Laughter.)  He  was  a  keen  observer  of  nature  and  human  natore 
and  he  used  his  acumen  solely  to  his  own  advantage.  Had  he  had 
book  learning  added  to  what  he  gleaned  from  experience,  and  lived 
in  New  York  city,  or  Chicago,  he  would  not  fail  of  many  followers. 
(Laughter.)  Or,  he  might  have  been  useful  in  the  Weather  Burean 
at  Washington  (laughter),  for  when  he  said  it  would  rain,  it  did  rain. 
These  up-to-date  tricksters  were  much  in  evidence  in  the  tribes,  and 
they  never  failed  to  impress  the  stranger  who  travelled,  and  wrote 
books. 

The  tribal  religious  rites  were  invariably  observed,  either  annually 
or  at  the  beginning  of  a  season.  To  go  through  the  forms  at  any 
other  time  would  be  sacrilege,  so  the  Medicine  Man  who  officiated  on 
these  occasions  never  had  the  opportunity  to  become  known  to  the 


uiyiii^ed  by  Google 


Who  was  the  Aledicine  Man? 


275 


stranger,  as  had  the  sorcerer,  who  could  go  through  his  incantations 
whenever  and  wherever  any  inducements  might  offer.  It  can  there- 
fore be  readily  understood  how  this  character  became  prominent  in 
the  literature  of  the  white  race,  and  how  his  clever  inventions  were 
believed  to  represent  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Indians,  to  the 
serious  misunderstanding  of  my  race. 

The  true  religious  ideas  of  the  Indian  will  never  be  fully  compre- 
hended, for  already  many  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  that  kept  aiive 
such  conceptions  as  we  have  been  considering  are  being  forgotten  in 
the  changes  that  are  rapidly  taking  place  in  the  life  of  the  present 
generation.  The  youths  who  might  have  carried  on  these  teachings, 
and  perhaps  further  developed  them,  are  accommodating  their  lives 
to  new  conditions  and  taking  up  the  avocations  of  the  race  dominant 
in  the  land. 

I  cannot  discuss,  from  the  standpoint  of  an  artist,  the  Medicine 
Man  as  he  is  here  portrayed  by  your  sculptor,  but,  in  the  serious  ex- 
pression, the  dignified  bearing,  the  strength  of  pose,  I  recognize  the 
character  of  the  true  Medicine  Man  (applause)  —  he  who  was  the 
mediator  between  his  people  and  the  Great  Spirit.  The  statue  at 
once  brings  back  vividly  to  my  mind  the  scenes  of  my  early  youth, 
scenes  that  I  shall  never  again  see  in  their  reality.  This  reopening  of 
the  past  to  me  would  never  have  been  possible,  had  not  your  artist 
risen  above  the  distorting  influence  of  the  prejudice  one  race  is  apt  to 
feel  toward  another  and  been  gifted  with  the  imagination  to  discern 
the  truth  which  underlies  a  strange  exterior. 

The  representation  of  the  Medicine  Man  as  a  nude  fii;urc  is  not  a 
mere  fancy  of  the  artist,  for  in  many  of  the  religious  rites  the  priest 
appeared  in  such  manner.  This  nudity  is  not  without  its  significance, 
it  typifies  the  utter  helplessness  of  man,  when  his  strength  is  con- 
trasted with  the  power  of  the  Great  Spirit,  whose  power  is  symbolized 
by  the  horns  upon  the  head  of  the  priest.  With  his  best  intelligence 
and  greatest  skill  in  the  use  ti  his  hands,  man  is  powerless  to  bring 
into  existence  even  so  much  as  the  tiniest  flower,  while  out  of  the 
force  of  the  wfll  of  the  Mysterious  One  all  things  in  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  have  come  into  existence  with  beauty,  grandeur,  and 
majesty.  (Applause.) 

Francis  La  Flesche. 


Digitized  by  Gopgle 


2^6 


y^oumal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


CUPID'S  ARROW.* 

Or  a  rich  noble  of  late  we  do  hear. 

Who  had  one  only  daughter,  most  beautiful  and  fair, 
And  she  being  admired,  this  beautiful  child, 
Until  by  Cupid's  arrow  her  love  did  be  beguiled. 

Her  father  being  dead,  one  day  for  her  ease 
Went  out  to  view  her  workmen  and  rode  in  a  chaise; 
A  handsome  young  plow-boy  she  saw  standing  by. 
And  with  rapture  upon  him  she  hxed  her  eye. 

A  flame  in  her  bosom  straightway  there  did  glow, 
All  for  to  Tiew  his  beauty  to  the  fields  she  did  go, 
Where  he  whistled  so  sweet  caused  the  valley  to  rinig^ 
And  his  cheeks  were  like  roses  that  bloom  in  the  spring; 

She  said :  "  Noble  plow-boy,  come  join  our  parade^ 
Be  dressed  like  a  soldier  and  wear  a  cockade; 
No  longer  at  home  for  to  plow  nor  to  sow, 
But  away  for  a  soldier  with  me  you  must  go. 

You  're  proper  and  handsome,  more  fitting  to  shine 
With  lace  cap  and  feather  and  scarlet  so  fine, 
So  you  must  go  along  with  me  and  your  captain  I  will  be. 
And  a  lady  will  court  you  of  noble  degree." 

Then  close  in  a  room  this  young  man  was  confined 
Till  she  altered  her  clothing  and  told  to  him  her  mind. 
He  enfolded  her  in  his  arms,  and  he  solemnly  swore^ 
That  the  captain  of  love  he  would  always  adoie. 

Then  down  to  the  church  this  young  couple  went, 

And  joined  their  hands  with  mutual  consent; 

Oh  how  happv  the  plow-boy  when  changed  was  he, 

From  a  poor  man's  estate  a  rich  noble  to  be. 

Mrs,  H,  F.  Herrick* 
Eureka,  Cal.  * 

'  This  traditional  song  was  brought  to  America  from  England  by  Christopher 
Gist,  who  came  over  with  Leonard  Calvert  and  settled  in  Baltimore.  It  has  been 
preserved  by  his  descendants,  of  whom  the  contributor  is  one. 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


Sioux  Games,  277 


SIOUX  GAMES.  I. 
# 

AccoRDiKG  to  the  information  given  by  the  older  men  among  the 
Lakota,  the  games  described  in  the  following  pages  have  been  played 
among  them  as  far  back  as  the  memory  of  man  goes.  They  all 
believe  them  to  be  very  ancient.  These  games  are  played  but  little 
now,  as  they  have  been  replaced  by  others,  most  of  which  have  been 
introduced  by  the  white  people.  Owing  to  the  paucity  of  their  lan- 
guage it  is  difficult  for  these  Indians  to  give  a  differential  description, 
and  to  secure  full  and  accurate  information  from  them  in  regard  to 
any  matter  that  is  complex  is  a  tedious  process.  It  was  necessary, 
in  order  to  get  the  correct  rules  of  these  games,  to  see  them  played, 
and  to  question  the  players  in  regard  to  eveiy  step  relative  to  them, 
for  no  Indian  was  able  to  give  the  rules  completely.  But  after  they 
were  secured  and  written,  all  who  were  questioned  about  them,  or  to 
whom  they  were  read,  agreed  that  they  were  correct. 

The  writer  has  used  the  word  "Lakota"  instead  of  "Dakota," 
because  it  represents  the  Teton  dialect,  while  "Dakota"  represents 
the  Santee  and  Yankton  dialect,  and  because  the  information  rela- 
tive to  these  games  was  gathered  among  the  Tetons.  The  spelling 
of  the  Lakota  words  herein  given  is  that  adopted  in  the  "Dakota- 
English  Dictionary,  North  American  Ethnology,  U.  S.  Geographical 
and  Geological  Survey,"  vol.  vii. 

Apparently  the  original  Sioux  language  was  composed  entirely  of 
words  of  a  single  syllable,  and  the  vocabulary  was  very  limited. 
Things,  conditions,  and  actions,  not  named  in  the  original  language, 
were  described  by  phrases  composed  of  the  original  words.  These 
phrases  became  agglutinated,  and  formed  compound  words,  and  the 
language  as  spoken  at  the  present  time  is  largely  composed  of  these 
compound  or  phrase  words.  Because  of  the  primitive  ideas  ex- 
pressed by  the  elements  of  these  compound  words  it  is  difficult  to 
make  an  exact  translation  of  them  into  English,  and  for  this  reason 
the  translations  herein  given  are  liberal. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  games,  in  Lakota  and  English. 


LAKOTA   WOSKATE  EH  AN  A.  SIOUX  GAMFS,  ANCIENT. 

A.  Wayekiyapi  Woskate  Wicasa.  Gambling  Games  for  Men. 

Painyankapi.  Wands  and  Hoop. 

Takapsice.  Shinney. 

Canwiyusna.  Odd  Sticks. 

Hehaka.  Elk. 

B.  Wayekiyapi  Woskate  Winyan.  Gambling  Games  for  Women. 

Tawinkapsice.  Woman's  Shinney. 

Tatiha.  Foot  Bones. 


Digitized  by  Google 


278  journal  of  American  FoU^Lore. 

Tanpan  Dice. 
Icaslohe.  Bowls. 

C.  Woiniac^aga  Woskata  Wicasa.        Amusement  Games  for  Men. 

Taliuka  Cangleska.  Webbed  Hoops. 

HvtftnacQte.  Winged  Bones. 

Pteheste.  Mwmg  Com. 

Canpaslohanpi.  Throwing  Sticks, 

Ogle  Cektttepi.  Coat  Shooting. 

D.  Woimagaga  Woskate  Hoksila.       Amusement  Game  far  Bojra. 

Paslohanpi.  Javelins.- 

Canwacikiyapi.  Tops. 

Titazipi  Hoksila.  Boy's  Bow. 

Hohu  Younnonpl  Bone  Whirler. 

Tate  Younnonpi.  Wind  Whirler. 

IpabotonpL  Popgun. 

E.  Woimagaga  Woskate  Widncala.  Amusement  Games  for  Girls. 

Hepaslohanpi.  Horned  Javelins. 

Hosingagapi.  Dolls. 
Tipi  Cikala.  Little  Tipi. 

Some  of  the  Sioux  dances  could  be  included  in  a  list  of  tbdr 
games,  but  as  tbey  are  all  accompanied  with  more  or  less  of  cere- 
mony, tliey  more  properly  belong  in  a  list  of  thdr  entertainments 
and  ceremonies.  In  describing  the  various  implements  used  in  the 
games  the  measurements  given  are  vague,  because  these  Indians  had 
no  fixed  standard,  and  could  give  approximate  measures  only. 

The  only  previous  account  ci  Sioux  games  is  fay  Louis  L.  Meeker, 
published  in  the  ''Bulletin  of  the  Free  Museum  of  Science  and 
Arts,"  University  of  Pennsylvania,  voL  iiL  No.  i.  In  this  publican 
tion  the  author  gives  most  of  his  attention  to  the  objects  used  in 
playing  the  games,  without  giving  very  full  infonnation  as  to  the 
rules  for  playing.  As  the  games  played  by  the  Sioux  are  known  to 
all  of  the  Indians  of  the  Plains,  it  seems  advisable  to  have  a  comidete 
account  of  the  rules  governing  them,  for  comparative  purposes.  As 
the  illustrations  in  the  paper  by  Mr.  Meeker  are  quite  satisfactory, 
the  writer  will  dispense  with  illustrations  in  his  own.^ 

I.  WOSKATE  PAINYANKAPI. 
(Game  of  Wands  and  Hoop.) 

Pahiyankapi  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  men.  The 
Indians  took  great  interest  in  this  game,  and  some  became  vcr}^ 
skilful  at  it.  Sometimes  a  Imnd  of  Indians  would  go  a  long  distance, 
takinc^  with  tlieni  their  families  and  all  their  possessions,  to  gamble 
on  a  game  between  expert  players.    Such  games  were  watched  by 

^  The  author  m.ide  a  collection  of  the  objects  described  in  this  paper  for  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York  city. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sioux  Games. 


279 


interested  crowds,  and,  as  they  offer  many  opportunities  for  trickeiy, 
fierce  contests  arose  over  disputed  potnts»  which  sometimes  ended 

in  bloodshed  and  feuds. 
The  implements  used  in  the  game  are:  eangUska,  the  hoop; 

cansakalOt  the  wands. 

The  eangieska  is  made  from  one  piece,  as  long  as  the  tallest  man, 
taken  from  an  ash  sapling  in  the  spring,  while  the  sap  is  flowing. 
This  is  held  in  the  hre,  with  the  bark  on,  until  it  becomes  pliable^ 
when  it  is  bent  into  the  form  of  a  hoop.  It  is  then  trimmed  to  a 
uniform  diameter  of  about  one  inch,  the  ends  lapped  about  three 
inches,  and  fastened  together  with  thongs  of  rawhide. 

Beginning  near  the  lap,  on  each  side  of  the  hoop,  four  shallow 
spaces  are  cut  so  as  to  divide  the  hoop  into  quadrants.  These  spaces 
are  about  two  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  wide,  and  those  on  one 
aide  are  exactly  opposite  those  on  the  other.  Three  transverse 
grooves  are  cut  in  each  of  the  spaces  nearest  the  lap^  and  these  are 
called  canhuta,  or  the  stump.  Two  oblique  grooves  crossing  each 
other  at  right  angles  are  cut  on  each  of  the  two  spaces  next  the  lap, 
and  these  are  called  oki^aya^  or  the  fork.  Six  transverse  grooves  are 
cut  on  each  of  the  two  spaces  opposite  the  stumps  and  these  are 
called  wagopi,  or  the  stripes.  The  two  remaining  spaces  are  black- 
ened, and  are  called  sapa^  or  black. 

The  cansakala  are  made  of  ash  or  choke-cherry  wood,  about  four 
feet  in  length  and  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  One  end  is 
flattened,  or  squared,  for  about  ten  inches.  From  the  flattened  por- 
tion to  within  about  eight  inches  of  the  other  end  they  are  wrapped 
with  a  rawhide  or  buckskin  thong,  applied  in  a  spiral  manner.  They 
arc  held  together  in  pairs  by  a  buckskin  thong  about  eight  inches 
Io^£^^  fastened  to  each  about  one  third  of  the  length  from  their 
rounded  ends. 

Any  one  may  make  these  wands,  but  it  is  believed  by  these 
Indians  that  certain  men  can  make  them  of  superior  excellence,  and 
give  to  them  magic  prnvers  which  may  be  excrcisetl  in  favor  of  the 
one  who  plays  with  them.  It  is  also  believed  that  certain  medicine- 
men can  make  medicine  over  the  wands  which,  if  carried  when  play- 
ing with  the  wands,  will  give  the  player  supernatural  powers  in 
playing  the  game.  But  if  an  opposing  player  has  the  same  medicine, 
they  counteract  each  other,  or  if  an  opposing  player  has  a  more 
powerful  medicine,  this  will  prevail  in  the  game.  It  is  also  believed 
by  these  Indians  that  if  a  player  in  any  game  has  a  talisman,  pro- 
perly prepared  by  ceremony  and  incantation,  it  will  protect  him 
against  the  evil  effects  of  any  kind  of  medicine  or  form  of  magic. 

The  rules  governing  the  game  arc  :  — 

Before  beginning  the  game  the  players  must  choose  an  umpire,  a 


Digitized  by  Google 


iSo  Journal  of  A  merican  Folk-Lore. 

hoop,  and  the  wands,  and  agree  upon  the  number  of  points  in  the 
count 

The  umpire  must  watch  the  game^  decide  all  contested  points,  and 
call  aloud  all  counts  when  made. 
One  hoop  must  be  used  during  the  entire  game. 
Each  player  must  use  his  own  pair  of  wands  during  the  entire 

game. 

If  the  hoop  or  a  wand  becomes  unfit  for  use  during  a  game^  the 
game  is  declared  off,  and  a  new  game  must  be  played. 

If  a  ph}  cr  persistently  breaks  the  rules  of  the  game,  the  game  is 
declared  off. 

The  players  roll  the  hoop  alternately. 

To  roll  the  hoop,  the  players  stand  side  by  side.  One  of  them 
grasps  the  hoop  between  the  thumb  and  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
fingers,  with  his  first  finger  extended  along  the  circumference,  with 
the  hoop  directed  forward,  and  by  swinging  his  hand  below  his  hips 
he  rolls  the  hoop  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  players. 

If  a  player  rolls  the  hoop  improperly,  or  fails  to  roll  it  when  he 
should,  his  opponent  counts  one,  and  rolls  the  hoop. 

After  the  hoop  leaves  the  hand  of  the  player  it  must  not  be 
touched  or  interfered  with  in  any  manner  until  after  the  umpire  has 
called  the  count. 

After  the  hoop  is  rolled  the  players  follow  it  and  attempt  to  throw 
their  wands  upon  the  ground  so  that  the  hoop  will  lie  upon  them 

when  it  falls. 

After  the  hoop  has  fallen  the  umpire  must  examine  it  and  call  the 
count  aloud. 

The  count  is  as  follows  :  — 

To  count  at  all  one  of  the  marked  spaces  on  the  hoop  must  lie 

directly  over  a  wand. 

One  marked  space  lying  over  one  wand  counts  one. 

One  space  lying  over  two  wands  counts  two. 

Two  spaces  lying  over  one  wand  count  two. 

Two  spaces  lying  over  two  wands  count  two. 

Three  spaces  lying  over  two  wands  count  three. 

Four  spaces  lying  over  two  wands  count  the  game. 

The  first  who  counts  the  number  agreed  upon  wins  the  game. 

If  at  the  end  of  a  play  both  players  count  the  number  agreed  upon, 
the  game  is  a  draw,  and  a  new  game  must  be  played. 

Since  this  game  seems  tu  have  important  ceremonial  associations* 
the  following  narrative  is  added  :  ^  — 

A  Cootiibated  by  Clark  WiMler. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sumx  Games. 


aOOP  GAME. 

A  band  of  Sioux  Indians  were  travelling  in  the  lake  country  of 
Minnesota.  Game  was  very  scarce,  and  they  had  little  to  eat  for  a 
long  time.  When  they  were  nearly  exhausted  their  chief  decided  to 
camp.  One  of  his  young  men  requested  that  he  be  allowed  to  fast 
for  four  days.  Permission  being  given,  he  went  to  the  top  of  a  high 
hill  in  full  view  of  the  camp.  After  two  days  and  two  nights  the 
watchers  from  the  camp  saw  a  buffalo  approach  the  man  on  the  hill. 
The  buffalo  circled  around  him,  and  then  disappeared  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  At  midday  the  young  man  returned  to  the  camp.  He 
stopped  and  sat  down  on  the  top  of  a  small  hill,  and  his  younger 
brother  went  out  to  him.  The  young  man  told  his  brother  to  stand 
back  and  not  approach  him.  He  said,  "  I  have  a  message  for  you 
to  deliver  to  my  father.  Tell  my  father  to  place  a  tent  in  the  middle 
of  the  camp  circle.  Tell  him  to  scatter  sage  grass  around  the 
inside,  and  that  he  must  select  four  good  men  to  enter  the  tent  and 
await  me."  Then  the  young  brother  returned  to  the  camp  and  de- 
livered this  message  to  his  father.  Every  one  knew  that  the  young 
man  had  something  important  to  tell  the  people. 

The  father  did  as  requested.  He  believed  the  young  man  be- 
cause the  people  of  the  camp  had  seen  the  buffalo  on  the  hill  with 
him.  When  the  tent  was  ready,  and  the  four  good  men  had  entered, 
the  younger  brother  was  sent  to  notify  the  young  man.  The  young 
man  approached,  walking  slowly.  He  stopped  near  the  entrance  d 
the  tent,  and  after  a  few  moments  he  moved  still  nearer  and  paused. 
He  then  approached  the  door,  walked  entirely  around  the  tent, 
and  entered.  He  produced  a  large  pipe  wrapped  in  sage  grass.  He 
sat  down  at  the  back  of  the  lodge  and  asked  the  four  good  men  to 
send  for  a  good  young  man  to  act  as  his  assistant.  When  the  assist- 
ant came,  the  young  man  said  to  him,  "  Go  out  and  cut  a  stick  for 
me."  When  the  a.ssistant  returned  with  the  stick  the  young  man 
ordered  him  to  peel  it.  When  this  was  done,  the  young  man  asked 
the  four  good  men  to  make  a  sweat  house. 

When  this  was  ready,  the  young  man  and  the  four  good  men 
entered  the  sweat  hfuisc,  while  the  assistant  waited  outside.  When 
the  ceremony  in  the  sweat  house  ended,  the  party  returned  to  the 
tent.  Then  the  youn^  man  told  them  that  a  buffalo  had  come  to 
him  on  the  hill,  had  given  him  a  pipe,  instructions,  and  a  message 
to  deliver  to  his  people.  He  ordered  his  assistant  to  bring  a  coal  of 
fire.  With  this  he  made  incense  with  sage  grass,  held  his  hands  in 
the  smoke  four  times,  took  up  the  bundle  containing  the  pipe,  un- 
wrapped it,  and  took  out  the  pipe.  The  stem  of  the  pipe  was  red, 
and  the  bowl  was  of  black  stone.  "This  pipe,"  said  the  young  man, 
"was  given  me  by  the  buffalo  that  you  saw  upon  the  hill,  and  he 
also  instructed  me  as  to  its  use." 


Digitized  by  Google 


2S2 


Jourfial  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


The  young  man  ordered  his  assistant  to  go  out  and  cut  an  ash 
sapling  and  four  cherry  sticks.  When  these  were  brought,  he  gave 
a  cherry  stick  to  each  of  the  four  good  men  for  them  to  peeL  He^ 
himself,  took  the  ash  stick  and  began  to  remove  the  bark.  This 
done  he  bent  it  into  a  hoop  and  tied  the  ends  with  sinew  threads  and 
buckskin  strings.  I  le  held  the  hoop  in  the  smoke  from  the  sage  grass, 
then  took  red  paint  in  his  hands,  held  his  hands  over  the  smoke  as 
before,  and  painted  the  hoop.  Then  he  placed  his  assistant  at  the 
door  of  the  lodge,  himself  at  the  rear,  and  two  of  the  good  men  on 
each  side.  He  instructed  the  four  good  men  to  paint  their  chem 
sticks  red  in  the  same  way  that  he  painted  the  hoop.  The  assistant 
then  smoothed  the  floor  of  the  tent,  while  the  young  man  sang  four 
soogs.   The  words  of  the  songs  were  as  follows ;  — 

1.  I  have  passed  by  the  holy  floor  (earth,  smooth  and  level  like  tlie 

floor  of  a  tipi). 

2.  I  have  passed  by  the  holy  robe. 

3.  I  have  passed  by  the  holy  shell. 

4.  I  have  passed  by  an  eagle  feather,  it  is  good. 

Then  the  young  man  said,  "  Now  I  shall  roll  the  hoop.  It  will  circle 
the  tent.  You  are  to  watch  the  tracks  made  by  it.  You  will  see 
that  it  leaves  buffalo  tracks,  returns  to  me,  and  lies  down."  So  the 
young  man  sang  the  four  songs  again  and  rolled  the  hoop.  The 
hoop  circled  the  tent  and  returned  to  the  young  man  as  he  had  said. 
The  four  good  men  saw  in  the  trail  left  by  the  hoop  the  tracks  of 
buffalo.  The  young  man  said  that,  on  the  fourth  day  from  this  time, 
there  would  be  many  buffalo.  Then  he  took  strips  of  raw  hide  anc 
wrapped  them  around  the  cherry  sticks.  He  tied  red  cloth  around 
one  and  blue  around  the  other.  Then  he  put  on  a  buffalo  robe  and 
asked  the  men  to  follow  him.  The  young  man  passed  out  of  the 
door,  and  the  four  good  men  took  the  hoop  and  the  sticks  and  played 
the  hoop  game,  as  they  walked  behind  the  young  man.  The  peoy  le 
of  the  camp  watched  them,  and  wherever  the  hoop  rolled,  bu^alo 
tracks  appeared. 

The  young  man  requested  his  assistant  to  call  a  good  old  man. 
The  people  of  the  camp  were  in  a  state  of  famine.  When  the  assist- 
ant brought  the  old  man  to  the  tent,  the  young  man  requested  him 
to  harangue  the  camp,  as  follows  :  "  Ho,  Ho,  Ho,  this  youui;  man 
wishes  the  people  to  make  arrows,  to  sharpen  them,  and  to  sharpen 
their  knives.  He  says  that  four  buffalo  will  be  here  to-morrow 
morning.  Let  no  one  bother  them,  let  no  dogs  chase  them,  let  them 
go  through  the  camp  in  peace.  The  four  buffalo  will  come  from 
the  west." 

Early  the  next  morning  the  four  buffalo  came  as  predicted.  They 
passed  slowly  through  the  north  side  of  the  camp  and  disappeared  in 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sicux  Games. 


283 


the  east.  Then  the  chief  of  the  camp  sent  a  sentinel  to  stand  upon 
the  hill  where  the  four  buffalo  were  first  seen.  The  sentinel  looked 
down  into  the  valley  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  where  he  saw  vast 
herds  of  buffalo  moving  toward  the  camp.  The  chief  had  instructed 
the  sentinel  to  run  back  and  forth  when  buffalo  were  visible.  The 
people  of  the  camp  who  were  watching  saw  him  run  back  and  forth 
upon  the  hill,  and  began  to  prepare  for  the  hunt.  The  young  man, 
who  was  still  in  his  tent,  sent  out  his  assistant  to  call  the  people  to 
his  door.  He  requested  that  they  stand  around  and  keep  quiet. 
The  sentinel  who  had  returned  now  addressed  the  people,  telling 
them  of  the  buffalo  he  had  seen,  the  direction  in  which  they  were 
mox'in--,  etc.  The  young  man  then  addressed  the  people,  giving 
them  permission  to  chase  the  buffalo. 

They  had  a  great  hunt.  Buffalo  were  everywhere.  They  even 
ran  through  the  camp,  and  were  shot  down  at  the  doors  of  the  tents. 
The  people  had  meat  in  great  abundance. 

When  the  hunt  was  over  the  young  man  requested  the  four  good 
men  to  keep  and  care  for  the  hoop  and  the  sticks  with  which  they 
had  played.  A  tent  was  always  kept  in  the  middle  of  the  camp 
circle,  and  the  four  good  men  spent  most  of  their  time  in  it.  When- 
ever the  people  wished  to  hunt  buffalo,  the  four  men  played  the 
hoop  game,  and  the  buffalo  appeared  as  before.  In  the  course  of 
time  all  these  men  died,  except  one.  This  last  man  made  the  four 
marks  we  now  see  upon  the  hoop.  After  his  death,  the  game  was 
played  by  all  the  people,  and  became  a  great  gambling  game. 

From  this  narrative  it  appears  that  the  origin  of  the  game  was 
ceremonial  and  that  the  hoop  used  here  is  the  same  as  the  sacred 
hoop  or  ring  so  often  used  by  the  Sioux. 

2.  WOSKATE  TAKAPSICE. 

(Game  of  Shinney.) 

Takapsicc  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  men,  and  is 
their  roughest  and  most  athletic  game.  They  often  received  serious 
wounds,  or  had  their  bones  broken  while  playing  it,  but  serious  quar- 
rels seldom  resulted. 

It  may  be  played  by  a  few  or  by  hundreds,  and  formerly  was 
played  for  a  wager.  I  he  wager  on  important  games  was  often 
very  large;  men,  women,  and  children  betting,  sometimes  all  they 
possessed,  or  a  band  of  Itulians  contributing  to  abet  to  make  it  equsil 
to  that  offered  by  another  band. 

In  former  times  one  band  of  Indians  would  challenge  another  to 
play  this  game.  If  the  challenge  was  accepted  they  would  camp 
together,  and  play  for  days  at  a  time,  making  a  gala  time  of  it,  giving 
feasts,  dancing,  and  having  a  good  time  generally. 


Digitized  by  Google 


284  Journal  of  A  mericati  Folk'Lore. 

The  implements  used  in  the  gamie  are :  camtak^sie^f  the  dub; 
U^atakapsicet  the  ball. 

The  club  was  made  of  an  ash  or  choke<heny  sapling,  taken  in 
the  spring  when  the  sap  was  running,  and  heated  in  the  fire  untfl 
it  was  pliable,  when  the  lower  end  was  bent  until  it  stood  at  right 
angles  to  the  rest  of  the  stick,  or  into  a  semicircular  crook,  about  six 
inches  across. 

The  shape  of  this  crook  varied  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  maker. 

After  the  crook  was  made  the  stick  was  trimmed  down  to  a  uni- 
form diameter  of  about  one  and  a  half  inches,  and  cut  of  such  a 
length  that  the4>layer  could  strike  on  the  ground  with  it  while 
standing  erect 

Any  one  might  make  a  club,  but  certain  persons  were  supposed 
to  make  clubs  of  superior  excellence^  and  some  persons  were  sup- 
posed to  be  able  to  confer  magical  powers  on  clubs,  causing  the 
possessor  to  exercise  unusual  skfll  in  playing.  These  magic  dubi 
were  supposed  to  be  potent,  not  only  in  games,  but  to  work  enchant- 
ment in  all  kinds  of  affairs,  for  or  against  a  person,  as  the  possessor 
chose.  The  medicine-men  sometimes  induded  such  dubs  among 
their  paraphernalia,  and  invoked  their  magic  powers  in  their  incan- 
tations over  the  sick. 

Certain  medicine-men  were  supposed  to  have  the  power  to  make 
medicine  over  dubs,  so  that  any  one  in  whose  favor  this  medicine 
was  made,  by  carrying  it  and  the  dub  during  the  game  for  whidi 
the  medicine  was  made,  would  be  on  the  winning  side. 

One  possessing  a  magic  club  boasted  of  it,  and  the  matter  was 
generally  known,  but  one  who  had  medicine  made  over  a  club  must 
keep  the  matter  secret,  for  a  general  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
the  medicine  would  either  destroy  its  potency,  or  others  knowing  <tf 
the  medicine  might  have  a  more  powerful  medicine  made  against  it, 
or  the  magic  of  a  talisman  could  be  exercised  especially  against  it, 
and  defeat  its  power. 

A  player  who  possessed  a  magic  dub  was  feared  by  those  who  did 
not,  and  the  latter  tried  to  avoid  coming  in  contact  with  such  a  club 
while  playing  the  game.  This  gave  the  possessors  of  such  clubs 
decided  advantages  over  others,  and  they  were  eagerly  sought  as 
players,  and  heavy  wagers  laid  on  their  playing. 

The  clubs  were  generally  without  ornament,  but  they  were  some- 
times ornamented  by  pyrographic  fi^^ures  on  the  handle  or  body. 
Certain  clubs  were  highly  prized  by  their  owners,  who  took  great 
care  of  them,  frequently  oiling  and  polishing  them. 

When  a  club  was  held  for  its  magic  power  alone,  as  by  the  medi- 
cine-men, it  was  often  highly  ornamented  with  feathers,  bead  worii, 
porcupine  quills,  or  tufts  of  hair. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Siotix  Games 


285 


The  ball  was  made  by  winding  some  material  into  a  ball»  and  cov- 
ering it  with  buckskin  or  nwhide,  or  of  wood.  It  was  from  two  and 
a  half  to  three  inches  in  diameter. 

The  game  is  played  where  two  goals  can  be  set  up  with  a  level 
track  of  land  between  them. 

The  rules  of  the  game  are : — 

Any  number  of  men  may  play,  but  there  must  be  an  equal  num- 
ber on  the  opposing  sides. 

In  a  series  of  games  the  same  persons  must  play  in  each  game  of 
the  series^ 

After  the  game  begins,  if  any  player  stops  playing,  a  player  from 
the  opposing  party  must  stop  playing  also. 

The  players  of  a  game  must  fix  the  goals  before  beginning  to  play- 
Each  of  the  two  goals  must  consist  of  two  stakes  set  about  fifty  to 
one  hundred  feet  apart,  and  a  line  drawn  from  one  stake  to  the  other* 
which  must  be  neariy  parallel  to  the  line  drawn  at  the  other  goal 

The  goals  must  be  from  three  hundred  yards  to  one  mile  apart»  as 
may  be  agreed  upon  between  the  players,  for  each  game. 

After  the  goals  are  fixed  the  players  choose  their  goal,  either  by 
agreement  or  by  lot 

After  the  goals  are  chosen  the  players  arrange  themselves  in  two 
lines,  about  half  way  between  the  goals,  all  the  players  on  one  side 
standing  in  one  line,  and  each  side  facing  the  goal  it  has  chosen,  the 
lines  being  about  thirty  feet  apart. 

After  the  players  are  in  line  the  ball  is  placed  as  nearly  as  can  be 
half  way  between  them. 

After  the  ball  13  placed  on  the  ground  it  must  not  be  touched  by 
the  hand  or  foot  of  any  one  until  the  game  is  ended. 

If  at  any  time  during  the  play  the  ball  becomes  so  damaged  that 
it  is  unfit  for  use,  the  game  is  called  off,  and  another  game  must  be 
played  to  decide  the  contest 

The  club  may  be  used  in  any  manner  to  make  a  play,  or  to  pre> 
vent  an  opponent  from  making  a  play 

After  the  ball  is  placed  on  the  ground,  at  a  given  signal,  each  side 
attempts  to  put  the  ball  across  its  goal  in  a  direction  opposite  from 
the  other  goal 

The  side  that  first  puts  the  ball  across  its  goal  in  the  proper  direc- 
tion wins  the  game; 

3.  WOSKATB  CANWIYUSNA. 

(Guessing  the  Odd  Stick.) 

Canwiyusna  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  the  Sioux  men. 
It  may  be  played  at  any  time,  but  was  generally  played  during  the 
winter,  and  at  night 


Digitized  by  Google 


286 


Journal  of  Americafi  Folk-Lore. 


The  wagers  on  the  game  were  generally  small 
The  implements  used  in  the  game  were  cmmiymva^  countiBg- 
sticks. 

These  are  a  large  numher  of  rods  of  wood,  about  the  stxe  of  an 
ordinary  lead  pencil  They  are  of  an  odd  number,  and  generallj 
ninety-nine.  They  may  be  plain,  but  they  are  generally  colored,  and 
when  so  the  color  on  all  is  the  same,  but  applied  differently,  as  sone 
may  be  colored  all  over,  others  half  colored,  or  striped,  streaked,  or 
spotted. 

The  rules  of  the  game  are : — 

The  game  may  be  played  by  two  or  more  men. 

Before  beginning  the  game  the  players  must  agree  upon  the  nun- 
ber  of  counts  that  will  constitute  the  game. 

One  player  must  manipulate  the  sticks  during  the  entire  game. 

The  one  who  manipulates  the  sticks  must  keep  his  count  with  each 
of  the  other  players  separate  from  that  of  all  the  others. 

To  play,  the  player  who  manipulates  the  sticks  hides  them  from 
the  other  players,  and  divides  them  into  two  portions,  and  then  ex- 
poses  them  to  the  view  of  the  other  players. 

After  the  portions  are  exposed  to  the  view  of  the  players  th^ 
must  not  be  touched  by  any  one  until  each  has  made  his  guess. 

Each  player  may  make  one  guess  as  to  which  portion  contains  the 
odd  number  of  sticks. 

If  a  player  guesses  the  portion  that  has  the  odd  number  of  sticks  in 
it  he  counts  one  point,  but  if  he  does  not  the  manipulator  counts  one 

The  one  who  counts  the  number  of  points  agreed  upon  wins  the 
wager.  • 

4.  WOSKATE  HEHAKA, 
(Game  of  Elk.) 

Heftaka  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  the  Sioux  men. 

It  was  usually  played  while  hunting  for  elk,  and  was  supposed  to 
give  success  in  the  quest  for  game. 

The  wagers  were  usually  small,  and  but  little  interest  was  taken 
in  the  game  by  others  than  the  players. 

The  implements  used  in  the  game  are:  hekakat  the  elk;  cangU- 
ska,  the  hoop. 

The  Jiihiika  is  made  of  a  round  rod  of  wood  about  four  feet  long 
and  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  one  end  of  which  is  squared 
or  flittened  for  about  ten  inches.  A  small  rod  of  wood  about 
cif^hteen  inches  loni;  and  one  half  an  inch  in  diameter  at  the 
mi'!(!le,  and  tapering  towards  both  ends,  is  fastened  to  the  round 
end,  and  bent  and  held  in  a  semicircle  by  a  string  of  twisted  sinew 
or  leather,  curving  towards  the  other  end  oi  the  longer  rod.  This 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sioux  Games, 


287 


string  is  fastened  at  or  near  the  ends  of  the  curved  rod  and  to  the 
longer  rod  on  about  the  level  of  the  tips  of  the  curved  rod. 

About  eighteen  inches  from  this  two  other  rods  are  fastened 
crosswise  on  the  longer  rod,  on  a  plane  parallel  with  the  plane  of  the 
curved  rod  at  the  end.  One  of  these  rods  is  similar  to,  but  smaller 
than,  the  curved  rod  at  the  end,  but  it  curves  at  a  right  angle  to  the 
longer  rod. 

The  other  is  square  or  flattened,  and  about  a  half  an  inch  wide  at 
its  middle,  tapering  towards  both  ends. 

About  eighteen  inches  from  these,  towards  the  flattened  end  of 
the  longer  rod,  two  other  rods  like  those  above  described  are  fastened 
in  the  same  manner. 

The  longer  rod  is  then  wrapped  with  a  buckskin  or  rawhide  thong 
applied  in  a  spiral  manner  from  the  curved  rod  at  the  round  end  to 
beyond  where  the  cross  rods  are  fastened  to  it,  and  all  the  curved 
and  cross  rorfs  are  wrapped  in  the  same  manner. 

A  banner  about  two  by  four  inches  in  size,  made  of  buckskin  or 
cloth,  and  colored,  is  attached  to  the  end  where  the  curved  rod  is 
fastened. 

The  ring  is  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  made  of  rawhide  or  sinews, 
and  wrapped  with  a  thong  of  rawhide. 
The  rules  of  the  game  are : — 
Two  persons  play  the  game. 

Before  beginning  the  game  they  must  agree  upon  the  number  of 
points  that  shall  constitute  the  game. 
£ach  player  must  have  one  keheJsa, 
One  hoop  must  be  used  in  a  game. 
The  players  must  toss  the  hoop  alternately. 
The  hoop  must  be  tossed  up  in  the  air. 

After  the  hoop  is  tossed  and  begins  to  descend  the  players  may 
attempt  to  catch  it  on  the  hchaka. 

The  hoop  must  be  caught  on  the  hehaka  before  it  touches  the 
ground.    If  so  caught  after  it  touches  the  ground  no  count  is  made. 

After  it  is  caught  on  the  hchaka y  the  hchaka  must  be  laid  on  the 
ground  with  the  hoop  on  the  point  where  caught,  before  a  count  can 
be  made. 

An  opposini;  i>layer  may,  with  his  hehaka,  take  the  hoop  from  a 
hehaka  at  any  time  before  the  hchaka  is  laid  on  the  ground. 

After  a  lichaka  is  laid  on  the  ground  no  one  must  touch  the  hoop, 
either  to  remov  e  or  replace  it. 

If  the  hoop  is  caught  on  a  //^//o^a,  and  hehaka  is  placed  on  the 
ground,  the  count  is  as  follows  :  — 

If  the  hoop  is  on  the  flattened  end  of  the  longer  rod,  nothing  is 
counted. 


Digitized  by  Google 


288 


youmal  of  American  Folh-Lare. 


If  the  hoop  is  on  one  of  the  cross  rods,  one  is  counted. 

If  the  hoop  is  on  two  of  the  cross  rods,  two  are  counted. 

If  the  hoop  is  on  the  curved  rod  at  the  end  o£  the  kehakot  throe 

are  counted. 

If  the  hoop  falls  off  the  JUkaka  and  strikes  the  ground  it  cannot 
be  replaced,  and  nothing  is  counted. 

The  count  is  made  for  the  player  whose  kekaka  holds  the  hoop. 

The  player  who  first  counts  the  number  of  points  agreed  upon 
wins  the  game. 

5.  WOSKATB  TAWINKAFSICE. 

(Game  of  Woman's  Shinney.) 
Taivinkapsicc  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  the  Sioux 
women.    The  implements  used  and  the  rules  of  the  game  are  pre- 
cisely the  same  as  those  for  takapsue,  except  that  women  only  play 
at  this  game. 

The  women  play  the  game  with  as  much  vigor  as  the  men,  and  in 
former  times  at  the  meetings  for  playing  takapsic€  the  tawinkapsut 
was  interspersed  with  the  other  games. 

6.  WOSKATE  TASIHE. 
(Game  with  Foot  Bones.) 

Tasihe  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  the  Sioux  women. 

Men,  boys,  and  girls  practised  at  manipulating  the  implement  of 
the  game  so  that  many  of  them  became  expert,  but  it  was  considered 
beneath  the  dignity  of  men  or  boys  to  play  the  game  in  a  contest  for 
a  given  number  of  points,  or  for  stakes. 

The  game  was  played  b)*  two  or  more  women  who  sat,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Sioux  women,  on  the  ground. 

Some  women  became  very  expert  at  the  game,  and  others,  men 
and  women,  would  bet  heavily  on  their  play. 

The  implements  used  in  this  game  are :  tasiha^  foot  bones ;  UmJu*' 
spOf  bodkin. 

The  tasiha  are  made  from  the  short  bones  from  the  foot  of  a  deer 
or  antelope.  There  arc  from  four  to  six  in  a  set,  which  are  worked 
into  the  form  of  a  hollow  cone,  so  that  one  will  fit  over  the  top  of  the 
other.  The  convex  articiilatini;  surface  is  not  removed  from  the  top 
bone.  From  four  to  six  small  holes  are  drilled  through  the  project- 
ing points  at  the  wider  ends  of  the  cones. 

A  hole  is  drilled  through  the  articulating  surface  of  the  top  bone, 
and  all  are  strung  on  a  pliable  thong,  which  should  be  two  and  one 
half  times  the  length  of  the  bones  when  they  are  fitted  together.  The 
bones  are  strung  on  this  thong  with  the  top  bone  at  one  end,  and  each 
with  the  apex  of  its  cone  towards  the  base  of  the  cone  next  to  it 


Digitized  by  Google 


Sumx  Games  < 


289 


The  apex  of  each  cone  should  fit  loosely  into  the  hollow  of  the  cone 
next  above  it  so  that  they  will  not  jam,  but  will  fall  apart  easily. 

Four  loops  about  one  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  made  of  some  pli- 
able material,  are  fastened  to  the  end  of  the  thong  next  to  the  top  bone. 

The  tahinspa  was  formerly  made  of  bone,  and  should  be  of  the  same 
length  as  the  tasiha  when  they  are  fitted  tog;ether.  At  one  end  a 
hole  is  drilled,  or  a  notch  cut,  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  it  to  the 
thong. 

The  opposite  end  is  shaped  into  a  slender  point,  so  that  it  will  pass 
readily  into  the  holes  drilled  about  the  lower  borders  of  the  tasiha. 

Latterly  the  tahinspa  \^  made  of  wire  of  the  same  length  as  that 
made  of  bone,  and  with  one  end  looped  and  the  other  pointed. 

The  tahinspa  is  fastened  to  the  thong  at  the  end  opposite  the  loops. 

Formerly  the  implement  was  without  ornament,  but  latterly  the 
loops  are  made  of  thread  strung  with  beads. 

The  rules  of  the  game  are  :  — 

Only  women  may  play  at  the  game. 

Any  number  may  play  in  a  game. 

Before  beginning  to  play  the  players  must  agree  upon  the  number 
that  shall  constitute  a  game. 

No  player  shall  make  more  than  one  play  at  a  time. 

A  player  must  hold  the  tahinspa  in  one  hand  and  toss  the  tasiha 

with  the  other. 

The  tasiha  must  be  caught  on  the  point  of  the  tahinspa  after  they 
have  been  tossed  into  the  air. 

If  one  tasiha  is  caught  on  the  tahitispa  this  counts  one. 

If  one  or  more  tasiha  remain  on  the  one  that  is  caught,  this  counts 
as  many  as  there  are  tasiha  so  remaining. 

If  all  the  tasiJia  remain  on  top  of  the  one  that  is  caught,  this  counts 
the  game. 

If  a  tasiha  is  caught  so  that  the  tahinspa  is  through  one  of  the  holes 
at  its  lower  border,  this  counts  two. 

If,  when  a  play  is  made,  the  tahinspa  passes  through  a  loop»  this 
counts  one.  If  through  two  loops,  this  counts  two.  If  through  three 
loops,  this  counts  three.  If  through  four  loops,  this  counts  four. 

7.  WOSKATB  TANPAN. 
(Game  of  Dice.) 

Tanpan  is  an  ancient  gambling  game  played  by  the  older  Sioux 

women. 

This  is  an  absorbing  game,  on  which  some  women  became  inveter- 
ate gamblers,  sometimes  playing  all  day  and  all  night  at  a  single 
sitting. 

vol..  XVIII.  — NO.  71.  21 


Digitized  by  Google 


y<mmai  of  American  FoU^Lare. 


The  implements  used  in  the  game  are :  tanpatt,  basket ;  kamsn, 
dice ;  canwiyawa,  counting-sticks. 

The  Uu^n  is  made  of  willow  twigs,  or  some  similar  material, 
woven  into  a  basket  about  three  inches  in  diameter  at  the  bottom 
and  flaring  to  the  top,  like  a  pannikin,  and  about  two  and  a  half  inches 
deep. 

The  kansu  are  made  of  plumstones,  one  side  of  which  is  left  plain, 
and  the  other  carved  with  some  figure,  or  with  straight  marks. 

The  figures  usually  represent  some  animal  or  part  of  an  animal, 
though  they  may  represent  anything  that  the  maker  pleases  to  put 

on  them. 

There  are  six  stones  in  each  set,  and  usually  some  of  these  have 
only  plain  marks,  and  others  fic^iircs  on  them. 

The  canwiyaiva  are  rods  of  wood  about  the  size  of  a  lead  pencil, 
and  may  be  of  any  number,  but  there  were  generally  one  hundred 

in  a  set. 

The  rules  of  the  game  are  :  — 

The  f^ame  may  be  played  by  two,  four,  or  six  old  women,  who  must 
be  divided  into  two  opposing  sides,  with  an  equal  number  on  eadi 
side. 

Before  beginning  the  c;amc  the  players  must  agree  upon  how  much 
each  figure  on  the  plumstones  shall  count,  how  many  counting-sticks 
shall  be  played  for,  and  place  the  counting-sticks  in  a  pile  between 
them. 

After  the  game  begins,  no  one  must  touch  the  counting-sticks, 
except  to  take  the  number  won  at  a  play.  No  one  shall  play  more 
than  once  at  a  time.  To  play,  the  player  must  put  all  the  kansu  in 
the  ianpan,  and  cover  it  with  the  hand,  shake  it  about,  and  then 
pour  or  throw  out  the  kansu. 

After  the  kansu  are  thrown  out  of  the  tanpan,  no  one  may  touch 
them  until  after  the  count  is  made  and  agreed  upon. 

If  the  plain  side  of  a  kansu  lies  uppermost,  this  counts  nothing. 

If  the  carv^ed  side  of  a  kansu  lies  uppermost,  this  counts  what  has 
been  agreed  upon. 

When  a  player  has  played,  and  her  count  is  made  and  agreed  upon, 
she  takes  from  the  .pile  of  counting-sticks  as  many  as  her  count 
amounts  to. 

When  the  counting-sticks  are  all  taken,  the  side  which  has  the 
greater  number  of  sticks  wins  the  game. 

%  R.  Walker. 


Digitized  by  Google 


TradiiwnaL  Ballads  in  New  England.  291 


TRADITIONAL  BALLADS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  IIL 

r  T 

XIV.  LOROLOVEUL 
A. 

Probably  derived  firom  an  early  broadride,  now  loat,  firom  whidi  the  baOad  haabeen 
tnmamslted  in  a  large  number  of  versions,  dififering  from  each  other  bat  iU^fly. 

I.   Cnmmnnicated  to  me  by  1. 1«      Viaeland,  N.     aa  derived  from  a  reaident  ol 

Nantucket,  Mass. 

I  Lord  Lovell  he  stood  at  his  castle  gate^ 

A-combinf;^  his  milk-white  steed, 
When  along  came  Lady  Nancy  Bell, 
A-wishing  her  lover  good  speed,  speed,  speed, 
A-wisbing  her  lover  good  speed. 

3  *'01i,  tdiere  are  joa  gpiog^  Lord  Lo?eIl ?"  she  said, 
*'0h,  where  are  you  going?  "  said  slie^ 
'*I 'm  going,  my  dear  Lady  Nanqr  Bell, 
Foreign  countries  for  to  see." 

3  "  When  will  you  be  back,  Lord  Lovell  ?  "  she  said, 

"  When  will  you  be  back  ? "  said  she, 
"  In  a  year  or  two,  or  three  at  most^ 
1 11  be  back  to  my  Lady  Nancy." 

4  He  had  been  gone  a  year  and  a  day, 

Foreign  countries  for  to  see, 
When  languishing  thoughts  came  into  his  head. 
Lady  Nancy  he 'd  go  to  see. 

5  So  he  rode  and  he  rode  on  his  milk-white  steed, 

Ttll  he  came  to  London  town, 
And  there  he  heard  St  Patrick's  bells* 
And  the  people  a-moaning  around. 

6  "  Oh,  what  is  the  matter  ?  "  Lord  Lovell  he  said, 

"Oh,  what  is  the  matter?"  said  he, 
"There 's  a  lady  dead,"  a  woman  said, 
And  they  call  her  the  Lady  Nancy." 

7  He  ordered  the  grave  to  be  opened  wide, 

The  shroud  to  be  turned  down  low. 
And  as  he  kissed  her  clay-cold  lips. 
The  tears  began  to  flow. 

8  Lady  Nancy,  she  died  the  same  as  to-day, 

Lord  Lovell  the  ssme  as  to«oirow» 
Lady  Nancy  she  died  of  pure  grie^ 
Lord  Lovell  he  died  of  sorrow. 


Digitized  by  Google 


292  Journal  of  Ameruan  Folk-Lore. 

9  They  buried  tben  both  in  St  Patrick's  diiucbyard, 

In  a  grave  that  was  close  bj  the  qiire, 

And  out  of  her  breast  there  grew  a  red  roae^ 
And  oat  of  Lord  LoveU's  a  brier. 

10  They  grew  and  they  grew  to  the  church  steeple  top, 

And  then  they  could  grow  no  higher, 
They  twined  themselves  in  a  tme  lover's  knot. 
For  all  true  lovers  to  admire. 

2.   Contributed  August  1, 190^  bj  L  L.  BL,  Viaeland,  N.     as  denved 

resident  of  Bruuklyn,  Conn. 


from  aa^fad 


Loid  Lov  -  cll,      he  akood     fay  bis    |^  -  den  g^tet 


comb  -  ing    his  milk  •  white  steed.    When  a  -  )oag 


J.         c  Ir   P'  B  F  J.^ 

Naa    •   cv     BcO.       A  •  widi  •   iac     hv    lav  •  «r  coo 


A  •  widi  'iac     har    lav  •  ar  food 


A  •  wbh  -  ing    her  Iot 

VARIANTS. 

xa  Lord  Lovell,  he  stood  at  bis  garden  gate. 


good 


aa  *'0h,  where  are  yon  going,  Lord  liOveU?"  she  cried. 

3a  "  When  will  you  be  back,  Lord  Loveil  ?  "  she  cned. 

4d  Lady  Nancy  Bell  he 'd  go  see. 

5c  And  then  he  see  such  a  mournful  sight. 
And  the  people  all  gathered  around. 

6   '*Oh,  what  is  the  matter  ? "  Lord  Lovell  he  cried, 
*'Oh,  what  is  the  matter?  "  saul  he^ 
**  Oht  a  lady  b  dead,  and  her  lover  b  gonc^ 
And  they  call  her  the  Lady  Nancy." 

8b  Lord  Lovell  he  died  as  to-morrow. 

9a  They  buried  them  both  by  the  cas^  iraO. 

loa  They  gieW|  and  thqr  gvow  to  the  castle  top. 


Digitized  by  Coog[( 


TradUumai  Ballads  m  Niw  England.  293 


B. 

Communicated  by  M.  L.  Newport,  R.  from  the  recitatioo  of  a  very  aged 
native  of  Narragaiuett,  R.  L 


The  Lady,  she  died  of  a  broken  heart, 
Lord  Lovell  he  died  of 

9  The  one  was  buried  within  the  kirk. 
The  other  within  the  choir, 
And  out  of  the  onf  there  sprang  a  birk, 
And  out  oi  the  other  a  brier. 

3  They  grew  and  fhey  grew  to  the  tall  chorch  top, 
Until  they  could  grow  no  higher, 
Then  turned  about  in  a  true  lover's  knot, 
For  all  true  lovers  to  admire^-lre^-ire, 
For  all  true  lovm  to  admire. 


**  Lord  Lovell  and  Lady  Ounceabcl,"  melody  copied  by  me  May,  1904,  from  a  manu- 
script in  the  Harvard  University  Library,  presented  by  Miss  Alice  Hayes.  Catalogued, 
lfiit.40i,  a. 


5^ 


1 


Digitized  by  G()-_^iv. 


yaumal  of  American  FMrLore. 

XV.   BONNIE  JAMES  CAMPBELL. 


Tfeken  down  by  me  Aagint  15,  1905,  at  Ne«rlmiy«  Vt, 
Bniy,  P.  Q.,  who  leained  it  a  few  yean  ago  from  a  veiy  «^ 


from  die  aingiqg  of  R.  J. 


3 


3 


it 


Sad  -  died     and     bri  -  died    and   boot  -  ed    rode     he.  Soon 


I 


home  came    the      aad  •  die,  bat 


nev  -  er 


XVL  THE  HUNTING  OF  THE  CHEVIOT. 

This  ballad,  one  of  the  best  in  English,  made  famous  by  the  appreciative  essay  of  A<&fi- 
son,  and  for  centuries  a  favorite  in  England,  had  widespread  CLirrencv  in  American 
colonial  times.  Interesting  in  this  connection  is  the  following  anecdote  of  the  battle  of 
Lexfa^ton,  recorded  by  Dr.  Gordon,  at  that  time  minister  of  the  dimch  at  Jamaica  Plafa : 

"  The  brigade  marched  out,  playing,  by  way  of  contempt, '  Yankee  Doodle/ a  aoog  com- 
posed in  derision  of  the  New  Englanders,  commonly  called  Yankees.  A  smart  boy, 
observing  it  as  the  troops  passed  through  Rozbury,  made  himself  extremely  merry  vidi 
the  drcimiBtance,  jumping  and  laughing  to  attract  tiie  attention  of  Hia  Lorddiq^  «Ao»  it  ie 
aaill^aaked  him  at  what  he  was  laughing  so  heartily,  ami  waa  annpeiadt  *To  ddok  Imw 
yoa  will  daaoe  by«aad4)y  to  Chevy  Chaae." ' " 

A. 

Broadside  printed  about  1810,  by  Nathaniel  Coverly,  Jr.,  Boston,  Mass.,  of  which  two 
copies  aie  known  to  me,  one  in  tiie  Isaiah  Thomas  coOeclion  of  die  American  AntiqaaiisB 
Society  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  the  other  in  the  Boston  Poblic  Library. 

DiflEem  only  in  eccentric  apeUing  from  the  textna  recqitiia  of  the  Percy  MS. 

B. 

Melody  from  a  Newburyport,  Mas6.,  Mb.  of  1790,  contributed  by  B.  O.,  Cambridge, 
Maas. 

XVn.  OUR  GOODMAN. 

A. 

Krcite (1  to  nie  March  30,  1905,  by  D.  D.  B.,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  whose  familj  it  has 

been  traditional  for  over  a  century. 

I  I  went  into  my  parlor,  and  there  I  did  see 
Three  geatiemen's  wigs,  sir,  without  the  leave  of  me  1 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England, 


295 


I  called  it  for  my  Goodwife,      What  do  you  want  ? "  said  she, 
*'  How  came  tbese  gentlemen's  wigs  here  without  the  leave  of  me  ?  " 

2  "  You  old  fool,  you  blind  fool,  can't  you  very  well  see  ? 

They  are  three  cabbage  heads  which  my  mother  sent  to  me  I " 
"  Hobs  nobs  1    Well  done  1    Cabbage  beads  with  hair  on  I 
The  like  I  new  see!" 

3  I  went  into  my  stable,  and  there  I  did  see 

Three  gentlemen's  horses,  sir,  without  the  leave  of  me. 

I  called  it  for  my  Goodwife,  —  "What  do  you  want  ?  "  said  she, 
How  came  these  gentlemen's  horses  here  without  the  leave  oi  me  ? " 

4  Yott  old  fool,  you  blind  fool,  can't  you  Tery  well  see  ?  " 
They  are  three  milldng  cowa»  which  my  mother  sent  to  me  1 " 
*'  Hobs  nobs  t  Well  done  I  Milking  cows  with  saddles  on  I 
The  like  I  never  see  1" 

XVin.  YOUNG  HUNTING. 
A. 

Melody  to  a  version  of  this  ballad  tradidoml  for  many  yeut  In  Bnry,  P.  Q.  Snug  at 
Newbury,  Vt,  August  15, 19051  by  R.  J.  P. 

i- 


XIX.  THE  BROWN  GIRL. 
A. 

Melody  to  a  version  of  this  ballad,  traditional  for  many  years  in  Bury,  P.  Q.  Sung  at 
Newbury,  Vt.,  August  15^  1905,  by  R.  J.  P. 


 r 

4  9  ^ — m. 

XX.    SPRINGFIKLI)  MOUNTAIN. 

This  ballad,  edited  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Newell,  in  No. 49  of  this  Journal,  enjoys  the  distinc- 
don  of  being  the  only  known  treditioiial  bellMi  bssed  upon  an  American  incident 
Absurd  in  itself,  it  has  a  unique  interest  for  die  ooUector  of  fblk-eongi,  as  fllostrating  the 
^nesis  ol  a  ballad  in  our  own  time. 

A. 

nagment  of  a  baUad  song  by  my  gramifatber,  T.  L.     from  my  mother's  leooUedkm. 
I  As  I  was  mowin'  in  the  field, 
A  viper  bit  me  on  the  heel. 


Digitized  by  Google 


296 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Contributed  by  L.  W.  H.,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  whose  family  it  has  been  traditional  for 
three  generations. 

X  On  Hoosic  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  hawk-eyed  youth  I  knowed  full  well. 
Ri  too  ral  loo,  ri  too  ral  lay, 
Ri  too  ral  loo,  ri  too  ral  lay. 

3  One  day  this  John  he  did  go 
Down  to  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 

3  He  had  not  mowed  nigh  half  a  field, 
When  a  pesky  sarpent  bit  his  heel. 

4  He  riz  his  scythe,  and  with  one  blow, 
He  laid  that  pesky  sarpent  low. 

5  He  took  it  up  into  his  hand. 
And  kerried  it  to  Molly-i  Bland. 

6  "  Oh,  Molly-i,  Molly-i,  here  you  see 
The  pesky  sarpent  what  bit  me." 

7  "  Oh,  John  1 "  said  she,  "  Why  did  you  go 
Down  to  the  meadow  for  to  mow  ? " 

8  "Oh,  Molly-i,  Molly-i,"  John  he  said, 

"  *T  was  Father's  hay,  which  had  got  to  be  mow-ed  !  *' 

9  He  riz  his  heel  into  her  lip, 
The  pesky  pizen  for  to  sip. 

10  And  heving  there  a  hollow  tooth, 
The  pizen  took  upon  them  both. 

1 X  Their  bodies  now  are  'neath  the  sod. 
Their  souls,  I  trust,  are  jined  to  God. 

C. 

Recollected  June  17,  1904,  by  a  very  aged  lady,  and  recorded  by  £.  £.  D.,  Cambridge 
Mass. 


On  Spring  •  file  Moun  -  ting  there  did  dwell     A   like  -  ly  youth  as 


Digitized  by  Googl 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England, 


297 


/TN 


/TN 


!*«•  haenitdl,  A  lik«  -  I7  joatliijwt  tiran- tf  om^  Laf  •ten^aiit  Cor  •tit'k 


I 


— J 


on  •  H  fCM&f     00  •  li  BOD,  Lef  -ten  -  ant  Cur-  ti>  •  'a 


on 


1  On  Springfile  Mounting  there  did  dwell 
A likeli youtli as  I've  heern  tell, 

A  likeli  youth,  just  twentk>ne, 
Leftenant  Curtis's  onli  son, 

Onli  son, 

Leftenant  Cuitis's  onli  son. 

2  This  likeli  youth  to  the  field  did  go, 
And  took  bis  sqrthe  all  for  to  mow, 
But  as  he  went,  he  chanced  to  feel 
A  pison  sarpent  bite  his  heel. 

3  He  threw  his  scythe  upon  the  ground, 
And  with  his  eyes  he  look-ed  around 
To  see  if  he  could  anyone  spy, 

To  take  him  away,  where  he  ndght  die. 

4  Then  this  dear  youth  gin  up  the  ghost, 
And  to  Abraham's  bosom  quickli  did  post, 
Crying  all  the  way,  as  on  be  went, 

"  Cithel,  cn^el,  cni-el  sarpent" 

5  Now  all  good  people  assembled  here, 
O'er  this  poor  youth  to  shed  a  tear, 
From  his  example  warning  take, 
And  shun  the  pison  of  a  snake. 

D. 

Cootribatad  by  A.     at  aaag  half  a  centofy  ago. 

/TN 


On  Spring-field  Moim  •  ting  than  did  dwail    A  fiko  •  ly  youth  as 


IVahaardtdi  A  fika-  lyyonth  of  twan 


ty  ooBt  Lef  •  tan  •  ant  Car  •  tia* 

/tN 


Zt 


I 


I 


•  Ua  aon»  on  -  U  aon,  Lef  •  tan  •  ant  Cur  -  tia'  on  •  fie  aon. 


Digitized  by  Google 


39^  yourmai  of  American  FM-Lare. 

I  On  Springfield  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  likely  youth  as  I 've  heerd  tell, 
A  likely  youth  of  twenty-one, 
Leftenant  Curtis'  onlie  son, 
Onlie  son, 

Leftenant  Curtis'  onlie  son. 

9  On  Monday  morning  he  did  go 
Down  to  tlie  meadow  lor  to  mow,— 
He  mowed  around  till  he  did  feel 
Some  pizen  sarpent  bite  liis  heel. 

3  He  laid  his  scythe  down  on  the  ground. 
And  with  his  eyes  he  looked  around, 
To  see  if  be  could  anyone  spy, 

To  cany  him  home,  where  he  might  die. 

4  This  young  man  soon  gin  up  the  ghost, 
And  away  from  this  carnal  world  didpost 
Crying  all  the  way,  as  on  he  went, 

"  Cru-el,  cru-cl,  cru-el  sarpent." 

E. 


**  SpriQgfieid  Mountain  oontribnted  by  M.  L.  Ji,  L7BD,  Kaw,  m  nmg  fifty  yvmt^ 


— ^ — 

-i=  ^ 

— 

U— 



On   Spring -field    Moon  •    tain  thai*     did     diraH  A 


no-faIeyouth«   I  knawUm    weU,  .  .        Lef-ten-ant    Da  -  vis* 




— d 

1.  -  H 

on  -  ly     MO,      A  like  -  ly  yovth    jnat  tmm.  •  ty  m. 


1  On  Springfield  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  noble  youth,  —  I  knew  him  well, 
Leftenant  Davis'  only  son, 

A  loveli  youth  just  twenti  one. 

2  He  went  upon  a  summer's  day 
Out  to  the  field  to  cut  the  hay. 
But  ah  I  alas  !  he  soon  did  feel 
A  peski  sarpiot  bite  his  heel. 


Digitized  by  CopgI( 


Tradiiionai  Ballads  m  New  England. 


299 


F. 

"On  Um  Spdagfidd  Mooatftins I "  Broadside^ printed  about  1851^  now  iiillie 
PabOc  libtaiy. 

I  On  the  Springfield  Mountains  there  did  dwell 
A  noble  youth  I  knew  full  well. 

Ki  tiddle  linker  da, 
Ki  tiddle  linker  da, 
Ki  tiddle  linker  da  ri  O. 

« 

a  One  fine  spring  morning  he  did  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  all  for  to  mow. 

5  He  had  not  mowed  quite  around  the  field| 
When  a  poison  serpent  bit  his  beeL 

4  They  carried  him  home  to  Sally  dear, 
Which  made  her  fed  all  over  queer. 

5  "  My  Johnny  dear,  why  did  you  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow?  " 

6  "  My  Sally  dear,  don't  you  know, 
That  Daddy's  grass  we  must  mow  ?  " 

7  Now  all  young  men  a  warning  take. 
And  don't  get  bit  by  a  big  black  snake. 

8  Now,  if  you  don't  like  my  song, 
Just  take  your  hat  and  trudge  along. 

G. 

"The  Serpent."  Taken  down  by  me,  October  10,  1905,  from  the  singing  of  R.  B.  C.( 
Newbury,  Vt.,  in  whose  family  it  has  been  traditional  ior  half  a  century  or  more. 


On  GreenJand'e  Moun>tai]i  there  did  dwell,  Tim  •  f  -  i  •  turn  tvm. 


/rs 


X 


tid-dy  •  ad -dy  -  a.     On  Green -lud'^Moiiii>  tain  theio    ^  dwdl. 


r  •  oat  t 


^4  &  i 


OnGnen-land'aMoiui  >  tain  there  did  dwell  A 


4~  9-4-^*^ 


t-, — #— — a 

love  -  ly  youth,  is  knownfoU  weU.    N  •  ya  •  lia  •  ha,     n  -  ya  •  ha  •  ha  t 


Digitized  by  Google 


300 


jfournal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 

X  On  Greenland's  mountain  there  did  d^i«ll,< 

Tim-i-i-tum-tum,  tiddy-addy-a,  — 
On  Greenland's  mountain  there  did  dwell,- 

Tim-r-out ! 

On  Greenland's  mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  lovely  youth  is  known  quite  welL 
N-ya-ha-ha,  n-ya-ha-ha  1 

a  One  Monday  morn  this  youth  did  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 

3  He  had  not  mowed  half  'crost  the  iieid,  — 
He  felt  a  serpent  bite  his  heel. 

4  They  carried  him  to  Ids  Sally  dear, 
Which  made  him  feel  so  very  queer. 

5  "  Why  my  dearest  Joe,  why  did  you  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 

6  "  Why,  my  Sally  dear,  I  s'pose  you  know 
Your  daddy's  grass  it  must  be  mowed." 

7  This  lovely  youth  gave  up  the  ghost, 
For  fear  that  he  would  poison  both. 

8  Now  it 's  a  warning  too^ — all  lovers  take^ 
And  shun  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake. 


H. 

Taken  down  by  me,  Jaly  29^  1904,  from  die  afaiging  of  A  E.  A,  Bradford,  Vt,  ast 
jeaii  ago  la  Eaat  Wiaoooain. 


On  Spring-fidd  Moan  •  tain  then  did  dwell     A  coma-ly  yonth  I 


 T- 


E3 


knowed  full  well  -  i  -  eU  •  i  -  eU 


i  -  dl. . .       Ri    tn  •  ri  -  n 


tn  -  ri   nay.     Bi     t«  •  ri,    nn  •  ri,  ta 


nn  *  ri  najl 


I  On  Springfield  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  comely  youth  I  knew  full  well-i-ell-i-ell-i*ell, 
Ri  turi  nuri,  turi  nay, 
Ri  turi  nuri  turi  nuri  nay. 


Digitized  by  GoogI( 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England, 

9  One  summer  morning  be  did  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 

3  He  had  scarce  mowed  one  half  the  lieid, 
When  a  pison  serpent  bit  his  heel. 

4  He  raised  his  scythe  and  with  one  blow 
He  laid  the  slimy  creature  low. 

5  They  took  him  to  his  Molly  dear, 
Which  made  her  feel  so  very  queer. 

6  "  Oh,  Johnny  dear,  why  did  you  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow?" 

7  "  Why  Molly  dear,  I  thought  you  knowed 
Your  old  dad's  meadow  had  to  be  mowed  1  *' 

8  Then  Molly,  she  went  round  the  town, 
To  find  something  to  cure  his  wound. 

9  Then  Johnny,  he  gave  up  the  ghost. 

And  straight  to  Abraham's  bosom  did  post 

10  Now  all  young  folks,  a  warning  tak^ 
And  shun  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake. 


301 


Taken  down  by  me,  October  25,  1905,  from  the  singing  of  W.  D.,  East  Corinth,  Vt, 
I  yeais.ifo  in  NofdibonNi|^  Ms 


On  Spring  -  field  Moan  -  tain  there   did  dwell      a    like  -  ly  youth,  as 


I've  heemtoU,     i  •  «0 


i-  eU  .  i  .  eU. 


Ri   t«  -  li  •  look  li 


5 


m 


li  .  ta 


t  On  Springfield  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  likely  youth,  as  I 've  heern  tell,  — • 
i-ell-i-ell-i-ell, 
Ri  turi  loo,  ri  turi  lay, 
Ri  turi  loo,  ri  turi  lay. 

a  He  took  his  scythe  and  off  did  go 
Down  to  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 


i*y. 


Digitized  by  Google 


302  journal  of  A  merican  Folk-Lore, 

3  He 'd  scarcely  moired  twioe  lound  fhe  fidd, 
When  a  peald  sarpent  \At  Yam  on  tbe  bed. 

4  "  Oh,  Sam-u-el,  why  did  ye  go 
Down  to  the  meadow  for  to  mow  ?  " 


J. 

Taken  down  by  me,  November  lo,  1905,  from  the  rcdution  ol  M.  Boston,  Ma» 
Flrobibty  derived  with  I  firon  %  cowiwiob  tonroe. 

1  On  Springfield  Mountain  there  did  dwell 
A  beauti-ous  youth,  as  I 've  heerd  tell, 

i-ell-i-ell-i-ell, 

Ri  turi  loo,  ri  turi  lay, 

Ri  turi  loo,  ri  turi  lay. 

2  He  took  his  scythe  and  off  did  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow. 

3  He  had  scarce  mowed  twice  round  the  field. 
When  a  pizen  sarpent  bit  him  on  the  iiccl. 

4  He  laid  him  down  under  the  sky, 
He  laid  him  down  and  there  did  die  I 

5  "  Oh,  Samu-el,  why  did  ye  go 
Down  in  the  meadow  for  to  mow  ? " 


ADDENDA. 

VI.  HENRY  MARTIN. 

a 

From  '* Boston  Transcript,'*  Qoeiyjesi*— answered  by  A.  C.  A.,  who  states :  "I  csa 

give  the  song,  as  T  heard  it  sang  many  years  ago  in  Portland,  Me.,  by  Eliza  OstineHi, 
daughter  of  Ostinelli,  the  musician,  —  she  afterwards  went  to  Italy,  where  she  married* 
and  was  known  as  M ne.  Biscacdanti,  The  American  Thrash.*' 

I  There  dwelt  three  brothers  in  merry  Scotland, 
Three  brothers  there  dwelt  there,  three, 
And  they  did  cast  lots  to  see  which  one 
Should  go  robbing  upon  the  salt  sea, 
Should  go  robbing  upon  the  salt  sea. 

3  The  lot  it  fell  upon  Andrew  hUrtine 

The  youngest  of  the  three, 
That  he  should  go  robbing  upon  the  salt  sea, 
To  support  his  three  brothers  and  he. 

3  *'0h,  n^o  are  yon?  "said  Andrew  Martbe^ 
**  Who  are  fou  that  comes  tossing  so  hi^  ? " 


Digitized  by  Google 


Traditional  Ballads  in  New  England,  303 

"  I  am  a  brave  ship  from  merry  England, 
Will  you  please  for  to  let  me  pass  by  I " 

4  "  Oh,  no,  oh  no  !  *'  said  Andrew  Martine, 

"  Oh  no,  that  never  can  be  I  ** 
Your  ship  and  your  cargo  we  11  all  take  away, 
And  your  bodies  give  to  the  salt  sea  I " 

5  The  news  it  came  to  merry  £ngland, 

And  to  King  George's  ears, 
And  he  did  fit  out  a  nice  little  band, 
For  to  catch  this  Andrew  Martine. 

6  Oh,  who  are  you  ?  "  said  Captain  Charles  Stuart, 
"  Who  are  you  that  comes  tossing  so  high  ? 

''I  am  a  brave  ship  from  meny  Scotland, 
Will  you  please  for  to  let  me  pass  by  ?  " 

7  "Oh,  no,  oh  no !  '*  said  Captain  Charles  Stuart, 

"  Oh,  no  that  never  can  be  I 
Your  ship  and  your  cargo  we  '11  all  take  away, 
And  your  bodies  give  to  the  salt  sea." 

8  They  fought  and  fought,  and  fought  again, 

Until  the  light  did  appear, 
And  where  was  Andrew,  and  all  his  brave  crew? 
Their  bodies  were  in  the  salt  sea." 


X.  LORD  RANDAL. 

R. 

Taken  down  by  me,  October  10,  1905,  from  the  singing  of  R.  B.  Newbury,  Vt,  in 
whose  famfly  it  has  been  trsdidonal  for  a  centniy. 


On,  where  hive  yon  been  a  -  court-  ing,  Fair  Nel  -  son    my    son  ?  On, 


4 


where  bave  you  been  a-ooQrt>ing^    my  fair,  you  are    a  piet  •  ^ 


oneI**Been  'a-ccnut*hig    my    Jul -is*   moth-er  make  my  bed 


soon.  For  I'm  sich    to    the  heart  and  I  long    to   Ua  down. 


Digitized  by  Google 


304  Journal  of  American  Folh-Lore. 

I  <*0h,  where  have  you  been  a-courtiog,  Fahr  Ndson,  my  son? 
Oh,  wheie  have  you  been  arcoorting^  my  fair, — you  are  a  pretQr  one  I " 
"  I 've  been  courting  my  Julia,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  bug  to  lie  down." 

3  "  What  did  you  have  for  your  breakfast,  Fair  Nelson,  my  son  ? 

What  did  you  have  for  your  breakfast,  my  fair,  —  you  are  a  pretty  one  1 " 
"  E^ls,  fried  in  batter,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

3  '*  What  will  you  will  to  your  father,  fair  Ndaon,  my  aon  \ 

What  will  you  will  to  your  father,  my  fair,  —  you  are  a  pretty  one  1 " 
"  My  land  and  my  houses,  mother  make  my  bed  soon. 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

4  "  What  will  you  will  to  your  mother,  Fair  Nelson,  my  son  ? 

What  will  you  will  to  your  mother,  my  fair,  —  you  are  a  pretty  one  I " 
*'  My  gold  and  my  silver,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

5  "What  will  you  will  to  your  Julia,  Fair  Nelson,  my  son? 

What  will  you  will  to  your  Julia,  my  fair,  — you  are  a  pretty  onel " 
"  Hell-fire  and  brimstone,  mother  make  my  bed  soon, 
For  I 'm  sick  to  my  heart,  and  I  long  to  lie  down." 

Phillips  Bony. 


Digitized  by  Coogit 


CaUf9rma  Branch. 


395 


CALIFORNIA  BRANCH  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK- 
LORE SOCIETY. 

The  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk- Lore  Society  was 
founded  August  i8,  1905,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Ikrkeley  Folk-Lore 
Club,  a  more  informal  and  restricted  organization  than  the  California 
Branch,  but  with  similar  aims,  by  the  adoption  of  the  following  re- 
port :  — 

The  Committee  appointed  May  3,  1905,  on  vote  of  the  charter 
members  of  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  to  report  on  the  feasibility 
of  the  establishment  ot  a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk- 
Lore  Society,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  recommendations  : 

"That  the  formation  of  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  provides  an 
opportune  basis  for  the  establishment  and  successful  development  of 
a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  which  will 
extend  the  work  undertaken  by  the  Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club  to  a 
wider  sphere  of  influence  and  bring  it  before  a  larger  body  of  persons, 
thus  enhancing  the  promotion  of  folk-lore  interests  on  the  Pacific 
coast.    Be  it  resolved  therefore, 

"That  a  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  be 
hereby  organized  by  such  oi  those  present  as  signify  their  willing- 
ness ;  and 

"  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  arrange  for  a  meeting, 
including  a  programme,  in  Berkeley,  on  the  evening  of  August  28 ; 
said  committee  to  submit  at  this  meeting  a  formal  draft  of  organi- 
zation, with  nominations  for  officers,  for  the  California  Branch  of 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society." 

This  report  having  been  adopted  and  a  California  Branch  of  the 
American  Folk-Lore  Society  having  been  thereby  founded  by  those 
present  and  signifying  their  assent,  the  following  committee  was 
appointed  by  the  Chair,  to  report,  as  provided,  at  the  meeting  on 
August  28 :  J.  C.  Merriam,  G.  R.  Noyes,  Charles  Keeler,  W.  C. 
Mitchell,  and  A.  L.  Kroeber. 

All  persons  interested  in  folk-lore  are  eligible  to  membership  in 
the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  and  its  California  Branch,  and  those 
desiring  to  become  members  are  particularly  invited  to  be  present  at 
this  meeting  and  make  themselves  known  to  the  committee  or  to  the 
officers  to  be  elected.  Membership  in  the  California  Branch  will 
include  membership  in  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  and  will 
bring  with  it  the  receipt  of  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  a 
quarterly  periodical  published  by  the  Society. 

The  work  of  the  California  Branch  is  designed  to  be  directed  to  the 
study  of  the  many  elements  of  folk-lore  existing  in  California  among 

VOL.  XVIII.  —  NO.  71.  22 


Digitized  by  Google 


306 


youmal  of  Ameriean  FolkflMrt, 


its  Indian,  Spanish.  American,  and  Asiatic  populations,  and  to  the 
awakening  of  interest  in  such  studies,  by  the  institution  of  public 
lectures,  meetings  devoted  to  discussions  and  comparisons,  system- 
atic researches  leading  to  the  publication  of  new  information,  and 
the  ultimate  formation  of  branch  or  affiliated  societies  in  \'arioiis 
parts  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  work  that  is  thus  planned  is  con- 
nected so  intimately  with  the  history  of  California,  and  will  be  so 
illustrative  in  a  wider  sense  of  the  development  of  the  State,  that  the 
furtherance  of  this  work  should  be  of  general  interest ;  and  it  is  hoped 
that  many  persons  not  directly  or  individually  identified  with  the 
study  of  folk-lore  will  ally  themselves  with  the  Branch  from  a  desire 
to  aid  in  the  iurtheiance  of  all  knowledge  relating  to  CaUfomia. 

FIRST  MEETIN& 

A  public  meeting  of  the  California  Biancfa  of  the  American  Folk- 
Lore  Society  was  held  Monday,  August  2^  at  8  p.  m.,  in  the  Fhito- 
sophy  BuQding  of  the  University  of  California  in  Berkeley. 

Professor  J.  C.  Merriam,  chairman  of  the  Committee  appointed  to 
arrange  for  Uie  meeting  and  to  submit  a  formal  draft  of  organization, 
called  the  meeting  to  order  and  explained  its  purposes  Nominations 
for  temporary  presiding  officer  having  been  called  for,  Fralessor  W. 
R  Ritter  was  nominated  and  elected.  Professor  Ritter,  on  taking 
the  chair,  thanked  those  present  and  spoke  of  the  opportunities  and 
desirability  of  f olk4ore  work  in  California. 

Professor  Merriam  then  presented  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
organization. 

REPORT  OP  COMMITTEB. 

The  Committee  appointed  August  18  at  the  founding  of  the  Cali- 
fomia  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  to  submit  at  the 
meeting  August  28  a  formal  draft  of  organization  beg  leave  to  report 

the  following 

BT-LAWS. 

I.  This  Society  shall  be  called  the  California  Branch  of  the  Ameri- 
can  Folk-Lore  Society.  Its  object  shall  be  the  advancement  and 
diffusion  of  the  study  of  folk-lore  in  all  its  aspects. 

II.  The  officers  shall  be  a  President,  First  Vice-President,  Second 
Vice-President,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  and  six  Councillors.  These 
officers  shall  constitute  a  Council  which  shall  transact  all  business  of 
the  Branch. 

III.  The  officers  shall  be  elected  at  the  first  meeting  held  after 
July  first  of  each  year,  and  shall  remain  in  office  until  their  success- 
ors are  elected. 

rV.  There  shall  be  at  least  four  meetings  annually.    The  time. 


Digitized  by  Google 


California  Branch*  307 

places  programme,  and  manner  of  all  meetings  shall  be  determined 
by  the  CoundL 

V.  Any  one  interested  in  folk-lore  may  become  a  member  of  the 
Branch  by  vote  of  the  Comicil  and  approval  of  the  members  in  meet- 
ing, and  on  payment  annually  of  three  dollars.  The  dues  of  mem- 
bers shall  be  transmitted  by  the  Treasurer  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
American  Folk-Lore  Society,  provided  such  arrangements  are  made 
by  the  Council  of  the  American  Folk>Lore  Society  as  will  enable  the 
California  Branch  to  carry  on  successfully  its  work  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  folk-lore  interests  of  California. 

VI.  These  by-laws  may  be  amended  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the 
members  at  any  meeting,  provided  the  amendments  have  previously 
been  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  Council. 

NOMINATIONS  FOR  OFFICERS. 

President,  Professor  F.  W.  Putnam,  University  of  California. 
First  Vice-President,  Charles  Keeler,  Berkeley. 
Second  Vice-Ftesident,  Professor  John  Fryer,  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

Treasurer,  Professor  W.  F.  Bade,  Pacific  Theological  Seminary. 

Secretary,  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber,  University  of  California. 

Councillors,  Charles  F.  Lummis,  Los  Angeles ;  Professor  C. 
Mitchell,  University  of  California ;  Mrs.  Thos.  B.  Bishop^  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

On  account  of  accessions  in  membership  likely  to  occur  in  the 
near  future,  the  Committee  recommends  that  only  three  Councillors 
be  chosen  at  this  meeting,  the  remaining  three  provided  for  in  the 
by-laws  to  be  elected  at  a  future  meeting. 

J.  C.  M£R]UAM,y0r  tkt  Com, 

This  report  having  been  read,  it  was  moved  that  it  be  adopted,  the 
proposed  draft  of  organization  thereby  becoming  the  by-laws  of  the 
California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  The  motion 
was  seconded,  put  by  the  chair,  and  carried. 

It  was  moved  that  the  officers  nominated  by  the  Committee  be 
declared  elected  as  officers  of  the  Society  for  1905-06.  This  motion, 
having  been  seconded  and  put  by  the  chair,  was  carried. 

Professor  F.  W.  Putnam  of  the  University  o£  California  and  of 
Harvard  University,  the  President  elect,  thereupon  took  the  chair. 
After  thanking  the  Society,  Professor  Putnam  explained  the  purposes 
of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  and  its  branches  and  gave  a  re- 
view of  their  history  and  the  work  being  done  by  them.  He  then 
spoke  of  the  particular  field  of  the  California  Branch,  its  opportuni- 
ties, and  their  urgency. 


Digitized  by  Google 


308  jfournal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

Ftofesaor  Putnam  thereupon  introduced  the  speaker  of  the  even- 
ing, Dr.  C  Hart  Merriam,  Chief  of  the  U.  S.  Biological  Survey  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  who  gave  an  informal  lecture  on  Aboriginal  Folk- 
Lore  from  California,  treating  particularly  (tf  the  belies  of  the  Iii> 
dians  of  the  Mono  r^on,  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  the  area  north 
of  San  Francisco  bay,  and  enlarging  generally  upon  the  problems  of 
folk-lore  investigation  among  the  Indians  of  all  parts  of  California. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Merriam's  lecture,  Professor  Putnam,  as 
President  of  the  Boston  Branch  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Sociely, 
Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon  of  Harvard  University,  as  President  of  the  Cam- 
bridge Branch,  and  Dr.  Charles  Peabody  of  the  ArchsBological  Mo* 
aeum  of  Andover,  Massachusetts,  addressed  the  Society. 

A  motion  was  made  and  carried  that  the  second  meeting  of  the 
Society  be  held  in  Berkeley  on  August  31,  in  conjunction  with  the 
American  Anthropological  Association. 

On  motion  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to  receive  the  signatures 
of  those  present  wishing  to  become  members  of  the  Society. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned. 

Two  hundred  persons  attended  the  meeting. 

A.  L.  KsoEBES,  S§cretaty, 

The  following  persons  signed  the  roll  of  membership  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  meeting :  — 

F.  W.  Putnam,  Universi^  of  Cali-  F.  B.  Dresslar,  Berkeley. 

fomia.  Mrs.  Ralph  C  Harrison,  San  Fraih 

C.  Hart  Merriam,  Washington,  D.  C  cisoa 

Wm.  £.  Ritter,  University  of  Call^  Mrs.  Alice  G.  Whitbedr,  Beikeky. 

fomia.  W.  H.  Ratdifi,  Berkeley. 

Charles  Keeler  Berkeley.  Mrs.  J.  B.  Havre,  Berkeley. 

Mrs.  Thos.  B.  Bishop,  San  Francisco.  Albert  H.  Allen,  University  of  Cili- 

William  Frederic  Bade,  Berkeley.  fomia. 

Harriet  Bundick  Sherkley,  Oakland.  Wm.  A.  Brewer,  San  Mateo. 

H,  A.  Overstreet,  Berkeley.  Mrs.  Willietta  Brown,  San  Francisco. 

Mrs.  Afary  Dickson,  Alameda.  Miss  Grace  Nicholson,  Pasadena. 

Mrs.  William  James  Monro,  Berkeley.  S.  A.  Barrett,  Berkeley. 

This  number  was  subsequently  increased  by  the  iollowing  :  — 

Dr.  R.  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber,  Sin  FranctSOOk 

Mr.  Chas.  F.  Lummis,  T.os  Angeles.  Mrs.  R.  F,  Herrick,  Eureka. 

Prof.  W.  A.  Setchell,  Berkeley.  Miss  J.  E.  Wier,  Reno,  Nevada. 

Prof.  G.  R.  Noyes,  Berkeley.  Mrs.  M.  O.  Schneler,  Berkeley. 

Prof.  John  Fryer,  Berkeley.  Mrs.  K.  B.  Miller,  Berkeley, 

Prof.  W.  C.  Mitchell,  Berkeley.  Miss  McElroy,  Oakland. 

Making  a  total  membership  of  thirty-four. 


Digitized  by  Google 


California  Branch, 


309 


SECOND  MEETING. 

The  second  meeting  of  the  California  Branch  of  the  American 
Folk>Lore  Society  was  held  at  the  University  of  California  in  Bcrke- 
August  31,  in  conjunction  with  the  American  Anthropological 
Associatioii,  Professor  F.  W.  Putnam,  President  of  both  societies,  in 
the  chair.  The  societies  met  in  South  Hall  at  10  a.  m.  and  in  the 
lecture  room  of  the  Department  of  Anthropology  at  2  p.  m.  Pa[)ers 
dealing  with  anthropology,  folk-lore,  and  kindred  subjects  were  read, 
among  them  the  following  specifically  relating  to  folk-lore:  — 

Mr.  Charles  Kceler  of  Berkeley:  Creation  Myths  and  Folk-Tales 
of  the  Manua  Islands,  Samoa. 

Mr.  S.  A.  Barrett  of  Berkeley :  Basket  Designs  of  the  Porno  In- 
dians. 

Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  of  Washington,  D.  C. :  Basket  Cave  Burial 

in  California. 

Mr.  C.  C.  Willoughby  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  :  Specimens  in  the 
Peabody  Museum  collected  by  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition. 

Dr.  C.  F.  Newcombe  of  Victoria,  British  Columbia ;  Exhibition  of 
Northwestern  Indian  Designs. 

Mr.  J.  T.  Goodman  of  Alameda:  Maya  Dates. 

And  others  by  title. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned  at  4.30  p.  m. 
One  hundred  persons  attended  the  meeting. 

A.  L.  Kroeber,  Secretary, 

COUNCIL  MEETING. 

A  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  California  Branch  of  the  Ameri- 
can Folk-Lore  Society  was  held  in  the  office  of  the  Department  of 
Anthropology  of  the  University  of  California  in  Berkeley  at  4.30 
p.  M.,  October  3,  1905,  Mr.  Charles  Keeler,  first  vice-president,  in 

the  chair. 

Mr.  Keeler  read  a  letter  from  the  Secretary. 
It  was  voted : 

To  arrange  if  practicable  a  meeting  in  San  Francisco  in  October. 

To  hold  a  meeting  in  Berkeley  on  Tuesday,  November  14,  the 
paper  to  be  read  by  Professor  Fryer  on  Chinese  folk-lore. 

To  hold  a  meeting  in  Berkeley  on  Tuesday,  December  5,  the  paper 
to  be  read  by  Dr.  Bade  on  Hebrew  folk-lore. 

To  mtrust  the  detailed  arrangements  for  these  meetings  to  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  the  first  vice-president  and  the  secretary. 

Professor  John  E.  Matzke,  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  and  Mr.  £.  J. 
Molera  were  nominated  for  membership  in  the  Council 


Digitized  by  GoOglc 


yaumal  of  American  Folk^Lore. 


The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  have  suitable  ktter-heads  pie- 
pared  for  the  use  of  the  Society. 
The  Council  adjourned  at  5  30  p.  m. 

W.  C.  Mitchell,  Smetary  pro  Umpire, 

COUNCIL  MEETING. 

A  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  California  Branch  of  the  Ameri- 
can Folk-Lore  Society  was  held  at  the  Hotel  St.  Francis,  San  Fian- 
cisco»  Monday,  October  30,  1905,  at  7.45  r.  m.  The  following  persons 
were  approved  for  membership:  Mr.  Harold  S.  Symmes,  Idyllwild; 
Mrs.  Bertody  Wilder  Stone,  San  Francisco  ;  Professor  John  E. 
Matzke,  Stanford  University  ;  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard,  Berkeley ;  Mr.  A. 
C.  Vroman,  Pasadena;  Mr.  C.  E.  Rumsey,  Riverside;  Miss  Con- 
stance Goddard  Du  Bois,  Waterbury,  Conn. ;  Dr.  Gustav  Eisen,  San 
Francisco ;  Miss  Harriett  Bartnett,  New  York ;  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft, 
San  Francisco;  Mr.  R  J.  Molera,  San  Francisco;  Mrs.  Samud 
Woolsey  Backus,  San  Francisco ;  Mrs.  John  Floumoy,  San  Fran- 
Cisco. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned. 

A.  L.  Kroeber,  Secretary. 

THIRD  MEETING. 

A  Meeting  of  the  California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk  Lore 
Society  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  Japanese  folk-lore  was  held  at  the 
Hotel  St.  Francis,  Monday,  October  30^  1905,  at  8  F.  m.  Mr.  Charles 

Kecler  presided. 

The  minutes  of  the  two  preceding  meetings  were  read  and  approve^'. 

Thirteen  persons  approved  by  the  Council  were  elected  to  nierr.- 
bership  in  the  Society,  the  Secretary  being  instructed  to  cast  the 
vote  of  the  Society  for  them.  The  persons  thereby  elected  to  mem- 
bership were  :  Mr.  Harold  S.  Symmes,  Mrs.  Bertody  Wilder  Stone, 
Professor  John  E.  Matzke,  Dr.  P.  E.  Goddard,  Mr.  A.  C.  Vroman, 
Mr.  C.  E.  Rumsey,  Miss  Constance  Goddard  Du  Bois,  Dr.  Gustav 
Eisen,  Miss  Harriett  Bartnett,  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft,  Mr.  E.  J.  Molera, 
Mrs.  Samuel  Woolsey  Backus,  and  Mrs.  John  Flournoy. 

A  report  from  the  Council  was  read  nominating  Professor  John  E. 
Matzke,  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  and  Mr.  E.  J.  Molera  to  the  three 
councillorships  left  vacant  at  the  organization  of  the  Society.  On 
motion  it  was  voted  that  the  Secretary  cast  the  ballot  of  the  Society 
for  the  three  nominees  to  the  Council. 

Meetings  of  the  Society  in  Berkeley  in  November  and  December, 
and  in  San  Francisco  and  Berkeley  in  January  and  subsequent  months 
were  announced  by  the  President. 

A  statement  was  niade  by  the  Secretary  in  regard  to  the  receipt 


Digitized  by  GoogI( 


California  Branch, 


of  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  by  members  of  the  California 
Branch,  and  a  brief  description  of  the  publications  of  the  Society» 
including  the  series  of  Memoirs,  was  given. 

The  acting  President,  Mr.  Keeler,  addressed  the  Society  and  its 
friends  on  the  meaning  of  the  word  "folk-lore,"  the  opportunities  of 
the  Society,  and  the  importance  of  its  work.  A  prospectus  issued 
by  the  Society,  giving  an  account  of  its  organization  and  aims,  was 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  members  for  distribution. 

Mr.  Eli  T.  Sheppard  then  read  a  paper  on  "  Birds  and  Animals  in 
Japanese  Folk-Lore,"  giving  a  review  of  the  principal  qualities  popu- 
larly attributed  to  animals  by  the  Japanese,  and  the  beliefs  and  tales 
connected  with  them.  The  speaker  dwelt  particularly  on  the  firm 
hold  of  such  beliefs  on  the  Japanese  mind  and  their  great  importance 
in  illustrating  the  real  and  inner  life  and  mental  workings  of  the 
people. 

Mr.  Norwood  B.  Smith  spoke  on  folk-lore  elements  in  Japanese 
prints  and  wood-cuts,  emphasizing  the  richness  of  lore  in  this  field, 
of  which  only  the  artistic  aspects  have  usually  been  considered 

Miss  Mary  Very  pointed  out  the  richness  and  significance  of  Jap- 
anese folk  beliefs  and  customs,  illustrating  her  remarks  by  the  rela^ 
tion  of  personal  experiences  and  the  exhibition  of  specimens. 

After  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  speakers  of  the  evening,  the  Society 
adjourned  to  meet  in  Berkeley,  November  14,  to  listen  to  a  paper  by 
Pi  i  fcssor  John  Fryer  on  Chinese  folk-lore. 

Sixty  persons  attended  the  meeting. 

A.  L.  Kroeber,  Seentaiy. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


^  NOTES  AND  QUKRIES. 

£rREiT  Customs  of  Buenos  Aires.  The  following  account  of  certain 
street  customs  of  Buenos  Aires,  ori^nally  appearing  in  the  "  Mail  and 
Empire"  (Toronto,  Canada),  is  reproduced  from  the  "Evening  Post" 
(Worcester,  Mass.)  for  September  21,  1905  :  — 

"  Every  large  city  has  certain  street  sounds  that  are  common  to  them  all. 
but  every  city  also  has  certain  street  sounds  that  are  peculiar  to  itself  and 
that  instantly  bring  the  city  to  one's  mind  when  heard  elsewhere,  just  as  a 
fleeting  perfume  often  brings  back  the  recollection  of  some  person,  long 
since  forgotten,  with  whom  the  perfume  was  associated. 

**  Buenos  Ayres  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  noisy  cities  of  the 
world,  and  there  are  not  only  all  sounds  common  to  all  great  cities  con- 
stantly assailing  the  ear,  but  there  are  several  that  are  dbtinctly  local 

"  The  one  most  likely  to  first  attract  attention,  because  it  is  often  heard 
elsewhere  to  express  contempt  or  disapprobation,  is  the  sharp  emission  <rf  air 
through  the  teeth,  causing  a  hissing  sound. 

"One cannot  be  on  the  streets  of  Buenos  Avresfive  minutes  without  heir- 
in^  what  to  the  untrained  ear  is  a  distinct  hiss,  such  as  we  use  in  the  thea- 
tre to  bring  sharply  to  book  those  thoughtless  people  who  talk  out  loud  in 
the  midst  of  the  overture,  or,  more  rarely,  to  express  our  discontent  at  a 
particularly  bad  piece  of  acting  or  singing ;  and  il  is  only  when  one  has 
been  here  for  some  little  time  that  one's  ear  differentiates  the  '  s-s-s  '  made 
entirely  with  the  tongue  and  teeth  used  also  by  the  Argentines  in  condem- 
nation, from  the  '  pst-pst '  made  with  the  lips,  which  means  primarily  — 
stopl 

"Thus,  if  the  driver  of  a  wagon  or  carriage  is  mounting  to  hu  seat  and 
the  horses  start  before  he  can  take  the  lines,  he  emits  a  sharp  "  pst,'*  and 
the  horses  instantly  stop. 

"  If  you  are  in  a  streetcar  or  cab  and  wish  to  stop,  or  you  are  on  the  side- 
walk and  wish  to  hail  a  car  or  cab,  you  simply  hiss  and  the  car  stops,  or  the 
cabman  instantly  looks  in  your  direction  and  comes  to  pick  you  up. 

"The  most  curious  use  of  it,  however,  is  to  attract  the  attention  of  a  friend 
passing  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  street  or  one  who  is  ahead  of  you  whom 
you  wish  to  overtake,  and  the  first  time  that  a  foreigner  is  hissed  at  in  this 
way  he  feels  distinctly  insulted,  but  one  soon  gets  used  to  it,  as  every  one 
does  it,  and  accepts  it,  and  you  unconsciously  find  yourself  following  their 
example. 

It  is  really  a  most  penetrating  sound,  and  it  instantly  arrests  the  atten> 
tion,  no  matter  what  other  noises  may  be  going  on  about  one,  and  it  is  es> 
pecially  efficient  in  a  crowded  open-air  caf^,  where  the  noises  of  the  street 
are  combined  with  the  talking  and  laughing,  as  it  never  faib  to  bring  ao 
acknowledgment  from  your  waiter  that  he  has  heard  you,  no  matter  how 
much  he  mav  be  absorbed  in  serving  or  in  talkin^::. 

"  Another  sound  that  any  one  who  has  visited  Buenos  Ayres  will  recall  15 
the  rather  weird  musical  note  that  all  the  borsecar  drivers  blow  on  approach-  i 


Digitized  by  Goog 


Notes  and  Queries.  313 


ing  an  iotersecting  street  to  prevent  a  collision,  an  ordinary  cow's  horn 
without  ornamentation  of  any  kind  being  used  to  produce  this  sound,  four 
distinct  notes  in  an  ascending  scale  being  blown ;  and  the  sound  is  certainly 

distinctive. 

"  We  are  all  of  us  used  to  the  musical  notes  of  the  coach  horn,  and  know 

how  ever}'  one  stops  to  watch  the  jolly  party  go  by,  so  that  when  one  hears 
on  the  street  here  for  the  first  time  a  sound  something  like  it,  but  without 
any  gayety  in  the  notes,  each  one  being  held  much  longer  and  pitched  in 
a  high,  mournful  key,  one's  interest  is  instaotly  aroused  as  to  what  may  be 
coming. 

"  All  one  sees  at  first  is  a  man  on  a  bicycle  riding  as  hard  as  he  can,  blow- 
ing a  bugle  about  two  feet  long,  with  twice  as  many  keys  as  the  bugles  at 
home. 

"  From  the  way  the  carriages  scatter,  however,  he  b  evidently  clearing  the 
way  for  something,  and  up  the  street,  a  block  or  so  away,  one  sees  the  fire- 
engines  coming  tearing  along,  the  bicyde  man  keeping  well  ahead  with  his 
melancholy  long  sustained  note  of  warning,  plainly  distinguishable  long 
after  he  has  passed. 

"  No  one  who  visited  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago  will  forget  the  sad-eyed 
Oriental  who  sat  outside  the  gates  of  the  various  side  shows  on  the  Midway 
and  blew  all  day  long  on  a  reed  pipe  monotonous  changes  on  about  live 
different  notes. 

"  Its  very  monotony  impressed  it  indelibly  on  the  mind,  and  to  hear  it 
instantly  recalls  snake  charmers  and  the  Kutchee  Kutchee  dance ;  but  the 
same  notes  here  are  used  by  the  itinerant  glazier,  who,  with  a  high  wooden 
frame  strapped  to  his  back  containing  panes  of  glass  of  various  sizes,  is  en- 
deavoring to  attract  the  attention  of  the  woman  in  the  third  stoiy  of  the 
house  across  the  street,  who  has  a  broken  window. 

'^It  is  somewhat  startling  in  the  middle  of  an  avenue  crowded  with  car- 
riages suddenly  to  hear  a  steam  whistl^  and  one  often  has  to  hunt  for 
nearly  a  minute  to  see  whence  the  sound  comes,  if  the  carriages  are  densely 
packed,  and  then  be  guided  by  a  thin  line  of  ascending  smoke,  and  to  the 
astonished  c^aze  is  disclosed  a  perfect  but  diminutive  model  of  a  locomo- 
tive, about  five  feet  long,  mounted  on  a  push-cart,  the  locomotive  being 
duly  equipped  with  a  real  steam  whistle,  the  blowing  of  which  at  intervals 
has  attracted  attention. 

"  It  is  the  chestnut  vender  who  thus  advertises  his  wares,  and  who  opens 
the  firebox  to  give  you  roasted  chestnuts,  or  the  boiler  of  the  locomotive  if 
you  prefer  them  boiled. 

**  Should  you  hear  the  music  of  a  triangle  on  the  streets  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  see  a  man  carrying  a  red  cylinder  on  his  back,  looking  like  a  water 
cooler  or  the  chemiod  fire  extinguishers  bsed  in  the  United  States,  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  crowd  of  small  boys,  don't  assume  that  thb  is  the  Argentine  fire- 
man on  his  way  to  a  fire,  but  watch  him  for  a  minute,  and  you  will  see  one 
of  the  small  boys  pluck  his  sleeve,  at  which  he  will  stop^  unsling  the  red  cyl- 
inder from  his  back,  and  set  it  on  the  ground,  being  instantly  encircled  by 
the  crowd. 


Digitized  by  G()-_^iv. 


314  Journal  of  American  FoLk-Lore. 

''The  top  of  tbe  cylinder  is  divided  off  into  spaces  which  are  numbered 
from  one  to  ten,  and  in  tbe  centre  is  a  pointer  that  can  be  rapidly  revolved 

on  a  fixed  centre  like  a  roulette  wheel. 

"  The  boy  who  has  stopped  the  vender  pays  his  penny  with  the  air  of  a  Croe- 
sus, and,  with  a  breathless  audience  gives  the  pointer  a  twist,  and  when  :t 
stops  the  vender  opens  the  cylinder  and  hands  to  tbe  small  boy  as  many 
packages  of  sweets  as  the  number  calls  for. 

"There  arc  no  blanks,  as  the  sporting  spirit  of  the  small  boy  is  not  suffi- 
ciently developed  to  play  for  all  or  nothing,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it 
tends  to  cultivate  that  national  vice  in  Argentina,  gamblmg,  which  is  in- 
dulged in  by  all  classes,  rich  and  poor  alike^  from  horseradng  to  the  wa»»ftfia| 
lottery,  tickets  being  sold  on  the  streets  €or  the  weekly  drawing  of  6«m 
$80,000  to  $1,000^000  at  prices  within  reach  of  even  the  poorest  dasses.** 

"  Sometimes  you  will  hear  what  seems  to  be  the  notes  of  a  bird. 
however,  yon  investigate,  you  will  find  that  it  is  not  a  bird  at  all,  but 
the  scissors  grinder,  who  by  moving  and  bending  at  different  angles  a  flat 
piece  of  steel  about  three  feet  long  against  his  rapidly  revolving  emery 
wheel,  was  producing  these  birdlike  notes,  well  understood  by  every  Bue- 
nos Ayres  housewife  and  only  bewildering  to  the  stranger  within  the  gates." 

Slang  Terms  for  Money.  The  following  article  is  an  editorial  in  the 
"  Boston  Herald  "  (Evening  Edition)  for  February  18,  1905  :  — 

"  At  a  dinner  given  at  a  New  York  hotel  last  week  and  attended  by  fifteen 
prominent  police  captains  of  the  metropolis  a  guest  counted  ten  different 
words  used  by  these  captains  in  place  of  *  money/  The  words  were  these : 
tin,  cush,  gelt,  rocks,  candy,  dough,  sugar,  mazuma,  glad  wealth,  welcome 
green.  Getter,  not  gelt,  was  used  by  the  rogues  of  New  York  in  the  fifties ; 
not  one  of  the  other  words  appears  in  the  curious  slang  dictionary  compiled 
by  George  VV.  Matsall,  special  justice,  chief  of  police,  etc^  and  published 
in  Ne\v  ^'ork  in  1859.  Welcome  green  is  a  variant  of  long  green.  WTiat, 
pray,  is  the  origin  of  mazuma  ?  Is  it  not  an  importation  of  our  German 
brethren  ?  The  word  '  mesumme '  is  in  German  slang,  and  '  linke  me- 
summe  '  means  counterfeit  money.  Singular  to  relate,  the  police  captains 
did  not  use  the  word  'graft.'  Perhaps  they  have  grown  sensitive  of  late. 
The  reader  will  notice  the  absence  of  simoleons,  bones,  cold  bones,  and 
plunks,  terms  applied  correctly  to  a  certain  number  of  dollars,  as  in  the 
sentence :  *  It  cost  me  two  cold  bones ; '  yet  simoleons  b  a  word  used  at 
times  to  denote  a  certain  fixed  sum. 

"  Think  for  a  moment  of  the  slang  synonynj^  of  money.  Here  are  a  few 
of  them :  Tbe  actual,  ballast,  beans,  blunt  (for  specie),  brads,  brass,  bustle^ 
charms,  checks,  coal,  coliander  seeds,  coppers,  com  (in  Egypt),  chink,  crap, 
chinkers,  chips,  corks,  dibs,  darby,  dots,  ducats,  dimmock,  dinarey,  dirt, 
dooteroomus,  dumps,  dust,  dyestuffs,  dollars,  gingerbread,  gilt,  gent  (for 
silver),  haddock,  hard  stuff  (or  hard)  horse,  nails,  huckster.  John.  John 
Davis  loafer,  lour  (said  to  be  the  oldest  cant  term  for  money),  kelter,  lurries, 
mopusses.  moss,  muck,  needful,  oil  of  palms,  peck,  plums,  nobbings  fcol- 
lectcd  ill  a  hat  by  street  performers),  ocre,  oof,  pewter,  pieces,  posh,  queen's 


Digitized  by  Google 


NoUs  and  Queries.  3 1 5 

pictures,  qpids,  ragSi  insect  powder,  ready,  ready  gilt,  ready  John,  redge, 
rhino,  rivets,  rowdy,  scales,  salt,  sawdust,  scads,  screen,  scuds,  shigs,  soap, 
shot,  shekels,  sinews  of  war,  shiners,  shinplasters,  skin,  Spanish,  spondulics, 
spoon,  Steven,  stamps,  stiff,  stuff,  stumpy,  sugar,  teaspoons,  tin,  tow,  wad, 
wedge,  wherewithal,  yellow  boys.  No  doubt  contributions  from  a  dozen 
students  of  slang  would  double  the  list,  Thomas  Dekker's  '  Bellman  of 
London  '  and  '  Lanthorne  and  Candle  Light,'  which  with  'The  Gull's  Horn 
Book '  have  lately  been  reprinted  in  a  little  volume,  are  a  mine  of  informa- 
tion concerning  the  slang  of  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  and 
the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth.  Thus  to  cutpurses  of  London  the  purse 
was  the  bung  and  the  money  was  known  as  shells. 

"  We  have  omitted  such  specific  London  terms  as  shiners,  goblin,  finns, 
foont,  deener,.pony,  quid ;  see  Mr.  Chevalier's  'Our  Little  Nipper.' 

I 'm  just  about  the  proudest  man  tiiat  walks, 
I  Ve  got  a  little  nipper,  when  *e  talks 
1 11  lay  you  ioity  diineis  to  a  quid 
You  11  take  Im  for  the  father,  me  the  Ud. 

**An  entertaining  little  volume  could  be  written  on  the  derivation  of 
these  slang  terms,  with  illustrative  quotations  from  the  flash  poets.  The 
English  have  'peck the  Germans  have  '  pich,  picht,  and  peck.'  The  Vi* 
ennese  *  gyps '  is  supposed  to  be  from  the  Latin  '  g>'psum,'  as  the  German 
*hoiE'  and  'kali '  from  the  Hebrew  *  heren '  and  'kaL'  The  London  'oof ' 
or  'ooftish'  is  derived  from  'auf  tische'  (on  the  table),  for  the  sportsof 
Hounsditch  would  not  play  cards  unless  the  money  were  on  the  table. 
French  slang  is  rich  and  picturesque  in  this  subdivision. 

*•  And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  these  synonyms  were  invented  or  adapted 
by  those  sadly  in  need  of  money,  not  by  those  who  have  money  to  burn, 
another  proof  of  the  statement  that  poverty  sharpens  the  wits  and  fires  the 
imagination." 

Indians  decorate  Soldiers'  Graves.  The  newspapers  of  May  31, 
1905,  had  the  following  item  from  the  Crow  Indian  Agency,  Montana  :  ^ 

"The  Crow  and  Cheyenne  Indians  celebrated  Decoration  Day  by  placing 
wild  flowers  on  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  killed  in  the  Custer  massacre. 
Every  grave  had  a  few  flowers  placed  on  it 

"  General  Custer's  grave  came  in  for  the  largest  share  dL  flowers,  the 
mound  being  entirely  covered  with  offerings  from  the  Indians.  In  addition 
to  the  graves  of  Custer's  men,  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  killed  at  Old  Fort 
Smith,  whose  bodies  were  brought  here  some  years  ago  and  interred  within 
the  Custer  inclosure,  were  also  decorated. 

*'  The  Crows  were  not  engaged  in  the  massacre  of  Custer's  forces,  but 
the  Cheyennes  took  part  in  that  battle,  and  many  of  the  latter  visited  the 
battlefield  yesterday." 


Digitized  by  Google 


3 16  yaurfuti  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Indian  Names  in  Mainx.  Tlie  following  newspaper  venes  aie  periups 

worth  record  here :  — 

Ever  since  th*  war  begun 

'Tween  th'  Russ  an'  little  Jap^ 
We  hev  been  a-pokin'  fun 

At  that  poitioD  of  th'  mapw 
Made  an  awfol  howdy-do, 

An*  we  Idnd  o*  sort  o'  sneer 
At  them  names  so  big  an'  new, 

But  we  *Ve  got  some  wuss  ones  here. 

There 's 

Sagadahoc, 

Amabessacook, 

Cauquomgomac, 

Mooaetocmagauth, 

Mattawamkeag, 

Magaguadavick, 

Passama(juoddy, 

Witteguergaucum, 

Sishadobosii^ 

Paaaadamkeag, 

Chemquashhabamticool^ 

Unsuntabum, 

Pemadumcook, 

Wyptopitolock, 

Pattagumpua, 

Mattagamonais. 

Don't  them  twisters  jar  yer  brain  ? 
Well,  TOW  II  find  VmaU  in  Maine. 

Yaa»  I  think  we  *d  better  quit 
Pokin*  fiin  at  Jap  an*  Rnaa 

'Fore  th'  other  nations  git 

Out  their  hammers  knockin'  as. 
Let  me  hand  you  out  a  hunch, 

'Fore  their  awful  names  we  damn : 
We  have  got  a  corkin'  bunch 

In  th*  land  o*  Undo  Sam  J 

Think  of 

Sagadahoc* 
Amabesaacook, 

Cauquomgom  a  c, 

Moosetocmagauth, 

Mattawamkeag, 

Magaguadavick, 

Pasaamaquoddy, 

Wittegucrgaucunii 

Sisbadobosis, 

Passadumkcag. 

Chemquashhabamticook, 

Unauntabum, 


Digitized  by  Google 


Notes  and  Queries* 


Pemadumcook, 
Wyptopitolock, 
Pattagumpus, 
Mattagamonsis. 

Gives  th'  alphabet  a  pain? 

I  should  smile  1   An'  all  from  Maine  ! 

E,  A,  Brimstool, .SK  Ltuk  Siar* 


Seneca  White  Dog  Feast.  The  following  clipping  from  "  The  Wash- 
ington (D.  C.)  Post "  was  sent  the  editor  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Lemon.  It  ttetts 
of  the  ''New  Yeai'g  Feast,"  or  *'White  Dog  Feast"  of  the  Seneca  In- 
dians. 

"Lawton's  Station,  N.  Y.,  March  i,  1905.  The  Seneca  Indians  of 
Western  New  York  have  ended  their  New  Year's  feast  For  ten  days  they 
have  celebrated  the  midwinter  festival  in  their  long  house  on  the  reserva- 
tion, a  mile  from  Lawton's  Station. 

"  The  time-honored  customs  of  the  Indian  New  Year  are  over.  The  gro- 
tesque dances  of  wooden  faces  and  husk-clad  harvest  spirits,  the  thrilling 
war  dance,  the  fantastic  feather  dance,  have  ended  for  a  year.  Each  has 
left  its  lasting  impression  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  fading  race. 
Of  all  the  ceremonies,  the  one  which  will  linger  ever  vivid  in  the  memories 
of  the  Senecas  was  the  '  Wae-yet-gou-to,'  prayer  song  to  '  He  who  made  us,' 
by  Chief  Ga-ni-yas  of  the  Wolf  clan,  the  venerable  leader  of  the  pagan 
Indians  of  New  York. 

"Nothing  was  so  impressive,  so  dramadc,  so  touching,  as  this  prayer 
song  to  the  Great  Sinrit.  Originally  it  was  chanted  during  the  bummg  of 
the  white  dog,  but  for  a  score  of  years  the  sacred  white  dog  has  been  extinct 
among  the  Senecas,  and  never  since  has  the  prayer  song  been  heard  in  the 
long  houses  where  ceremonies  are  celebrated. 

"The  old  chiefs  have  viewed  with  increasing  sorrow  the  decay  of  the 
religion  and  race,  and,  believing  it  due  to  the  neglect  of  old  covenants 
with  the  Great  Spirit,  importuned  old  Chief  Crow  to  recite  again  the  prayer 
that  once  gave  the  nation  strength  to  conquer  the  evil  things  and  thoughts 
that  the  white  invader  brought. 

"When  the  aged  priest  stood  at  the  altar  before  the  yawning  fireplace, 
the  people  bowed  their  heads,  tears  coursed  down  the  furrowed  coppery 
cheeks  of  the  older  men,  younger  men  breathed  hard  with  suppr^sed 
emotion,  and  the  women  hid  their  feces  in  their  shawls.  With'bared  heads 
the  company  of  the  faithful  sat  around  the  square  before  the  altar. 

"The  striped  dog  pole  leaned  against  the  firepkce,  but  there  was  no 
dog.  The  white  man's  civilization  had  swept  all  away,  and  the  Great 
Spirit  would  not  send  more.  The  preacher  must  therefore  pray  more 
earnestly,  for  now  there  was  no  spirit  of  the  faithful  dog  to  carry  the  mes- 
sage with  it. 

"  The  tobacco  smoke  alone  remained  to  do  this.  A  basket  of  exquisite 
workmanship  filled  with  the  sacred  herb  stood  on  the  hearthstone  at  the 
preacher's  feet 


Digitized  by  Google 


3i8  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lart.  ^ 

"  No  priestly  robes  adorned  the  old  chief.  He  had  no  beaded  shift  of 
buckskin,  gay  with  brilliant  spangles,  no  painted  pouch  of  elkskin,  no  red 
sandstone  pipe,  no  embroidered  moccasins,  nor  did  even  an  eagle  feather  ! 
dangle  from  his  flowing  locks.  He  wore  a  black  square-cut  suit  and 
polished  kid  shoes,  yet  beneath  this  varnish  of  civilization  beat  a  heart  as 
strongly  Indian  in  feeling  as  that  of  any  medicine-man  of  the  Sioux  or  | 
Apaches. 

**The  wood  in  the  fireplace  snapped  and  cracked,  knd  the  preacher 
faced  the  leaping  ytVLtjm  flames.  His  back  was  turned  toward  the  neembly, 
as  he  intoned  tlie  sacred  words. 

*<  *  Hoh  1  Hoh  I  Hob  I '  he  cried,  and  then  the  people  knew  dial  the 
Great  Spirit  was  listenuig.  This  was  what  he  said : — 

**  *  Da  ne  agwa  oneh  nehwah  oneh  I 
Da  sah-tone-dot  ga  oyab  geb  chijah  I 

Eees  neh  Hawenin  !  ^ 
Goah  ya-dats-no-deh 
rnaho  agwuh  siya  heowah  gaiyan  dot; 
O^i  yaugweonji  ogaokwa  oweh  1 ' 

In  English  it  may  be  rendered  thus  :  — 

"•Now  at  this  time  we  are  beginningl 
Oh,  listen,  thou  Great  Father  I 
Yon  are  the  Great  Spirit  t 
We  stand  around  the  pole 

At  this  appointed  season. 

Oh,  now  I  send  word  to  Heaven  I 

Oh,  listen,  you  who  live  above, 

Look  down  and  sec  how  few  of  us  are  left ! 

Many  more  called  upon  you  long  ago  t 

How  few  are  left ! 

Do  not  toget  us  becaase  the  old  men  have  gone  now  t  * 

The  listening  Indians  were  spellbound  as  the  intoned  words  poured 
from  the  lips  of  the  preacher.  Each  felt  a  new  joy  kindling.  Loader  then 
tibe  preacher  called,  and  then  his  voice  broke  and  sank  to  a  whisper. 
"'My  voice  is  old,  my  people,'  he  said,  'but  the  Great  Spirit  will  help 

me,  for  I  talk  to  Him.' 

"Then  with  one  supreme  eflort  he  struggled  on,  his  body  swaying  widl 
intense  earnestness,  and  his  voice  rang  true  and  distinct  again. 

"  'We  have  your  words  to  us  about  thanking,' 
So  we  have  come  at  this  appointed  season 
To  please  you  who  live  above  the  world. 
I  put  tobacco  in  the  flames  to  lift  my  words  to  you. 
Oh,  you  great  maker  of  all ! 
Now  listen  to  your  children  ! 
Oh,  do  not  forget  your  children. 
You  who  live  above  ! 

We  want  the  sanie  blessings  you  have  always  given  I  * 

"For  two  hours  the  pagan  preacher  chanted,  calling  upon  the  Great 
Spirit. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Notes  and  Queries. 


319 


"  To  most  white  men  a  pagan  Indian  means  a  superstitious  savage.  But 
that  is  not  true  of  the  pagans  here.  They  are  honest,  sober,  and  thoughtful 
men  who  love  the  God  of  Nature  and  worship  Him  devoutly.  One  has 
only  to  listen  to  the  prayer  song  and  watch  the  faces  of  the  listeners  lu  dis- 
cover this. 

**  Paguu  live  and  diess  like  white  men,  and  as  tiiey  assemble  in  the  long 
house,  all  aie  in  ordinary  attire,  yet  beneath  all  there  is  the  Indian  heart, 
and  DO  influence  of  dvilizatioo  can  change  its  beating  from  the  old  way. 
The  preacher  lowered  his  voice. 

**  *  Oh,  Great  Spirit,  Usten  while  you  are  smoking. 

We  are  all  young  people  now» 

We  only  talk  like  children. 

These  four  things  we  thank  you  for : 

Wainondoudyeh,  Stawahgowa,  Ganawangowa,  Dyohcyko  ! 

This  is  alt  we  can  do  now.  We  are  but  chfldren.' 

"Grasping  the  tobacco  basket  he  flung  it  into  the  fire.  No  one  must 
ever  touch  that  which  held  the  tobacco  that  lifted  up  the  words  to  '  He-who- 
lives-above.'  No  basket  collector  can  ever  boast  of  having  the  dog  sacrir 
ficial  basket  in  hb  collection.  No  bribe  will  purchase  that  which  is  the 
Great  Spirit's* 

"When  the  last  splint  of  the  incense  basket  had  been  consumed  the 
waeyet^u-to  ceremony  was  at  an  end. 

"  The  preacher  put  on  his  overcoat  and  hat,  and  took  his  seat  with  his 
people.  The  chief  singers  took  their  places  in  the  main  hall,  and  chanted 
songs  centuries  old,  in  honor  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

"When  Chief  Kettle  was  asked  how  he  could  be  a  pagan  in  the  midst  of 
the  Empire  State  civi]iz:ition,  living  like  a  white  man  and  using  every  con- 
venience of  civilization,  he  answered  :  — 

"*I  may  live  and  dress  like  a  white  man,  but  it  was  never  paint  or 
feathers,  wanipuni  or  moccasins,  that  made  our  religion.  Our  religion  is 
dressed  only  by  the  heart.'  '* 

NiGRO  GsNtus.  As  a  dispatch  from  Washington,  D.  C.  the  "  Evening 
Transcript "  (Boston,  Mass.)  of  February  18, 1905,  published  the  following 
concerning  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Daniel  Murray:  — 

"  Daniel  Murray,  for  many  years  an  assistant  in  the  Library  of  Congress, 
is  preparing  a  historical  review  of  the  contributions  of  the  colored  race  to 
the  literature  of  the  world,  with  a  complete  bibliography  relating  to  that  sub- 
ject. Public  attention  was  sharply  called  to  this  question  of  the  intellectual 
capacity  of  the  Negro  six  years  ago  by  Booker  T.  Washington  and  other 
colored  men  of  prominence,  when  the  United  States  government  was  prepar- 
ing an  exhibit  for  the  Exposition  at  Paris,  1900.  Mr.  Washington  urged  that 
advantage  be  taken  of  the  opportunity  to  show  what  the  colored  race  had 
contributed  to  the  world's  literature.  The  authorities  consenting,  Mr.  Put- 
nam, librarian  of  Congress,  detailed  Mr.  Murray  to  make  a  list  of  all  books 
and  pamphlets  written  and  published  by  authors  identified  with  the  colored 
race.  As  only  four  months  iotervened  from  the  detail  to  the  opening,  the 


Digitized  by  Google 


yaumal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


list  was  far  from  complete  and  vexy  deficient  in  full  historical  information 
which  has  now  been  supplied. 

"Mr.  Murray's  work  was  practically  begun  about  twenty-five  years  ago, 
when  he  commenced  to  gather  material  for  such  a  work  after  reading  Gre- 
goire's  '  Inquiry  concerning  the  Intellectual  and  Moral  Faculties  and  Lit- 
erature of  Negroes  and  Mulattoes,  Quadroons,  etc./  1810.  Gr^goire  lomed 
in  1790,  in  Paris,  a  society  called  *  Friends  of  the  Blacks,'  designed  to 
cure  their  emancipation  in  the  French  colonies.  Thomas  Paine,  Benjamn 
Franklin  and  Thomas  Jefferson  ivere  members.  'One  of  the  aims  ol  thii 
society,*  said  Mr.  Murray,  *  was  to  gather  evidence  of  capacity  on  the  put 
of  Negroes  and  mulattoes,  the  same  being  designed  to  reinforce  the  argu- 
ment the  society  intended  to  present  to  the  French  convention,  to  induce  it 
to  grant  full  equality  to  the  mulattoes,  etc.,  in  the  colonies.  Benjamin 
Banneker,  a  mulatto,  born  in  Maryland,  to  whom  credit  is  due  for  saving 
to  the  American  people  L'Enfant's  original  plan  of  the  city  of  Washin£:ton 
when  L'Enfant  broke  with  the  commissioners  and  took  away  his  plans,  wh:ch 
he  later  sold  to  Governor  Woodward  for  laying  out  the  city  of  Detroit,  was 
an  intimate  friend  of  Jefferson's  and  was  often  held  up  as  evidence  that  no 
mulatto  should  be  a  slave.  Banneker  exhibited  mathematical  knowledge, 
and  compiled  in  1792  an  almanac  which  Jefferson  sent  to  the  Anti-Slaveiy 
Society  in  Paris  to  support  bis  view  that  the  mulatto  was  the  equal  of  the 
white  man.  Jefferson  had  high  regard  for  Banneker  and  formally  invited 
him  to  be  his  guest  at  Monticello,  and  in  other  ways  treated  him  as  an  equal 

"  *  In  the  same  spirit  animatingGr^oire,and  for  the  same  purpose,  to  show 
to  the  world  that  the  colored  race,  under  which  head  I  include  all  not  while 
or  who  have  a  strain  of  African  blood,  is  entitled  to  greater  credit  than  is 
now  accorded  it  by  the  American  people,  I  have  prosecuted  my  researches. 
I  claim  for  the  colored  race  whatever  credit  of  an  intellectual  character  a 
Negro,  mulatto,  quadroon,  or  octoroon  has  won  in  the  world  of  letters,  and 
believe  a  fair  examination  of  the  evidence  will  remove  no  little  prejudice 
against  African  blood.  It  has  generally  been  accepted  by  scholars  that 
**  Phillis  Wheatley's  Poems,"  1773,  was  the  first  book  by  a  Negro  to  display 
unusual  intelligence  and  win  recognition  from  the  Caucasian,  fiut  this  b 
not  so.  Beginning  with  Alexander  the  Great  and  his  black  general,  Clicos, 
I  have  patiently  gathered  the  facts  from  authentic  sources  of  every  h^g^ 
creditable  act  by  a  N^gro,  mulatto,  quadroon,  or  octoroon  in  the  forum  of 
letters  or  the  polite  arts. 

"'While  primarily  only  those  who  have  displayed  evidence  of  literary  ca- 
pacity of  a  creditable  character  are  the  subjects  of  consideration,  I  have  not 
strictly  confined  myself  to  this  line.  If  I  found  a  colored  man  who,  like 
General  Dodd,  was  in  command  of  the  French  forces  in  China  during  the 
Boxer  troubles,  or  like  Toussaint,  Rigaud,  Henry  Diaz,  or  General  Dumas, 
father  of  Alexandre  Dumas,  all  men  of  military  genius,  I  have  not  neglected 
any  means  to  complete  a  biographical  sketch  of  him.  Again,  I  have  no- 
ticed in  every  case  a  man  like  Henry  Diets  of  Albany,  who  won  a  prize  is 
a  competition  of  plans  for  a  bridge^  who  in  1857  published  In  **  Leslie's 
Weekly"  plans  and  drawuigs  for  the  first  elevated  railroad,  now  such  a 


Digitized  by  Google 


Notes  and  Queries. 


feature  of  the  large  cities  of  the  country;  though  not  an  author,  he  is 
included.  Then,  again,  short  sketches  are  given  of  Sebastian  Gomez,  the 
"  mulatto  Murillo,"  and  Juan  Parez,  painter,  who  rivalled  Velasquez,  and 
of  Edmonia  Lewis,  the  sculptress,  whose  "Cleopatra  "  was  one  of  the  fea- 
tures of  the  Centennial  Exposition,  Philadelphia,  1S76;  at  the  same  fair 
a  colored  artist,  Bannister,  won  a  prize  for  his  painting.  Along  with  Henry 
O.  Tanner,  of  world-wide  fame,  these  are  noticed.  The  second  president 
of  Mexico  was  a  colored  man. 

Mexico  had  a  later  president  identified  with  the  colored  race,  General 
Alvarez.  He  was  in  command  of  the  Mexican  army  that  captured  and 
executed  the  Emperor  Maximilian  in  1867.  Bolivia,  Venezuela,  and  Co- 
lombia of  the  South  American  republics  have  all  had  as  rulers  men  of 
African  extraction.  Sketches  of  them  are  given.  In  the  matter  of  books 
and  pamphlets  I  have  listed  fully  three  thousand,  and  that  in  a  field  where 
scholars  are  wont  to  regard  the  African  as  a  negligible  quantity.  That  the 
'  Goddess  of  Liberty  '  crowning  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  was  completed  by  a 
mulatto  slave,  and  the  circumstances  that  led  up  to  it,  is  worth  recording,  all 
must  admit.  Queen  Victoria  conferred  the  honor  and  title  of  knighthood  on 
three  colored  men  —  Sir  Edward  Jordan,  Sir  Samuel  Lewis,  and  Sir  Conrad 
Reeves.  In  France  several  have  had  a  similar  honor,  notably  the  Chevap 
Uer  SaintfrOeorges,  knighted  by  Louis  XVL  Sainte-Georges  was  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  mentioned  in  history.  Thackeray  speaks  of  him 
in  glowing  terms.  The  first  vice-president,  1904,  French  Chamber  of  Dep- 
uties^ Gaston  Gerville-Reache,  is  a  quadroon  from  Guadaloupe. 

"  'The  pages  of  history  have  been  scanned  with  unremitting  care,  begin- 
ning witli  Ishmael,  the  first  mulatto  mentioned  in  history,  being  the  son  of 
Abraham  by  H;i<;ar,  the  Ethiopian  woman.  Then  through  Solomon  and 
the  Etiiiopian  Queen  of  Sheba,  who  bore  him  a  son,  Menelik,  the  direct 
ancestor  of  the  present  ruler  of  Abyssinia,  Then,  like  that  feature  in  **  Plu- 
tarch's Lives,"  comparisons  are  made.  Taking  some  notable  character  of 
the  Caucasian  type,  I  have  matched  him  with  some  man  of  the  other  type. 
In  that  way  the  whole  range  of  the  world's  biography  has  been  brought 
nnder  contribution. 

'*'To  the  great  mass  of  readers  it  will  be  news  to  learn  that  Robert 
Browning  was  an  octoroon.  It  is  an  interesting  story,  and  the  dbtaib  I 
have  gathered  with  great  care.  The  same  may  be  said  in  the  case  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  the  American  statesman,  and  Henry  Tknrod,  the 
Southern  poet.  Alexander  Poushkin,  Russia's  greatest  poet,  was  a  quad- 
roon. His  grandfather,  Hannivaloflf,  a  negro  prott.'i:t.^  of  Peter  the  Great, 
rose  to  be  a  general  under  Catherine.  Poushkin's  daughter  Natalie,  wife 
of  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  was  ennobled  under  the  title  of  Countess  of  Mer- 
enberg,  and  given  a  coat  of  arms  in  the  German  peerage  by  the  grand- 
father of  William  II.  of  Germany,  and  her  daughter,  Countess  Torby,  is  the 
wife  of  the  Grand  Duke  Michael  of  Russia  and  intimate  friend  of  Queen 
Alexandra  of  England.  So  was  Lord  Nelson's  wife,  Frances  Nisbett,  who 
succeeded  to  his  title  when  he  died,  and  a  pension  of  $10^000  a  year  for 

VOL.  xvm.  ~  va  71.  33 


.    1^    l  y  Google 


yaumal  of  American  FoUsrL&re. 


life.  Andrew  Graham  is  credited  with  saying  Marcus  Tullitis  Tiro^  father 
of  stenography,  was  a  colored  man.' " 

Ranurdinf..  Rinordin'E,  Rinor.  —  I  should  be  ver}'  glad  if  any  one 
would  tell  me,  or  put  me  in  the  way  of  findin;^^  out,  what  legend  or  tradition 
or  folk-tale  underlies  the  following  song,  especially  the  third,  fifth,  and 
sixth  stanzas.  I  quote  it  here  from  a  pocket  song-book  of  the  earlier  part 
of  the  last  century;  it  has  also  been  printed  recently,  in  a  somewhat  differ* 
ent  form,  in  THfet's  (Boston)  '*  Monthly  Budget  of  Music."  The  song  is 
current  in  Missouri  and  has  been  for  a  long  time. 

One  evening  as  I  rambled  Two  miles  below  Pomroy, 

I  met  a  former's  daughter,  All  on  the  mountains  hi^; 

I  said,  my  pretty  fair  maiden,  ^^  ur  beauty  shines  most  dear. 

And  upon  these  lonely  mountains,  I 'm  glad  to  meet  you  here. 

She  said,  young  man.  be  civil,  My  company  forsake. 
For  to  my  great  opinion,  I  fear  you  are  a  rake; 
And  if  my  parents  should  know,  My  life  they  would  destn^. 
For  keeping  of  your  company,  All  on  the  mountains  Ingh. 

I  said,  my  dear,  I  am  no  rake,  But  brought  up  in  Venus'  train. 
And  looking  out  for  concealments,  Ail  ui  the  judge's  name  ; 
Your  beau^  has  ensnared  me»  I  cauinot  pass  you  by, 
And  with  my  gun  I  *ll  guard  you,  All  on  the  mountains  high. 

This  pretty  little  thing,  She  fell  into  amaze; 
With  licr  eyes  as  bright  as  amber,  l^pon  me  she  did  gaze; 
Jler  cherry  clieeks  and  ruby  lips,  They  lost  their  former  dye, 
And  then  she  fell  into  my  arms;  All  on  the  mountains  high* 

I  had  but  kissed  her  once  or  twicei  Till  she  came  to  again  ; 
She  modestly  then  asked  me,  Pray,  sir,  what  is  your  name  ? 
If  you  go  to  yonder  forest.  My  castle  you  will  find. 
Wrote  in  ancient  history ;  My  name  is  Rinordine. 

I  said,  my  pretty  fair  maiden,  Don't  let  your  parents  know. 

For  if  ye  do,  they'll  prove  my  ruin,  And  fatal  overthrow  ; 

But  when  you  come  to  look  for  me,  Perhaps  you  '11  not  me  6ndy 

But  1  '11  be  in  my  castle  ;  And  call  for  Rinordine. 

Come  all  ye  pretty  fotr  maidens,  A  warning  take  by  me, 

And  be  sure  you  quit  night  walking  And  shun  bad  company; 

For  if  you  rlon't,  yon  'II  surely  rue  Until  the  day  you  die. 
And  beware  oi  meeting  Rinor,  All  on  the  mountains  hieh. 

H.  M.  Beldau 

Columbia,  Mo. 

Tkb  TviST-MOtrrH  Family.  There  was  once  a  father  and  a  mother  and 
several  children,  and  all  but  one  of  them  had  their  mouths  twisted  out  of 
shape.  The  one  whose  mouth  was  not  twisted  was  a  son  named  Johik 


Digitized  by  Google 


Notes  and  Queries* 


323 


When  John  got  to  be  a  young  man  he  was  sent  to  college,  and  on  the 
day  he  came  home  for  his  first  vacation  the  family  sat  up  late  in  the  even- 
ing to  hear  him  tell  of  all  he  had  learned.  But  finally  they  prepared  to  go 
to  bed,  and  ihe  mother  said,  "  Father,  will  you  blow  out  the  light?  " 

"  Ves,  1  will,"  was  his  reply. 

**  Well,  I  wish  you  would,"  said  she. 
Well,  I  will,"  he  said. 

So  he  blew,  but  his  mouth  was  twisted,  and  he  blew  this  way  (the  narrator 
shows  how  he  did  it — blowing  upward),  and  he  couldn't  blow  out  the 
light 

Then  he  said,   Mother,  will  you  blow  out  the  light  ? " 

"Yes,  I  will,"  was  her  reply. 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  would,"  said  he. 

"  Well,  I  will,"  she  said. 

So  she  blew,  but  her  mouth  was  twisted,  and  she  blew  tliis  way  (blowing 
downward)  and  she  could  n't  blow  out  the  light. 

Then  she  spoke  to  her  daughter  and  said,  "  Mary,  will  you  blow  out  the 
light  ? " 

•*  Yes,  I  will,"  was  Mary's  reply. 

**  Well,  I  wish  you  would,  "  said  her  mother. 

••Well,  I  will,"  Mary  said. 

So  Maty  blew,  but  her  mouth  was  twisted,  and  she  blew  this  way  (blow^ 
ing  out  of  the  right  corner  of  the  mouth),  and  she  couldn't  blow  out  the 
light 

Then  Maiy  spoke  to  one  of  her  brothers  and  said,  ••Dick,  will  you  blow 

out  the  light  .>  " 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  was  Dick's  reply. 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  would,"  said  Mary. 

"Well,  I  will,"  Dick  said. 

So  Dick  blew,  but  his  mouth  was  twisted,  and  he  blew  this  way  (blowing 
out  of  the  left  corner  of  the  mouth),  and  he  could  n't  blow  out  the  light. 
Then  Dick  said,  "  John,  will  you  blow  out  the  light  t  " 
*'  Yes,  I  will,"  was  John's  reply. 
••Well,  I  wish  you  would,"  said  Dick. 
«  Well,  I  will,"  John  s^. 

So  John  blew,  and  his  mouth  was  straight,  and  he  blew  tbb  way  (blowing 
straightX  and  he  blew  out  the  light 

The  light  was  out  and  they  were  all  glad  that  John  had  succeeded,  and 
the  father  said,  "  What  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  have  lamin'  I  '* 

(The  story  hails  from  Plymouth,  Mass.) 

Cliftm  yahnsm. 

Hadlev,  Mass. 

Correction.  —  In  a  letter  to  the  Editor,  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall  states  that 
her  article  on  "The  Periodical  Adjustments  of  the  Ancient  Mexican  Calen- 
dar," noticed  in  this  Journal  (vol.  xvii,  p.  288),  "  instead  of  a  critique  of 
Professor  Sder's  paper,  contains  a  torrtction  of  his  dogmatic  assertion  that 


Digitized  by  Google 


324  jfoumai  of  American  J^uUc-Lore. 

'there  can  be  m  dou^  that  the  idea  of  the  thirteen  day  intercalation  ms 
an  tmfmHm  tf  ihe  Uamed  Jesuit,  Sigumta  y  GSngora*  Serna  is  quoted,  not 
to  support  any  view  of  the  author's,  but  to  prove  that  this  authority  asserted 
that  the  intercalation  was  used  when  its  supposed  'inventor/  Signena 
y  GiSngora  was  but  eleven  years  of  age." 


LOCAL  mee:tings  and  other  notices. 

BsRKKLKY  FoLK-LoRS  Club. — Meetings  of  the  Berkeley  FoUc-Lore  Qub 

for  1905-06  have  been  provisionally  arranged  as  follows  :  — 

On  November  a8  Professor  F.  B.  Dresslar  will  speak  on  Some  Studies 

in  Superstition. 

In  January  Professor  G.  R.  Noyes  will  speak  on  a  subject  connected 
with  Slavic  folk  literature. 

In  March  Dr.  Goddard  will  speak  on  American  Indian  folk-lore. 

These  meetings  will  l)e  held  informally  at  8  o'clock  at  the  Faculty  Club 
of  the  University  ol  California.  Individnal  notice  of  each  meeting  will  be 
given. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 
BOOKS. 

Mbthoos  and  Aims  op  Arch^uwy.  By  W.  M.  Fundbss  Psnui; 
D.  C  L.,  IXh  D.,  etc  With  66  Illustrations.  London :  Macmillan  ft 
Co.,  1904.   Pp.  xvii,  308. 

This  is  an, excellent  book  for  any  scientific  investigator  to  glance  om. 

The  fourteen  chapters  discuss  briefly  the  following  topics :  The  excavator, 
discrimination,  the  laborers,  arrangement  of  work,  recording  in  the  field, 

copying,  photographing,  preservation  of  objects,  packing,  publication, 
systematic  arclurolog}',  archaeological  evidence,  ethics  of  archaeology,  the 
fascination  of  history.  Chapter  XII,  on  "  Archceological  Evidence,"  is  of 
particular  interest.  The  "  pan-grave "  and  black  incised  M  are  of  the 
Twelfth  Dynasty  are  due  to  the  rude  barbaric  invaders  from  Europe, — 
anotlier  proof  of  the  influence  of  that  continent  in  prehistoric  ages. 

Aus  DBR  Wblt  dbr  WOrtkr.  Vortrage  fiber  Gegenstande  deutscher 
Wortforschung  von  Karl  Mt^LLBR-FRAVRBUTH.  Halle  a.  S.  Verlagvon 
Max  Niemeyer,  1904.   Pp.  231. 

There  is  something  of  value  to  the  folk-lorist  in  the  ten  sections  oC  this 
work,  which  treat  of :  How  the  German  speaks,  change  in  the  meanings  of 

words,  revivifying  old  words,  strengthening  linguistic  expression,  German 
words  in  foreign  languages,  popular  names  of  materia  nudica,  German 
folkdom  as  mirrored  in  the  Alsatian  dialect,  folk  puns  and  word-plays, 
ornate  epithets,  the  child  and  language.  In  the  first  chapter  is  an  inter- 
esting discussion  of  German  words  for  "  speak,"  "say,"  and  their  numerous 
synonyms,  —  from  the  fields  of  childhood,  literature,  slang,  etc. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes.  325 

Die  Anmut  des  Fraubnldbes.  Von  Dr.  Friedrich  S.  Krauss.  Mit 
nahezu  300  abbildungen  nach  Original-photograpbien.  Leipzig,  A.  Schu- 
mann's Verlag,  1904.  Pp.  304. 

This  is  a  worthy  companion  voliime  to  the  author's  "  Streifziige  im 
Reiche  der  FrauenschoDheit  "  previously  noticed  in  this  Journal.  The 
fourteen  sections  or  chapters  of  the  book  treat  the  following  topics  :  The 
skin  of  beautiful  women  as  the  seat  of  charm  and  loveliness.  The  eyes, 
the  look,  the  eyelashes,  the  eyebrows.  The  hair  of  the  head.  The  head 
and  the  forehead.  The  cheeks  and  the  chin.  1  he  ears  and  the  nose.  The 
mouth,  the  lips  and  the  teeth.  The  greeting  and  the  kiss  of  women.  The 
neck  and  the  nape.  The  arm  and  the  hand.  The  breast  and  the  bosom. 
The  foot  and  the  calf.  Headdress  and  ornament  Women's  means  of 
beautifying  themselves. 

The  text  is  pleasing  and  instructive,  the  illustrations  are  artistical,  and 
together  they  make  a  book  profitable  to  the  man  of  science  and  the  layman 
as  well 

'AN^POHO^YTEI'A.  Jahrbuch  fiir  Folkloristische  Erhebungen  und  For- 
schunp^en  zur  Entwickelungsgeschichte  der  Geschlechtlichen  Moral. 
Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  Y.  A.  Krauss,  unter  redaktioneller  Mitwirkuog 
von  Professor  Thomas  Achelis,  u.  a.  Leipzig,  1903.  Pp. 

In  this  volume  Dr.  Krauss,  who,  in  the  numerous  issues  of  KPYriTA'AIA, 
has  contributed  much  to  our  knowledge  of  folk-thought  and  folk-action  in 
sexual  life  among  the  southern  Slavs,  publishes  a  great  variety  of  data  (pro- 
verbial sayings,  legends,  stories,  imaginative  tales,  and  popular  descrip- 
tions of  and  comments  upon  the  topics  concerned)  relating  to  all  aspects 
of  the  very  active  sexual  life  of  the  same  people.  Nowhere  else  can  the 
psychologist  and  the  folklorist  find  a  mass  of  material  ready  for  study, 
whose  genuineness  is  guaranteed  by  a  man  of  science,  linguistically  and 
anthropologically  equipped  for  the  task  of  making  it  'accessible.  The 
author  has  no  pornographic  motive,  but  desires  to  contribute  to  the  eluci- 
dation of  the  folk-side  of  the  great  human  problem  of  sexual  morality  and 
the  evolution  of  ideas  and  customs  relating  thereto.  Besides  the  main 
section,  the  book  contains  some  notes  on  "  Erotic  Tattooing  "  (illustrated), 
pages  507-513  ;  and  on  "  Prostitution  of  To-Day,"  pages  514-517,  —  here 
the  vogue  of  prostitution  of  M.igyar  women  in  the  Balkan  peninsula,  etc, 
b  pointed  out.    Some  book  reviews  close  the  volume. 

In  the  editing  of  this  Annual  Dr.  Krauss  is  to  have  the  cooperation  of 
Professor  Achelis  (Bremen).  Dr.  Bloch  (Berlin),  Dr.  Boas  (New  York).  Dr. 
Hermann  (^Budapest),  Dr.  Ubst  (^Leipzig),  Dr,  Pitre  (Palermo),  Dr.  Robin- 
sohn  (Vienna).    The  general  introduction  (pages  7-21)  is  by  Dr.  Krauss. 

Ed.  Hahn.  Das  Alter  der  wirthschaftlichbk  Rultur  der  Mensch- 
mrr.  Ein  Riickblick  und  ein  Ausblick.  Heidelberg,  Carl  Winter's 
Universititsbuchhandlung,  1905.   Pp.  zvi,  S56. 

This  summary  of  the  author's  theories  and  ideas  about  the  origin  and 


Digitized  by  Google 


326 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


development  of  the  economic  culture  of  mankind  is  dedicated  to  Ferdi- 
nand von  Richthofen.  The  author  is  akeady  well  known  by  bis  books  on 
<«  Domestic  Animals  "  and  *'  Cultivated  Plants,'*  and  his  discussion  of  **  De- 
meter  und  &ubo."  The  topics  treated  in  the  present  volume  are  :  The 
age  human  culture.  The  first  beginnings  of  mankind  and  the  principle 
of  evolution.  Origin  of  hoe-cultivation.  Hoe-cultivation,  the  work  of 
women  ;  agriculture  the  work  of  men.  Forms,  stages,  and  transitions  of 
hoe-cultivation.  Horticulture.  Conclusions  for  the  age  and  origin  of  our 
culture.  The  age  of  hoe-cultivation.  Culture-achievements  of  the  stone 
age.  The  hoe-cultivation  culture  of  Peru  (Peru  as  the  ideal  of  the  social 
state).  Shepherds.  Origin  of  agriculture  and  its  individual  elements  (the 
invention  of  the  wagon,  cattle  in  agriculture).  Babylon.  E^>'pt.  China. 
India.  Conclusions.  Among  the  points  emphasized  by  the  author  are 
these :  Primitive  man  was  not  merely  a  hunter  or  solely  a  vegetarian,  — 
neither  his  relations  nor  his  mentality  are  so  simple  as  has  been  thought. 
Hoecultivation  b  due  to  woman,  agriculture  to  man,  but  to-day  the  man 
guides  the  plow  and  sows  the  seed  while  the  woman  tends  to  household 
duties.  The  oldest  sub-form  of  agriculture  is  agriculture  with  artificial 
irrigation.  Modern  agriculture  embodying  the  use  of  the  plow  and  of  the 
cow  as  draught  and  milch  animal,  the  cultivation  of  grain  in  particular,  etc., 
is  an  economic  form  per  se,  different  from  the  "  lioe-cultivation  "  of  primitive 
people,  and  has  been  inherited  by  the  civilized  races  from  the  ancient  Baby- 
lonians. The  wagon  (and  wheel),  first  "  invented  for  religious  purposes, 
preceded  the  plow.  The  domestication  of  cattle  arose  also  from  religious 
grounds. 

It  is  evident  that  Hahn,  who  attributes  so  much  to  the  **  ancient  Baby- 
lonians," is  under  the  influence  of  the  mirage  onmtal  and  does  not  take  just 
account  of  the  constantly  accumulating  mass  of  evidence  that  the  begin- 
nings and  often  the  complete  development  of  certain  institutions  and  arts 
of  the  primitive  Europeans  and  their  successors  occurred  on  the  soil  of  that 
continent  and  not  in  Mesopotamia,  which  itself  shows  many  secondary 
phenomena.  Asia  Minor  can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  the  mother  of  pre« 
historic  Europe.  The  iheor}'  of  a  "religious"  origin  of  the  wagon  and  of 
the  domestication  of  animals  is  not  by  any  means  proved.  The  author, 
wliile  ini^enious  in  some  of  his  sugc^estions  and  explanations,  has  not  kept 
up  with,  or  will  not  see,  the  trend  of  the  latest  archaeological  studies,  which, 
to  vary  the  old  saw,  are  bringing  us  semper  aliquid  novi  ex  Europa.  A 
rather  needless  polemic  against  bucialism  is  included  and  terminates  the 
volume. 

^le  Pratique  des  Hautes  ^ndes*  Section  des  Sciences  Religieuses. 
L'Originb  des  pouvoirs  magiques  dans  les  soci£t&  austrauennes 
PAR  M.  Haxjss,  Mattre  de  conferences,  pour  Phistoire  des  religions  des 

peuples  non  civilises,  avec  un  rapport  sommaire  sur  les  conferences  de 
I'exercise  1903-1904  et  le  programme  des  conferences  pour  I'exercice 
1904-1905.    Paris:  Imprimerie  Nationale,  mdcccciv.  Pp.86. 

The  analytical  and  critical  ethnographic  study  "  of  Professor  Mauss  on 


^      i^u^  l  y  GoOgI 


Bibliographical  Notes* 


327 


the  origin  of  the  powers  of  the  Australian  shamans  oocnpies  pages  1-55, 
and  the  author  claims  to  have  familiarized  himself  with  practically  all  the 
printed  literature  of  the  subject  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  more 

inaccessible  older  accounts,  and  some  numbers  of  the  journal  "  Science  of 
Man,"  and  furnishes  abundant  references.  After  discussin^^  the  "  magic 
power"  itself,  the  author  considers  the  questions  of  birth,  revelation,  initia- 
tion by  other  shamans,  relations  between  initiation  by  revelation  and  initi- 
ation by  magic  traditions,  preservation  and  disappearance  of  magic  powers, 
etc.  In  Australia  the  idea  of  "magic  power"  does  not  present  itself  in 
the  complex  and  complete  form  met  with  in  Melanesia  and  Polynesia, — 
no  general  and  detailed  correspondence  to  the  mana  occurs.  While  with 
some  Australian  tribes  the  rain-makers  are  hereditary,  recruiting  by  birth 
does  not  bulk  largely  in  the  making  of  medicine-men  in  general,  ** revela- 
tion" being  the  prevailing  method  of  acquiring  the  art:  revelation  by  the 
dead  (spirits  of  parents  transmit  the  magic  power  to  children),  revelation 
by  spirits  or  mythic  personages,  more  complex  forms.  "  Magic  revela- 
tion "  is  produced  normally  in  isolated  individuals  and  not  in  groups  (the 
Combiningree  are  an  exception),  and  is  therefore  "a  social  phenomenon 
produced  only  individually,"  Cases  of  involuntary  dreams  and  initiation 
are  rare.  Initiation  bv  other  ma<ricians  mav  be  regarded  as  "traditional 
revelation."  Initiation  by  revelation  and  mitiation  by  magic  traditions  are 
very  closely  allied.  The  observances  of  which  the  shaman  is  the  slave  show 
that  even  if  he  is  thought  to  be  beyond  the  common,  he  has  in  reality  the 
same  connnection  as  his  speciaLors.  He  feels  himself  different  and  does 
not  lead  the  same  life,  as  much  from  the  necessity  of  imposing  upon  others 
as  because  be  imposes  upon  himself, — particularly  because  he  fears  to  lose 
the  extraordinarily  fugitive  qualities  acquired.  He  becomes,  he  remains, 
he  is  obliged  to  continue  "another."  He  has  in  part  a  "new  soul."  He 
is  a  being  whom  society  makes  expand,  and  he  himself  must  develop  his 
personality  until  sometimes  it  is  almost  confounded  with  that  of  the  ''supe- 
rior beinfrs." 

The  lectures  in  the  Religious  Science  Section  of  the  ficole  des  Hantes 
Etudes  for  1903-1904  included  the  following  relating  to  America:  — 

1.  Uon  (it'  A'osny :  Origin  of  the  religions  of  Ancient  Mexico,  Theories 
as  to  pre-Columbian  relations  of  America  with  the  Old  World.  Interpre- 
tation of  the  sacred  literature  of  Yucatan.  Archaic  writings  of  China  and 
pre-Columbian  America. 

9.  G»  Raynaud:  Astfononuc  myths  of  Peru  and  their  relations  with 
those  of  Central  America.  OllantaL  Critical-historical  introduction  to  the 
study  of  Peruvian  religions. 

For  1903-1906  the  following  are  announced  > 

X.  M.  Mauss :  Exegesis  and  critique  of  ethnographic  data  concerning 
the  relations  of  the  family  and  religion  in  North  America. 

2.  Lion  de  jRosny:  Evolution  of  religious  ideas  among  the  peoples  of 
Eastern  Asia  and  the  American  Indians,  Exegctic  study  and  interpreta- 
tion of  ancient  texts  of  Eastern  .Asia  and  pre-Columbian  American  inscrip- 
tions. 


Digitized  by  Google 


328  Journal  of  American  Folk'Lore, 

3.  Raynaud:  Myths  and  cults  of  andent  Peru  and  their  reladons 
with  those  of  Central  America.  Myths  and  cults  of  the  Mnyscas.  Study 
of  Oilantat 

The  Folk-Lore  Readers.  By  Eulalie  Osgood  Grover,  Member  of 
American  Folk-Lore  Society,  Author  of  Sunbonnet  Babes'  Primer. 
Illustrated  by  Margaret  Ely  Webb.  A  Primer.  Chicago-Boston : 
Atkinson,  Neutzer  &  Grover,  1904.  Pp.  iti.  Dma  fiooK  Omb. 
1905.   Pp.  III. 

If  the  verdict  of  one  mother  and  little  girl  who  have  used  these  books  is 
to  be  taken,  they  are  really  good  for  the  purposes  intended.  They  contain 
in  good-sized  type,  with  appropriate  and  not  over-done  illustradons*  the 
children's  old  favorites,  — ''Mother  Goose "  rhymes,  nursery  tales^  and  a 
number  from  iEsop,  "the  German,"  etc.,  beside  some  to  which  well-knowo 
names  belong.  It  is  pleasing  to  find  that,  on  page  5  of  the  "  Primer/*  the 
famous  song,  "Mary  had  a  Little  Lamb,"  is  rightly  ascribed  to  Mrs.  Sarah 
J.  Hale,  mother  of  the  late  Horatio  Hale,  ethnologist,  and  once  President 
ot  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society. 

Paul  Labb^.  Un  Bagne  Russe.  L'ile  de  Sakhaline.  Ouvrage  illustr^ 
de  51  gravures.   Paris:  Hachette,  1903.    Pp.  276. 

Besides  an  interesting  account  of  Saghalin  and  its  "inns,"  as  the  prisons 
are  euphemistically  termed,  this  book  contains  ethnological  and  folk-lore 
data  concerning  the  Orok  and  TUngus  (pp.  125-135) ;  Giliaks  (137-1S3), 
—  houses  and  family  life,  manners  and  customs*  marriage,  religious  ideas, 
legends  and  songs;  Ainu  (185-426), — beliefs  and  superstitions,  houses, 
manners  and  customs,  marriage,  motherhood,  occupations,  funeral  cere- 
monies). Pages  227-258  are  taken  up  with  an  account  of  the  bear-feast  of 
the  Ainu,  and  pages  259-269  by  a  description  of  the  Giliak  bear-hunt,  and 
certain  festivals  and  other  customs  connected  with  fishing  and  the  chase. 
The  effect  of  Russian  colonization  and  the  competition  of  the  prisoners 
with  the  natives  is  referred  to  naively  in  the  remark  of  one  of  these  last, 
"  I  had  to  eat  my  dogs  last  winter,  to  prevent  them  starving  to  death 
(p.  126).  The  Giliaks  and  Ainu  have  not  taken  kindly  to  the  efforts  made 
to  Christianize  them  by  the  Russian  priests  ;  the  Tungus  and  Orok  are  less 
refractory,  and  are  now,  for  the  most  part,  "  orthodox  and  baptized,  but 
not  converted."  One  old  Tungus  is  related  to  have  carried  an  lira  to  his 
hut,  fearing  at  first  it  might  quarrel  with  the  rest  of  his  gods»  but  found 
things  quiet  and  peaceable.  Asked  by  the  author  where  he  thought  the 
god  of  the  Russians  and  prisoners  abided,  this  old  savage,  with  a  grin, 
answered,  **  there  in  the  brandy-bottle ! " — he  drank  hugely  himself  (p.  134). 
The  test  of  wealth  among  the  Giliaks  is  the  number  of  dogs  owned.  The 
death  of  "a  good,  clever,  industrious,  fertile,  and  quiet  woman,"  among 
these  people,  is  mourned  "  almost  as  much  as  if  she  had  been  a  man." 
The  author's  Giliak  guide  attended  school  at  Vladivostock.  The  Giliak 
commercial-logic  appears  in  the  demand  of  a  native  for  three  roubles  for 
two  dogs,  —  one  for  each,  another  for  the  future  puppies  (p.  163).  Giliak 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes. 


329 


women  are  poiverfiil  in  their  influence  over  their  husband's  minds.  A  cer- 
tain  Giliak  described  his  "god"  as  being  '*a  little  bit  god  and  a  little  bit 
devil"  (p.  177).  The  Giliaks  improvise  songs  while  walking  through  the 
forest,  —  the  song  of  a  young  woman  is  given  on  page  i80b   The  Ainu 

account  for  their  lack  of  a  written  language  and  consequent  ignorance  by 
saying  that  when  the  Japanese  god  visited  the  Ainu  god  one  day  he  stole 
the  grammar  and  written  language  while  the  latter  was  asleep  (p.  191). 
A  similar  legend  is  found  among  the  Giliaks  and  other  Siberian  peoples. 
When  the  author  told  him  the  French  proverb,  "  When  one  is  dead,  it  is  for 
a  long  time,"  Otake,  an  Ainu,  said,  "  Your  proverb  is  false,  the  dead  ore 
dead  forever  "  (p.  19S).  Among  the  Ainu  children  are  "adored  and  spoiled." 
In  the  speeches  at  the  bear-least,  a  few  improvisations  occur,  the  greater 
part  of  what  is  said  by  the  old  men  is  repeated  according  to  tradition.  The 
Giliaks  venerate  the  bear  less  than  the  Ainu. 

According  to  M.  Labbtf,  the  natives  are  being  gradually  corrupted  and 
ruined  by  contact  with  the  prisoners  and  thetr  jailers.  A  complete  remod- 
elling oC  the  prison  system  is  necessary* 

Die  Toten  im  Recht  nach  der  Lehre  und  den  Normen  des  ortho- 

DOXEN   MORGENLANDISCHEN    KlRCHERECHTS    UND   DER  GesETZCEBUNG 

GRiECHBiTLAifDS.  Von.  Dr.  jur.  Deu.  A.  Pbtraakakos.  Leipzig :  Bohme, 
1905.    Pp.  xix,  248. 

This  volume,  which  is  provided  with  a  bibliography  (pp.  x-xiv)  and  a  good 
index,  treats  the  following  topics  in  its  four  parts :  I.  The  dead  in  law  in 
heathendom  and  Jewry  (burial  \  prohibition,  limiting,  etc.,  of  burial ;  graves 
and  cemeteries ;  reverence  for  and  protection  of  the  memoiy  of  the  dead). 
IL  The  dead  in  law  in  Christendom.  III.  The  dead  in  law  in  Greece. 
IV.  Private  law  in  relation  to  tiie  body  and  its  parts  (a  review  of  literature 
and  considerations).  One  finds  here  much  concerning  the  right  to  be 
buried  and  liow,  l^al  aspects  of  various  modes  of  disposing  of  the  human 
body,  procedures  in  peace  and  war,  taboo'd  individuals,  etc.  (suicides, 
murderers,  etc.),  church  and  other  burials,  place  and  treatment  of  graves 
and  cemeteries,  ornamentation  of  dead  persons,  coffins,  and  ■burial-places, 
funeral  flowers  and  cemetery-trees,  child-burial,  prayers  for  the  dead,  mourn- 
ing and  lamentation,  preservation  of  bodies  (munimics),  funeral  fea.sts  and 
death-meals,  "  punishment "  of  corpses,  funeral  processions,  and  corteges^ 
mausoleums,  catacombs,  etc.,  house-burial,  monuments,  and  memorials  of 
the  dead,  family  and  individual  rights,  epitaphs  and  inscriptions,  toU^ia 
fimtraHca^  saints  and  images,  sanctuaries,  caves,  churches  and  temples, 
pareiMia,  reliquaries,  treatment  of  heretics  and  the  like,  souI*feasts,  death- 
masks,  gifts  to  the  dead,  transportation  of  corpses,  exhumation,  ghouls  and 
violations  of  the  grave,  the  grave  as  hcus  rdighsus^  etc.  Dr.  Petraakakos's 
book  is  an  excellent  work  to  be  read  in  connection  with  the  folk-lore  side 
of  the  subject  (indeed  much  of  '*  law  "  is  folk-lore  here)  as  exemplified  in 
Dr.  Yarrow's  "  Mortuary  Customs  of  the  North  American  Indians." 


Digitized  by  Google 


I 


330  jfoumal  oj  American  Folk-Lore. 

Dbr  Ricbtioe  Bbrunir  in  WdRiSRM  UNO  Redbnsartkm,  yon  Hams 
Meyer,  Professor  am  grauen  Kloster.  Sechster  Auflage.  Berlin :  H.  S. 
HermanD,  1904.   Pp.  zviii,  173. 

This  study  of  the  vocabulary,  phraseology,  etc,  of  the  Berlin  dialect  of 
German  consists  of  a  brief  linguistic  and  grammatical  introduction,  a  dic- 
tionary (pp.  1-139,  2  cols,  to  the  page),  three  hundred  verse  items  (children's 
rhymes,  jokes  and  jests,  sarcastic  rhymes,  album  verses,  counting-out 

rhymes,  folk-verses,  proverbial  sayings,  jokes,  songs,  and  couplets,  parodies, 
etc.),  a  section  on  plays  and  games  (pp.  158-163),  lesser  sections  on  fads, 
streel-hawkers,  inscriptions  and  signs,  popular  names  of  restaurants,  eic^ 
popular  festivals.  In  an  appendix  (pp.  168-172)  are  pven  synonyms  and 
expressions  for  deceit,  threats,  dull  wit,  going,  money,  clothing  and  dress, 
parts  of  the  body,  blows  and  to  strike,  sly,  bad,  much,  theft  and  to  steal, 
drink  and  drunken,  refuse,  crazy,  squander,  astonishment,  etc.  Among  the 
popular  verses  is  the  following  in  which  America  is  remembered : — 

Hurrjott,  Harriott,  jctzt  kommt's 
Wenn  et  kuinnit,  dcnn  is  ct  da, 
Denn  jehn  wir  nach  Amerika. 
Amerika,  det  is  zu  weit, 
Denn  jehn  wir  nach  de  Hasenhaid. 

On  pages  162,  163  are  given,  in  alphabetical  order,  205  idioms,  etc.,  re- 
lating to  the  game  of  "  Skat" 

It  is  curious  to  find  AMtehe  (Aztec)  in  use  in  the  sense  of  "  blockhead," 
but  this  may  be  due  to  the  *'  Aztec  dwarfs"  exhibited  in  Berlin  as  elsewhere 
in  Europe.  To  our  *'  He  took  French  leave  "  corresponds  "  Er  hat  sick  uf 
franzds'ch  jedruckt"  The  Berliner's  knowledge  of  English  is  said  to  be 
comprised  in  these  terms  :  Oh  yes,  all  right,  mixed  pickles,  watercloset, 
beefsteak  "  (p.  33).  To  his  last  dollar  the  Berliner  says:  **  Der  letzte  der 
Mohikaner ! "  the  last  of  the  Mohicans. 

VfiLKERKLNDE.  Von  Dr.  Heinrich  Schurtz.  Mit  34  Abbildungen  im 
Texte.    Leipzi;^  u.  Wien:    Franz  Deuticke,  1903.    Pp.  xiii,  178. 

The  author  of  this  text-book  of  ethncjlogy.  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of 
the  youn<;er  school  of  German  men  of  science,  has  passed  away  since  its 
publication,  and  it  cannot  obtain  from  him  the  revision  it  would  probably 
have  received  in  places  in  a  later  edition.  The  three  chapters  (besides  a 
brief  introduction)  are  concerned  with  the  bases  of  ethnology  (physical 
anthropology,  anthropogeography,  linguistics),  comparative  ethnology  (soci- 
ology, **Wirthschaftslehre,'*cultureoIogy),  and  thte  races  and  peoples  of  the 
globe.  The  sections  of  interest  to  the  folk^lorist  are  those  dealing  with 
sociology  and  related  topics  (pp.  45-78)  and  material  and  intellectual 
culture  (pp.  78-136).  On  the  whole,  Dr.  Schurtz  takes  reasonable  and 
up-to-date  views  of  most  of  the  problems  involved,  being  one  of  the  few 
European  ethnologists  whose  research  and  reading  have  been  deep  and 
wide  enough  to  enable  him  to  generalize  without  blundering,  although  his 
volume  on   Altersklassen  and  Mannerbiinde  "  showed  that  he  could  also  be 


Digitized  by  Google 


Bibliographical  Notes, 


33* 


under  the  domination  of  a  favorite  theoiy.  The  present  work  is  well  written, 
and,  presenting  much  in  little^  can  serve  as  a  good  introduction  to  ethno- 
logy. The  section  on  religion,  mythology,  art;  and  science,  though  brief,  is 
quite  suggestive.   Schurtz  inclines  to  see  one  of  the  earliest  beginnii^ 

of  relii^ion  in  manism^  contemplation  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  but  even 
in  its  early  stages  it  was  divided  into  the  fear-side  and  the  protective 
side.  For  fetishism  he  suggests  the  definition  of  "  animistic  spirit-worship 
with  material  substrate."  While  mythology  can  exist  without  cult,  the 
cult  is  unthinkable  without  a  foundation  of  mythology,  —  mythology  satis- 
fies the  intelligence,  cult  the  will.  Sacrifices  are  perhaps  the  oldest  cult- 
lorms.  According  to  Schurtz,  prayers  come  rather  late,  and  vows  are  more 
common  than  prayers  with  primitive  peoples  (no  account  was  probably 
taken  here  of  the  prayers  of  American  Indians).  Mysticism  is  another  germ 
of  religion,  —  both  active  (magic;  divination)  and  passive  (amulets,  talis- 
mans). The  priestly  class  originated  with  the  division  of  labor,  and  their 
care  clt  mystic  powers  led  them  to  be  reformers  or  hinderers  of  progress,  as 
the  case  might  be.  Priest  and  poet  created  orderly  pantheons  and  god* 
systems  out  of  the  fantastic  chaos  of  primitive  mythologies,  and  the  recog- 
nition of  light  and  sky  deities  paved  the  way  for  monotheistic  conceptions. 
Folk-lore,  as  such,  the  collection  of  mdrchen  and  sa^^as,  of  customs  and 
usages,  belongs  properly  to  Vdlkskunde  and  not  to  Volkerkunde, 

j£»  <Fm  Cm 


Digitized  by  Google 


332 


jourtial  of  Atiurican  Folk-Lore. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETk^  (1905). 

President :  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 

First  Viee-Fresident :  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Stfotui  Vke-Prtsident :  WUliam  A.  NeiUon,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

CoMfuU :  Finns  Boaa,  New  Yoik,  N.  Y. ;  Roland  B.  Dkom,  Cambri4K«>  Man. ;  tGtaiwt 

A.  Dorsey,  Chicago,  111.;  |Charles  L.  Kdwards.  Hartford,  Conn. ;  |Iivinettoti  Famn^ 
New  York,  N.  Y. ;  jGeorge  I.yman  Kittredge,  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  Alfred  L.  Kr<3eber, 
Berkeley,  Cal. i  James  Mooncy,  \\  a:>hington,  D.  C;  t Frederic  \V\  Putnam,  Cambridge, 
Mass.;  Fradeilck  Starr,  Chicago,  111. ;  Alfred  N.  Tosier.  Cambridge,  Blaaa.;  Anne  V. 
Whitney,  Baldmoce,  ICd. ;  1 1  lenry  Wood,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  James  H.  Woods, Boatoa.XaM. 

Permanent  Secretary :  William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge.  Mass. 

Treasurer;  Eliot  W.  Kemick,  300  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
t  As  Prestdenta  of  Local  Branches.  %  As  Past  Presidenta  of  the  Sodetf  (widdn  five  jpean). 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETy. 

(kor  the  vkak  1905.) 
HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

Joan  G.  Ambrosetti,  Buenos  Ayres,  Argen-  Angclo  de  Gubematis,  Rome,  Italy. 

tfaie  Repablic  Edwin  Sidney  Hartland,  Glooceater,  Fngland. 

John  Batchelor,  Sapporo,  Japan.  Friedrich  S.  Krauss,  Yienna,  .Austria. 

Francisco  Adolpho  Coelho,  Lisbmi,  Portu-  Kaarlc  Krohn,  Hclsingfors,  Finland. 

gal.  Giuseppe  Pitre,  Palermo,  Sicily. 

Jamea  George  Fraser,  Cambridge,  England.  Paul  S^biDot,  Paris,  France. 
Henri  Gaidoi^  Paria,  France.  Edward  Baniett  Tyior,  Oafoid,  Rug^anA 

Geoi^e  Lanranoe  Gonunc^  Xxindon,  England. 

UFE  MEMBERS. 


Eugene  F.  Kiss,  Chidnnati,  Ohio. 

Hiram  Edmund  Deats,  Flemington,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Henry  Draper,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Joseph  E.  Gillingham,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Henry  Charlca  Lea,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Frederick  W.  Lehmann,  St  Loiris,  Mo. 

J.  F.  Loubat,  Paris,  France. 

William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge,  Maj 

Miss  Mary  A.  Owen,  St  Joa^h,  Mo. 


ANNUAL  MEMBERS. 


John  Abercromby,  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 

L  Adler,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Misa  Conatance  G.  Alexander,  Cambridge, 

Mass. 

Mrs.  Monroe  Ayer,  Boston,  Mass. 

Inring  Babbitt,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Francis  Noyes  Balch,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Barnes,  Boston,  Mass. 
Phillips  Barry,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miia  Mary  E.  Batdielder,  Cambridge^  Maaa. 
William  Beer,  New  Orleans,  La. 
Robert  Bell,  Ottawa,  Ont. 
Miss  Cora  Agnes  Benneson,  Cambridge, 
Mass. 

Mrs.  Fanny  D.  Bergen,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Charle-<  J.  Hiil'^nn.  l-cicest»?r,  England. 
Francis  Blake,  Auburndalc,  Mass. 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Boanbnan,  Boaton,  Maaa. 
Frans  Boas,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Reginald  P.  Bolton,  New  Yori^  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  John  G.  Bonrice.  Omaha,  Neb. 

Charles  P.  Bowditch,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  P.  Bradley,  Washington,  D.  C 
H.  C.  G.  Brandt,  Clinton,  N.  V. 
Loais  Hotchkiaa  Brittin,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
Miss  Abbie  Farwell  Brown,  Boaton,  Maaa. 
Miss  Jeannic  P.  Brown,  Cambridge.  Maia. 
Philip  Greely  Brown,  Portland.  Me. 
Mrs.  W.  Wallace  Brown,  Calais,  xMe. 
Mrs.  Waller  R.  BuUoek,  Balrinote.  Md. 
Miss  Ethel  Q.  Bumstcad,  Cambridge^  Maas. 
Lewis  D.  Burdick.  Oxford,  X  Y 
Miss  Mary  Arthur  Burnham,  Philadelphia. 

John  Caldwell,  Fdgewood  Park,  Pa. 
Alexander  Francis  Chamberlain,  \Yorcester, 


Mra.  W.  E.  Chamberiain,  Brookllne,  Msss. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society^  333 


Miss  Mary  Chrtpman,  Springfield,  MUS. 
Miss  Kllen  Chase,  Brooklinc,  Mass. 
George  H.  Chase,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Heli  Chatdain,  Angola,  Africa. 
Clarence  H.  Clark,  I'hUadelphia,  Pa. 
Mrs.  Otto  B.  Cole,  Hnston,  Mas". 
Mrs.  Gertrude  A.  Collier,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mn.  Arthur  M.  Comey,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Daniel  T.  Comstock,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Katherine  I.  Conk,  Cambridge,  Maw. 
Thomas  F.  Crane,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
Miaa  Sarah  H.  Crodcer,  Botton,  MaM. 
Stewart  Culin,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Roland  G.  Curtin,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

William  G.  Dairiea,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Charles  F.  Daymond,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs  John  Deane,  Boston,  Mass. 
James  Deans,  Victoria,  B.  C. 
Robert  W.  De  Forest,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

E.  W.  Deming,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  E  Dimock,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 
Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge.  Mass. 
George  A.  Doney,  Chicago,  111. 

Miaa  Cooatanoe  G.  IHiBois,  Waterbmy, 
Conn. 

Charles  fi.  Dudley,  Altoona,  Pa. 

Charles  L,  Edwards,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Carl  Enkcmeycr,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 
L.  H.  Elwell,  Amherst,  Mass. 
Dana  Estes,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Marie  L.  Everett,  Boston,  Mass. 

William  Curtis  Farabce,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Livingston  harrand.  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Merritt  Lyndon  Femsld.  Cambridge,  Masa. 
J.  ^V alter  Fewkcs,  \Vashington,  D.  C. 
Franklin  Darracott  Field,  Jamaica  Plain. 
Mass. 

Miss  Emma  J.  Fits,  Boston,  Mass. 

Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Ak^  Fortier,  New  Orleans,  La. 

Fletcher  Gardner,  Bloomlngton,  Ind. 

Alfred  C.  Garrett,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mrs.  F.  W.  tl.i^ki!!,  Cambridge,  MasS. 
Frank  Butler  Gay,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Arpad  G.  Gerster,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

F.  A.  Colder.  Cambridge,  Mass 
Miss  Bessie  C.  Gray.  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  John  C  Gray,  Boston,  Mass. 
George  Bird  Grinnell,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
EalaUe  Osgood  Giover,  Highland  Fhric,  HL 

Stansbury  Hagar,  New  York,  N.  V. 

Mrs.  H.  A.  Hall,  Boston,  Msss. 

WilUam  Fenwick  Harris,  Cambridge,  Mass. 


Charles  C.  Harrison,  Philadelphia,  Pfc. 
Mrs.  R.  L.  Hartt,  Boston,  Mass. 

C.  W.  liaskins,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
J.  W.  Haatbgs,  Cambrklge,  Mass. 
H.  W.  Ilaynes,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  I.  Helbrun,  Boston.  Mass. 

D.  C.  Henning,  Pottsville,  Pa. 

Mrs.  Esther  Herrman,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
George  Hipkins,  Boston,  Mass. 
Henr>'  L.  liobart.  New  York.  N.  Y. 
Frederick  Webb  Hodge,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Richard  Hodgson,  Boston,  Mass. 
Robert  Hoe,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Lee  Hoffman,  Portland,  Or. 
Bliss  Amelia   B.  HoUenback,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

William  H.  Holmes,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Miss  Leslie  W.  Hopkinson,  Cambridgs^ 
Mass. 

Miss  M.  E.  Hooper.  Cambridge,  Mala. 
Walter  Hough,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Prentiss  C.  Hoyt,  Cambridge.  Masa. 
C.  F.  W.  Hubbard,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
J.  F.  Hndwl,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
Henry  M.  Hurd,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Percy  A.  Hutchison,  (  ambridgc.  Mail. 
A.  M.  Huxley,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Clarence  M.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  EUabeth  A.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

A.  Jacobi,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  A.  J.  James,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Miss  Isabel  L.  Johnson,  Boston,  Mass. 

George  J.  Jones,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Miss  R.  R.  Joslin,  Boston,  M.iss. 
Miss  Marion  Hall  Judd,  Boston.  Mass. 
Mary  C.  Jttdkl,  MfameapoUs,  Muin. 
Robert  L.  Junghanna,  Bayamon,  Porto  RIoOb 

Mrs.  Josephine  M.  Kcndig,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Kennedy,  Boston,  Mass. 
Geoi^e  G.  Kennedy,  Roxbury,  Mass. 
Miss  lyouisc  Kennedv.  Concord.  Mass. 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Kennelly,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Francis  S.  Kershaw,  Cambridge,  Msss. 
Homer  H.  Kidder,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Landrcth  H.  King,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Albert  H.  Kirkham,  Springfield,  Mass. 
George  Lymsn  Klttredge,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Henry  E.  Krehbiel,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Alfred  L.  Kroeber,  Berkeley,  CaL 

Adele  Lathrop,  New  Yotic,  N.  Y. 

Walter  Learned,  New  London,  Conn. 
Mbs   Margaret  A.  Leavitt,  Cambridge^ 
Mass. 

Mrs.  William  M.  LeBnm,  Boston,  Masa. 
Edward  Lindsey,  Warren,  Pa. 


Digitized  by  Google 


334 


youmal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 


!V!rs.  M.  V.  Little,  Boston,  Mass. 
Charles  A.  Loveland,  Milwaukee.  Wis. 
Charle*  F.  Lummis,  Lm  Angdei*  CaL 
Benj.  Smitli  Lyman,  niiladelphia,  Pn. 

Edmund  R.  O.  von  Mach,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Kenneth  McKende,  New  Haven,  Coon. 

Mrs.  John  L.  McNeil,  Denver,  Colo. 

L.  S.  Marks,  Cambridge,  Miss. 

Mrs.  W.  KingsweU  Marrs,  baxonviUe,  Mass. 

Arthur  R.  Marsh,  Cambridge,  Maaa. 

Mn.  Alexander  B.  Martin,  BoaCofi*  Bfaaa. 

Albert  Matthews,  Boston,  Mass. 

Miss  Frances  H.  Mead,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

J.  Meyer,  New  York.  N.  Y. 

Mra.  Garret  Smith  Miller,  Peterboro,  N.  Y. 

James  Mooney,  Wa<!iinf:ton,  D.  C. 

Lewis  F.  .Mott,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  James  F.  Muirhead,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Hugo  Miiniterbeig,Cambri49e^Maa8. 

W.  A.  Neilson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

William  Nelson,  Patcrson,  N.  J. 

Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall,  Citjr  of  Mexico,  Mex. 

D.  J.  O'Connell,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Dr.  Sarah  E.  Ftf  mer,  Boaton,  Maaa. 

Charles  Peabody,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Miss  Josephine  Preston  Peabody,  Cam* 

bridge,  Mass. 
Harold  Peirce,  Haverford,  ^ 
George  H.  Pepper,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Thomas  Sargent  Perry.  Hoston,  Ma^ 
Perry  B.  Pierce,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Mrs.  Edward  M.  Plummer,  CharlestowOb 

Mass. 

Dr.  C.  Augusta  Pope,  Boston,  Maaa. 
Dr.  Emily  F.  Pope,  Boston,  Mass. 
Murry  A.  Potter,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  W.  G.  Preston,  Boston,  Mass. 
J.  Dvncley  Prince,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
T.  Mitchell  Prudden,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Ethe!  D.  Paffer,  Cambridge,  Maaa. 
W.  H.  Pulsifer,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Frederic  Ward  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Benjamin     Rand,  Cambridge^  Masa. 

Mrs.  H.  E.  Raymond,  Boston,  Maaa. 

John  Reade,  Montreal,  P.  Q. 

Miss  Helen  Leah  Reed,  Boston.  Mass. 

Eliot  W.  Remidc,  Boaton,  Man. 

Everett  W.  Ricker,  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass. 

R.  Hudson  Riley,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

D.  M.  Riordan,  Tucson,  Aria. 

Benjamin  L.  Robfaiaon,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Fkedeiick  N.  RoUnson,  CambrUjge^  Mass. 


Mis<;  A  A  Rogrrs,  P>o«ton,  Mass. 
Miss  Fannie  Russell,  Cambridge.  Mass. 
Dr.  A.  W.  Ryder,  Caosbiidge,  Maaa. 

Marshall  H.  Saville,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
•Charles  Schafier.  PbUadelphia,  Pa. 
Otto  B.  SchlBtter,  Hartford,  Coon. 
James  P.  Scott,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
E.  M.  .Scudder,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Scudder,  Cambridge,  Ma&s. 
Mrs.  J.  P.  SelKnger,  Boston,  Mass. 
J.  K.  Shaw,  Baltimore.  Md. 
J.  B.  Shea,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Mrs.  H.  N.  Sheldon,  Boston,  Mass. 
Mrs.  W.  P.  Shreve,  Boston.  Mass. 
Albert  T.  .Sinclair,  Boston,  Mass. 
E.  Rcuel  Smith,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
Harlan  L  Smith,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Herbert  Wier  Smyth.  Cambrkige.  Mais. 
Walter  Spalding.  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Frederick  Starr,  Chicago,  111. 
Vilhjalmur  Steffison,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Simon  Gerbcrich  Stein,  Muscatine.  la. 
Mrs.  Olivtr  C.  Stevens,  Boston,  Maas. 
Brandieth  Sjmonda,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Bcnjamm  Thaw,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Mrs.  S.  V.  R.  Thayer,  Boston,  Mass. 

A.  H.  Thompson.  Topeka.  Kan. 
Crawford  ITowcll  Toy,  Cambridge, 
A.  M.  Toxzer,  Lynn,  Mass. 

Henry  H.  Vail,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
F.  U.  Verhoef,  Boston,  Mess. 


Mrs.  John  W.  Wales,  Boston,  Ma 

H.  Newell  Wardle,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Langdon  Warner,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Samuel  D.  Warren.  Boston,  Mass. 
W.  Seward  Webb,  Lake  Champlain,  Vt 
Frederick  Webber,  Washington,  D.  C. 
David  Wclwtcr.  New  York.  N  Y. 
Mrs.  Hollis  Webster,  Cambridge,  Mas«. 
Mrs. Walter  Weaselhoeft,  Cambridge,  .Ma«. 
George  N.  Whipple,  Boston,  Mass. 
Miss  Anne  Weston  Whitney,  BaltaaoRk 
Md. 

F.  P.  Wilcox,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
Mrs.  Ashton  R.  Willard,  Boston,  Msis. 
Miss  Constance  B.  WOUston,  Cambridfe^ 

Mass. 

Henry  Wood,  Baltimore.  Md. 
Horatio  C.  Wood,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

J.  H.  Woods,  Boston,  Mass. 

Miss  Edna  A.  Woolson,  Cambridge,  Mass- 

C.  H.  C.  Wright,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Miss  Saiah  D.  Yerxa,  Cambridge^  Mim. 


Digitized  by  Google 


Members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society.  335 


LIST  OF  LIBRARIES  OR  SOCiLTIES,  BEING  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY,  OR  SUBSCRIBERS  TO  THE 
JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE,  IN  THE  YEAR  1905. 

American  Geographical  Society,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Amherst  College  Library,  Amherst,  M«tt. 
Andrew  Carnegie  Library,  Carnegie,  Pa. 

Athenaeum  Library,  Minneapolis,  Minn* 
Hoston  Athenxuni,  Boston,  Mass. 
Buffalo  Library,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Carnegie  Free  Library,  Allegbeny,  Pa. 
Carnegie  Free  l  ibrary,  Nashville,  TeiUI. 
Carnegie  Library,  Pittsburg,  I 'a. 
City  Library  Association,  Springfield,  Mass. 
City  Library,  Manchester,  N.  H. 
College  Library,  Wellesley,  Mass. 
Collree  Libran,',  Marietta,  Ohio. 
Columbia  College  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Forbes  Library,  Northampton,  Mass. 
Free  Library  of  Philadelphia,  Philadelphia,  Ph* 
Free  Public  Library,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 
Ree  Library,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Free  Public  Library,  Evanston,  HI 
Free  Public  Library,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Free  Public  Library,  Sacramento,  Cal, 
Free  Public  Library,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Free  Public  Ubrary,  Loaisville,  Ky. 
Free  Public  Library,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Hacklcy  Public  Library,  Muskegon,  Mich. 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  Fa. 
Howard  Memorial  Library,  New  Orieaiia»  La. 
Hoyt  Library,  Saginaw,  Mich. 
Iowa  State  Library,  Des  Moines.  Iowa. 
John  Crerar  Library,  Chicago,  111. 
Johns  Hoplcina  University  Library,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Kansas  State  Historical  Society.  Topelca,  Kans. 
,  Library  of  Chicago  University,  Chicago,  UL 

Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  I).  C. 
Library  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
Library  of  University  of  California,  Berlcetey,  Cal. 
library  cf  Harvard  Univeraity,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Library,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Library  of  rarliament,  Ottawa,  Ont. 
Library  of  Pntt  Institute,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Library  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Library  of  University  of  California,  Berkeley,  Cal. 
Library  of  University  of  Illinois,  University  Station,  Urbana,  111. 
Library  of  University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence^  Kans. 
Library,  Stanford  University,  Cal. 
Massachusetts  .State  Library,  Boston,  MaSS. 
Mercantile  Library,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Newberry  Ubrary,  Chicago,  111. 
Newton  Free  Library,  Newton,  Mass. 
New  York  State  Lihrarv,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Peabody  Institute,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Philadelphia  Library,  Philadelphia,  Pft. 
Public  Library,  Boston,  Mass. 


Digitized  by  Google 


336 


ycumal  of  American  Folk-Lan* 


Pul)lic  Library,  Cambridge,  MaM. 

Public  Library,  Chicago,  III. 

PaUic  Library,  Cfaifiiiiiari,  O. 

Public  Library,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Public  Library,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Pablic  Library,  Lexington,  Ky. 

PnbUc  libcaij,  New  Rochdle,  N.  Y. 

Poblic  Library,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Public  I>ibrary,  Cleveland,  O. 

Public  Library,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

PoUic  Library,  Liwrpool.  England. 

Public  Library,  Los  Angela,  CaL 

Public  Library,  Makien,  Man. 

Public  Library,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

PoMic  Library,  Srooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Public  Library,  New  Ix>ndon,  Coon. 

Public  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Pablic  Library,  Peoria,  111. 

Pnbtic  Library,  Portland,  Me. 

Pablic  Library,  Providence,  R.  L 

Public  library,  Rockford,  111. 

Public  Library,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Public  Library,  St  Paul,  Minn. 

Pablic  Library,  WatUngton,  D.  C. 

Puhlir  I  ihrary,  Seattle,  Wash. 

Public  Library,  Toronto,  Ont. 

Public  Library,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Public  Library,  Denvar,  Colo. 

Reynolds  I-ibrarj',  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Ryerson  Public  Library,  Cirand  Rapids,  MidL 

State  Historical  Library,  Madison,  Wis. 

Sute  Historical  Society  Libraiy,  St  Puti  Bfian* 

State  Library,  Augusta,  Me. 

.State  l  ibrary.  Ilarrisburg,  Pa. 

State  Library,  Lansing,  Mich. 

Sute  Library,  Sacramento,  CaL 

Steele  Memorial  Library,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Trinity  College  Library,  Durham,  N.  C. 

University  of  Nebraska  Library,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

University  Club  Library,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

University  of  Washington,  .Seattle,  Wash. 

Watkinsun  Library,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Yale  University  library.  New  Haven,  Conn. 


SUBSCRIBERS  TO  THE  PUBLICATION  FUND,  1905. 


L  Adler,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  Caldwell,  Kdgewood  Park,  Pa. 
William  G.  Davies,  New  York,  N  Y. 
Charles  P.  Daymond,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Anna  Palmer  Draper,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Fletcher  Gardner,  liloomington,  Ind. 
Edwin  Sidney  Hartland,  Gloaoester,  Eng. 
land. 

Miaa  Amelia  B.  UoUenback,  BrooUyn,  N.  Y. 


Clarence  M.  Hyde,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
A.  Jacobi,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Walter  Learned,  New  London,  Conn. 
Edward  Lindsey,  Warren,  Pa. 
William  A.  Neilson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
William  W.  Newell,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
J.  Dynclcy  Prince,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
J.  B.  Shea,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
E.  Reuel  Smith,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
Henry  H.  Vail,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


Digitized  by 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XVIII. 


Aimes,  Hubert  IL  S.,  African  Institutions 
in  America,  15-32 : 

Introductory,  ijj  holidays  and  amuse- 
ments in  New  England,  15, 161  elections  of 
"  governor,"  etc,  16-18 ;  election  parade 
and  ball,  iS^  parades,  cabildos^  and 
other  African  customs  in  Cuba,  2Q  ;  St 
Lucia,  2j;  Brazil,  2^  French  West  Indies, 
24-32  ;  Martinique,  25:  Haiti  and  Santo 
Domingo,  26-32;  Toussaint  L'Ouverture, 
Dessallines,  22,  28j  Christophe,  29-31 1 
Soulouque,  32. 

American  Folk-Lore  Society : 

Sixteenth  Annual  Meeting,  24i  75 ; 
port  of  Council,  21 J  Treasurer's  Report, 
74,  Officers  elected  for  1905,  papers 
presented,  7^  Treasurer,  76,  166;  of- 
ficers, 332;  honorary,  life,  and  annual 
members,  332 ;  libraries  and  societies  sub- 
scribing, subscribers  to  Publication 
Fund,  V16. 

Animals  in  folk-lore  and  myth  : 

"American  lion,"  224;  ant,  4^  224 :  ant- 
eater,  224.  225 ;  antelope,  9,  im;  ape,  62 ; 
ass,  rj ;  bat,  67 ;  bear,  761  I44i  Mii  124 
aSQ;  beaver,  65,  139,  bee,  67,  2<yj 
blackbird.  m2 ;  blue  jay,  102.  iiS;  boar, 
24 ;  buffalo,  178,  258,  282  ;  bull,  76^  bul- 
lock, loj  butterfly,  1^ ;  buzzard,  176; 
calf,  i  s6;  camel,  loj  cat,  3,  5,  Lli  ll  48J 
caterpillar,  zHjq  ;  chickenhawk,  104  ;  civet- 
cat,  mi ;  cock,  ^ ;  cow,  2Ai  ^^q ;  crow, 
44,  103,  IIS;  deer,  94,  98,  lOJ  ;  dog,  3, 
5.  ili3fJi48,S2.6z.i02,  104,145,  227, 
317-319 ;  dragon-fly,  1  si.  261  :  duck, 
145,  215 ;  eagle,  65,  76,  103,  104,  144, 
233,  259;  earwig,  44;  eel,  103;  elephant, 
44;  elk,  98,  104.  257-268 ;  fisher,  mi; 
flea,  222  ;  fly,  4ii  103,  104;  fox,  101, 
144;  frog,  5.  6i  14,  67,  92,  1 08-110;  ga- 
zelle, 44 ;  gnat,  44 ;  goat,  39 ;  goose,  49, 
£2 ;  grizzly  bear,  103,  148 ;  hair-seal,  Z22.\ 
hen,  52  ;  horse,  2,  3,  5,  7,  8^  13^  145,  \^ ; 
jaguar,  62.1  kid,  13,  33-48 ;  kingfisher, 
231  ;  kite,  26i  Hon,  mi;  lynx,  115 ; 
macaque,  223 ;    measuring-worm,  148; 


meadow-lark,  m2  ;  mink,  65, 109;  moan- 
bird,  67;  mole,  99;  moth,  258,  260; 
mouse,  4,  Si  32,  44i  4ii  mullet,  2^1 
muskrat,  ij^j  otter,  92j  139^  ox,  24^  33- 
48;  owl,  64^  65,  62i  14s.  229 ;  panther, 
101,  115;  partridge,  142 ;  peacock,  44J 
pelican,  104 ;  perch,  i4i  ;  pig,  34.  39.  176. 
255 ;  pigeon,  LLi  plover,  261  porpoise, 
103;  prairie-chicken,  145;  rabbit, 61,  230; 
raccoon,  101,  144 ;  ram,  51-54 ;  rat,  34, 
45;  raven,  65,  103,  108,  116,  121^  233 ; 
robin,  122  ;  rooster,  229;  salmon,  65, 97 ; 
saracura^bird,  223 ;  screech-owl,  229, 
scorpion,  67  ;  seal,  65 ;  sea-gull,  215;  sea- 
lion,  103 ;  sea-otter,  103,  220.  221 ;  ser- 
pent, 6t  Lii  64j  1 18;  skate,  197  ;  skunk, 
104 ;  snail,  62J  snake,  224,  2^4,  255 ; 
snipe,  2^1  spider,  6ij  62,  96,  1  si.  267 ; 
sturgeon,  140;  swan,  12^  £21  *'ck,  45J 
tiger,  223,  224 ;  toad,  6j  tortoise,  62^ 
turtle,  IT,  177 ;  turtle  dove,  32J  v\ilture, 
37J  wasp,  224;  whale,  76,  104,  lOQ. 
231 ;  wild-cat,  mi ;  wolf,  3,  13.  40,  41, 
65,  US;  woodpecker,  105, 145 ;  wren, 65. 

Barry,  Phillips,  Some  Traditional  Songs, 

4<>-  S9 : 

The  Elfin  Knight,  49^  The  Ram  of 
Darby,  5Jj  The  Quaker's  Wooing,  55; 
The  Twelve  Days  of  Christmas,  56. 

Barry.  Phillips,  Traditional  Ballads  in  New 
England.  Li  123-138 : 
Introduction,  folk-song  as  an  element  in 
American  literature,  123,  124 ;  origins, 
124 ;  The  Golden  Vanity,  125 ;  Lord 
Thomas  and  Fair  Annet,  128 ;  The 
Twa  Sisters,  130;  Lady  Isabel  and  the 
Elf- Knight,  132 ;  The  George  Aloe  and 
the  Sweepstake,  134;  Henry  Martin,  135; 
The  Mermaid,  1.16 ;  Captain  Ward  and 
the  Rainbow,  137. 

Barry,  Phillips,  Traditional  Ballads  in  New 
England.  II.,  191-214 : 
The  Gypsy  Laddie,       ;  Lord  Randall, 
195 ;  The  Demon  Lover,  207;  Young 
Beichan,  209 ;  The  Elfin  Knight,  zl2a 


338 


Index. 


Barry,  Phillips,  Traditional  Ballads  in  New 
England.  III.,  2qi--;o4  ; 
Lord  Lovell,  ;  Bonnie  James  Camp- 
bell, 294 ;  Our  Good  Man,  294 ;  Young 
Hunting,  295;  The  Brown  Girl,  295; 
Springfiled,  Mountain,  21^5;  Henry  Mar- 
tin, J02;  Lord  Randall,  ■\q-\. 

Bibliographical  Notes.  77-^4. 167-172,  252- 
256,  324-331.  See  Books  Reviewed,  Re- 
cent Articles  of  a  Comparative  Nature, 
Record  of  American  Folk-Lore,  Record 
of  Negro  Folk-Lore,  Record  of  Philip- 
pine Folk-Lore, 

Books  Reviewed,  77-^4.  167-172,  252-254, 
324-331 :  Abbott,  G.  F.,  Macedonian 
Folk-Lore,  i68,  169 ;  Balfour,  M.  C, 
County  Folk-Lore :  Northumberland, 
21^2,  253  ;  Du  Boscq  de  Beaumont,  G., 
Une  France  oubhee  ;  L'Acadie,  8j  ;  Dro- 
ber,  W.,  Kartographie  bei  den  Naturvdlk- 
em,  81-83 »  Druryi  A.  G.,  Legends  of 
the  Apple,  167,  iM;  Engel,  E.,  Grie- 
chische  Friihlingstage.  i6q;  Gamott,  E» 
B.,  Weather  Folk-Lore  and  Local  VVeath- 
er  Signs,  Si;  Grover,  E.  O.,  Folk-Lore 
Readers,  328 ;  Hahn,  E.,  Das  Alter  der 
wirthschaftlichen  Kultur  der  Mensch- 
heit,  325,  326;  Hellwig,  A.,  Das  Asyl- 
recht  der  Naturvolker,  8ij  Si ;  Jethabhai, 
G.,  Indian  Folk-Lore,  Sj,  84;  Kittredge, 
G.  L,  The  Old  Farmer  and  his  Alma- 
nac, 77-80;  Krauss,  F.  S.,  Die  Anmut 
des  Frauenleihes,  325 ;  Krauss,  F.  S., 
•ANePnno*TTEl'A,  \2^\  Labb^,  P.,  Un 
bagne  russe.  L'  ile  de  Sakhaline.  328,  329; 
Lemire,  C,  Les  mocurs  des  Indo-Chinois, 
170 ;  Mauss,  M.,  L'Origine  des  ponvoirs 
magiques  dans  les  socict^s  australiennes, 
326-328 ;  Meyer,  IT,  Der  richtige  Ber- 
liner, in  Wortem  und  Redensarten,  330  ; 
Miiller-Fraureuth,  K.,  Aus  der  Welt  der 
Wbrter,  324.  32  s;  Nagl,  J.  W.,  Geo- 
graphische  Namenkunde,  80^  Owen,  M. 
A.,  Folk-Ivore  of  the  Musquakie  In- 
dians, 2  53 ;  Pache,  A.,  Naturgefuhl  und 
Natursymbolik  bei  Heinrich  Heine,  2 53, 
254 ;  Petraakakos,  D.  A.,  Die  Toten  im 
Recht,  j£2J  I'ctrie,  W.  F.,  Methods  and 
Aims  of  Archeology,  324  ;  Polle,  F.,  Wie 
denkt  das  Volk  iiber  die  Sprache,  171, 172; 
Schurtz,  H..  Volkerkundc.  330.  331 ;  So- 
ciological Papers,  172;  Tiele, CP.,  Kom- 
pendium  der  Religionsgeschichte,  171. 

Borba,  T.  M.,  Caingang  Deluge  Legend, 


Flood  covers  all  but  top  of  Mt.  Crin- 
jijinbe,  222;  how  waters  were  made  to 
subside,  22^;  emerging  of  Indians  from 
mountain,  223 ;  kindling  fire  and  making 
animals,  223.  224  ;  marriage,  224  ;  origin 
of  song  and  dance,  224,  22  5  ;  ant-eater  as 
wiseacre  and  prophet,  225. 

California  Branch  of  the  American  Folk- 
Lore  Society,  305-31 1  : 
Foundation,  305 ;  report  of  committee, 
305;  first  meeting,  306;  by-laws,  etc, 
306,  307 ;  officers,  302;  roil  of  member- 
ship, 308 ;  second  meeting,  council  meet- 
ingi  309;  council  meeting,  third  meet- 
ing. lIOj  ILL 

Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.,  Mythology  of 
Indian  Stocks  North  of  Mexico.  L, 
in-122  : 

Introductory,  uij  Kulanapan,  Maripo- 
san,  Moquelumnan,  iii;  Palaihnihan, 
Piman,  Quoratean,  Shahaptian.  Ucbe- 
ans,  Wdtspekan,  Yakonan,  112 ;  Yanan, 
Yuman,  113;  Caddoan,  114.  115;  Chi- 
nookan,  Copehan,  ijj, ;  Eskimoan,  ii6. 
117  ;  Kiowan,  1 17,  1  iS ;  Kitunahan.  iiS; 
Koluschan,  1 18,  1 19  ;  Lutnamian,  ng; 
Pujunan,  115,  12c:  Skittagetan  (Haidan), 
1 20:  Tsimshian  (Chimmesyan),  120.  121 ; 
Wakashan  (Kwakiutl-Nootka),  121,  L22. 
See  Record  of  American  Folk-Lore,  etc 
Chamberlain,  Isabel  C.  See  Record  of 
American  Folk-Lore 

DoTsey,  George  A.,  Caddo  Customs  of 
Childhood,  226-228: 
Treatment  and  protection  of  new- 
bom  child,  23ix\  bathing  of  child  on 
tenth  day  nd  ceremonies  connected 
therewith,  226 ;  lore  of  spirit-land  taught 
to  child,  227. 

Folk-Lore  Meetings  (Recent)  in  Califor- 
nia, 248^  242  • 

Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club,  2^ ;  consola- 
tion, 2^ ;  officers,  report  of  committee. 

2481  249: 

Golder,  F.  A.,  Aleutian  Stories,  215-222  : 
The  sad  woman,  21 5 ;  the  woman  who 
was  fond  of  intestines,  215-220 ;  the 
man  and  woman  who  became  sea-ottei5, 
220.  izi ;  a  sea-otter  story,  221,  222;  the 
brother  and  sister  who  became  hair- 
seals, 


% 


Index, 


339 


Herrick,  Mrs.  R.  E.,  Cupid's  Arrow,  276. 

Indian  tribes : 

Achom&wi,  112;  Alsea,  i i.i ;  Aleuts, 2 1 5- 
222 ;  Andean  Cbaco,  6^1  Apache,  81, 
259;  Arapaho,  di ;  Are,  22j ;  Argentine, 
76,  2.^9 ;  Arikara,  1 14;  Aymara, 63;  Aztec, 
65,  71,  235,  236;  Bakairi,  6yj  Black- 
foot,  144, 1  ■;4, 260,  261 ;  Brazil,  239;  Bribri, 
68;  Brunca,  68;  Cabecar,  68j  Caingang, 
22.1,  225;  Caingua,  70^  Calchaqui,  155, 
239 ;  California,  ;  Came,  223  ;  Carib, 
69,  240;  Cayurucre,  223;  Central  America, 
237 ;  Cheyenne,  21  s.  231  ;  Chibcha,  68 : 
Chinook,  1 1  s ;  Cbinguano,  69J  Chorote, 
69.  Ill  Clatsop,  115;  Comanche,  18s ; 
Cora,  65;  Costa  Kica,  68j  Cree,  139-143. 
231,  260:  Crow,  21^ ;  Cuba, 68_; Cuna, 68; 
Dakota,  8,  153,  154,  257-268 ;  DiegueQo, 
13,  235  ;  Dorasque,  68 ;  Eskimo,  22, 1 16, 
117,  233 ;  Fox,  144,  183 ;  Galibi,  70,  240; 
Guajrmi,  68 ;  Guiana,  22 ;  Guayaki,  10 ; 
Guyani,  70^  Haida,  120.  253,  254;  Ha- 
vasupai,  113;  Heiltsuk,  122 ;  Hopi,  72, 
>50-'53;  Hupa,  6^  Sjj  Iroquois,  150 ; 
Karok,  871  22j  Kathlamet,  115;  Kicka- 
poo,  183 ;  Kiowa,  117,  1 18 ;  Klamath, 
1 19;  Klickitat,  112:  Koggaba,  68j  Koo- 
tenay,  1 18 ;  Kwakuitl,  121 ;  Lenape, 
60 ;  Makah,  121  ;  Maidu,  89,  119 ;  Mat- 
tole,  22|  Maya,  66-68,  71^  237- 
239;  Mexican,  65,  72,  162-165,  173-189, 
2 35,  236;  Mission  Indians,  113;  Mixtec, 
236;  Modoc,  119;  Mohave,  113 ;  Mo- 
hawk, 248,  160-162 ;  Mohican,  232 ; 
Munsee,  rj2  ;  Musquakie,  146 ;  Nahane, 
6j.  ;  Navaho,  62^  2I1  »66,  232,  246;  New 
England,  232 ;  Nayarit,  65;  Nez  Perc^, 
112  :  Nishinam,  1 19  ;  Nootka,  122  ;  Oax- 
aca,  2J2  ;  Ojibwa,  2ii ;  Omaha,  269-275; 
Onondaga,  148 ;  Outagami,  144;  Tapago, 
112  ;  Patwin,  115;  Pawnee,  1 14,  115,  146, 
147,  226-228.  232  ;  Peru,  240;  Pima,  112; 
Pokonchi,  72  ;  Pomo.  ;  Powhatan,  6q  ; 
Pueblos,  65j^  234 ;  Quichua,  63,  240.  241 ; 
Sac,  146 ;  Sauk,  1S3 ;  Seneca,  148,317- 
319;  Sijciatl,  65J  Sioux,  144,  154. 
186.  234,  277-290;  Skidi  Pawnee,  1 14 ; 
Sonkine,  22  ;  Southern  U.  S.,  2^5 ;  Taina, 
6S  ;  Terraba.68  ;  Tlingit,  1  ig,  2J4  ;  Tsim- 
shian,  120;  Tupi-Guarani,  20j  Uncpapa, 
1 72  J  Wallapai,  1 13  ;  Weitspek,  112: 
Wintun,  ^  2£:  tfi;  Wishosk,  85,  107  ; 
Wichita,  114;  Xingu,  172  ;  Yuchi,  126; 
Yuman,  uj,  235 ;  Zufii,  Si,  179. 


Jones,  William,  The  Algonkin  Manitou, 
183-190 : 

Elssential  character  of  Algonkin  religion, 
nature-worship,  iSj  ;  religious  senti- 
ment and  language,  18^;  Sauk,  Fox, 
and  Kickapoo  idi-as,  184 ;  identification 
of  proi>erty  with  animate  bt^ing,  184; 
eating  heart  of  enemy,  185 ;  confusion 
of  property  with  object  containing  the 
property,  186;  deliverance  by  help  of 
transcendent  agency,  186 :  visions,  fasts, 
etc,  186, 187  ;  in  transport  more  common 
to  hear  than  to  see,  182 ;  forms  of  "  rev- 
elation," iM;  interpretation  of  "  revela- 
tions," 188;  lack  of  mental  discrimina- 
tion, 189;  esoteric  sentiment  and  its 
basis,  189. 

Kittredge,  George  Lyman,  Disenchantment 
by  Decapitation,  1-14 : 
Disenchantment  by  decapitation  in  Tht 
Carl  of  Carlisle  and  The  Turk  and 
Gawain,  two  Middle  English  romances, 
1.  2 ;  decapitation  of  helpful  animals,  2- 
4J,  decapitation  of  helpful  servants,  ^ 
5;  decapitation  of  heroine,  £;  the  frog 
prince,  5,  ^  decapitation  of  bespelled 
persons  in  form  of  cruel  or  murderous 
demons  and  monsters,  6-10;  other  forms 
of  violent  death  as  means  of  unspelling, 
10;  wounding,  u,  12^  skinning,  12-14. 

Kroeber,  A.  L.,  Wishosk  Myths.  85-107  : 
Introduction,  distribution,  and  culture  of 
Wishosk,  comparison  of  myths  with  those 
of  adjoining  tribes  and  stocks,  coyote- 
tales,  creative  myths,  animal-stories,  85- 
93;  myths  of  Gudatrigakwtl  ("  Above-old- 
man")  and  of  Gatswokwire  (culture-hero 
trickster),  93-99  ;  coyote-myths,  99-102  ; 
other  animal -stories,  102-104  ;  myths  of 
Lakunowovitkatl  and  Dikwagiterai,  104, 
105 ;  abstracts  of  myths,  106.  107. 

La  Flesche,  Francis,  Who  was  the  Medi- 
cine Man ?  269-275 : 

Erroneous  ideas  about  American  Indians, 
269,  270;  rehgion,  ideas  as  to  the  Mys- 
terious One,  270,  271 ;  symbolism  of  tribal 
organization,  272;  four  requisites  of  "  Men 
of  Mystery,  272,  273 ;  ritual  for  child- 
birth, 273,  274 ;  tricksters,  274;  medicine 
man  in  art,  275. 
Local  Meetings  and  other  Notices,  76,  77, 
166,  167,  324 : 

Treasurer  of  the  American  Folk-Lore 


340 


Index, 


Society,  76 ;  Boston  Branch  of  American 
Folk-Lore  Society,  26,  i66;  Cambridge 
Branch,  n\  Acting  treasurer,  167 ; 
Berkeley  Folk-Lore  Club, 

Newell,  W.  W.,  John  H.  Hinton,  : 
Elected  treasurer,  1891 ;  activities  ;  resig- 
nation ;  death. 

Newell,  W.  W.,  In  Memoriam :  Washing- 
ton Matthews,  245-247 : 
Sketch  of  life  and  early  activities,  245 ; 
knowledge  of  Indians,  243  ;  contributions 
to  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore  and 
other  publications,  24  S;  Navaho  Legends, 
246;  private  life,  poetry,  art,  246,  247. 

Notes  and  Queries,  160-165,  250-252, 312- 

Geography  rhymes,  i6q;  views  of  a  Mo- 
hawk Indian,  161,  162 ;  Fr.  Hunt-Cor- 
tes, the  "White  Indian,"  163-165 ;  the 
doughnut  (C.  Peabody),  166 ;  Louisiana 
legend  concerning  will-o'-the-wisp  (Mrs. 
C.  V.  Jamison^  250,  251 ;  the  cotton- 
wood-tree  ;  Louisiana  superstition,  251 ; 
De  Witch-'ooman  an'  de  spinnin'-wheel 
(Mrs.  M.  E.  M.  Davis),  251,  252;  street 
\  customs  of  Buenos  Aires,  312-314 ;  slang 
terms  for  money,  314,  315 ;  Indians  de- 
corate soldiers'  graves,  315 ;  Indian 
names  in  Maine,  316,  317 ;  Seneca  white 
dog  feast,  317-319;  Negro  genius,  319- 
322 ;  ranordine,  rinordine,  rinor,  322 ;  the 
twist-mouth  family  (C.  Johnson),  321- 
323 ;  correction,  323. 

Phenomena  of  Nature,  etc.,  in  myth  and 
folk-lore : 

Air,  22^;  cardinal  points,  223,  226.  236; 
clouds,  &i ;  deluge,  96,  223-225 ;  dust, 
258;  earth,  236;  fire,  5,  rj,  31.  4'.  64^ 
66.  71,  224.  281 ;  foam,  69J  fog,  92J 
light,  4J  moon,  67^  Si,  273 ;  moonlight, 
35  ;  mountain,  223;  night,  7,67,81.  233; 
noon,  2J  rain,  81^  186.  232  ;  rainbow,  6oj: 
rivers,  223,  227 ;  rocks,  222;  sand,  232; 
sky,  24J ;  stars,  60j  2^5 ;  stones,  2rj ; 
sun,  65,  8ii  226,  23s,  273 ;  water,  4,  ^  8, 
Mi  41j  ii;  66,  62i  81^  223,  226,  239; 
weather,  &i  ;  will  o'-the-wisp,  250 ;  whirl- 
wind, 251-268 ;  wind,  42- 
Plants,  etc,  in  folk-lore  and  myth : 
Acorn,  64^  102 ;  apple,  167,  182 ;  bean, 
185 ;  berries,  3^  bushes,  t^j  calabash, 
45J  cedar,  229;  cocoanut,  171 ;  com, 
44»  147. 15'.  185 ;  Cottonwood,  251 ;  dog- 


tooth violet,  150;  fir,  141 ;  flowers,  95 ; 
gourd,  224;  grapes,  4IJ  juniper,  52J 
kava,  255 ;  mati,  239;  medicine-plants, 
231 ;  mustard-seeds,  230;  oats,  37^  pars- 
ley, 51,  rjo;  pear,  38 ;  rosemary,  ;  sage, 
5';  stick,  33-44 ;  thorn,  42i  thj-me,  ^ 
tree  of  Ufe,  256;  trees,  223;  willow,  64. 

Recent  Articles  of  a  Comparative  Nature, 

254-256. 

Record  of  American  Folk-Lore,  60-73, 144- 
155,  231-243: 

Algonkian,  60,  6ij  144,  145,  231,  233 ; 
Andean  Chaco,  62j  Argentine,  239; 
Athapascan,  61-64,  232  ;  Aymaran,  69; 
Aztecan  (Nahuatlan),  65,  66,  235 ;  Brazil, 
239;  Caddoan,  146-147,  232-233;  Cat 
chaquian,  1 S5,  239-240 ;  Calif onxian, 
148;  Cariban,  69,  70,  240 ;  Central  Amer- 
ica, 2J7J  Cosu  Rica,  68_;  Cuba,  68; 
Eskimo,  233 ;  Guiana,  70 ;  Haidan  (Skit* 
tagetan),  233-244 ;  Iroquoian,  148-150; 
Koluschan,  234;  Mayan,  66-68. 154.  155, 
237-239 ;  Oaxaca,  2j^  ;  Peru,  240 ;  Pue- 
blos, 150-153,  234 ;  Quichuan,  240,  241 ; 
Salishan,  65J  Siouan,  153.  154,  234; 
Sonoran,  65 ;  Southern  U.  S.,  235;  Tup- 
Guarani,  70^  U to- Aztecan,  63-66;  Yu- 
man,  235 ;  Zapotecan-Mixtecan,  2^ 
General :  American  origins,  70J  art,  71; 
codices  and  pictographs,  7 1 ;  early  Ameri- 
can writings,  241  ;  education,  241 ;  fire- 
worship,  71J  Indian  character,  237; 
International  Congress  of  Americanists, 
71,  72  ;  "  Ireland-the-Great,"  72J  Jesup 
Expedition,  241,  242;  legends,  72^  num- 
bers, 72,  7JJ  petroglyphs,  242 ;  popular 
fallacies,  242;  pygmies,  242,  243;  super- 
stition, 73 ;  urn-burial,  73 ;  wampum,  243. 

Record  of  Negro  Folk-Lore,  156.  244: 
Africa  and  America,  1 56 ;  Bush- Negroes, 
244 ;  Jamaica,  156. 

Record  of  Philippine  Folk-Lore,  157,  158; 
Assuan,       ;  Igorot,  158 ;  songs,  158. 

Sixteenth  Annnal  Meeting  of  American 
Folk-Lore  Society.  See  American  Folk- 
Lore  Society. 

Swanton,  John  R.,  Explanation  of  the 
Seattle  Totem -Pole,  iq8-i  iq! 
History  of  pole,  lq8  ;  description  and  in- 
terpretation of  carvings  and  raven  myth, 
1 08-1 IQ ;  comparison  of  versions. 

Swindlehurst,  Fred,  Folk-Lore  of  the  Cree 
Indians,  139-143; 


Index, 


341 


Method  and  circumstances  of  tale-telling, 
139 ;  creation,  birth  of  Lake  Mistassini, 
139;  the  painted  canoe,  140;  a  big 
perch,  141 ;  the  story  of  Katonao,  141, 
142;  the  fisherman,  142;  the  biter  Ut, 

143- 

Thurston,  Helen  S.,  Riddles  from  Massa- 
chusetts, 1S2 : 

Icicle,  watch,  pumpkin,  drop  of  blood, 
walnut,  cherry-needle. 
Toy,  Crawford  ILj  Mexican  Human  Sac- 
rifice, 173-181 : 

Prevalence  of  ceremonial  slaughter,  173 ; 
ritual  conception  of  ceremony,  173,  174 ; 
origin  of  human  sacrifice,  174  ;  chief  char- 
acteristics of  Mexican  human  sacrifice, 
175 ;  religious  reverence  paid  to  victim 
(identification  with  god)  before  death, 
17s ;  Ainu  bear  sacrifice  ambassadorial, 
176;  Borneo  pig  sacrifice,  177  ;  transition 
from  ambassadorial  to  sacrificial  ritual  of 
Mexicans,  178;  American  Indian  cere- 
monies (Uncpapa  and  ZufU),  178,  179; 
other  suggestions,  l&l 


Walker,  J.  R-,  Sioux  Games.  Ij  277-290; 
Antiquity  of  games,  277 ;  list  of  games, 
277.  278;  game  of  wands  and  hoop,  278- 
280;  legend  of  hoop  game,  281-283; 
shiimey,  283-285 ;  guessing  the  odd  stick, 
285,  286;  game  of  elk,  287.  288;  woman's 
shinney,  288 ;  game  with  foot-bones,  288, 
289;  dice,  289,  290. 

Williamson,  George,  Superstitions  from 
Louisiana,  229,  230. 

Wissler,  Clark,  The  Whirlwind  and  the  Elk 
in  the  Mythology  of  the  Dakota,  258-268 : 
Relation  between  whirlwind  and  flutter- 
ing wings  of  moth,  258;  idea  of  power 
of  whirlwind,  2^:  buffalo  and  whirl- 
wind, 268;  aid  sought  by  imitation,  259; 
cocoon  symbol  of  prayer,  259;  bear  and 
whirlwind,  259 ;  scattering  dust,  260;  moth 
and  sleep  in  Blackfoot  myth,  260;  Cree 
medicine,  2^ ;  whirlwind  and  caterpillar 
with  Arapaho,  260;  cross,  261:  power  of 
elk  in  relation  to  sexual  passions,  2^ ; 
story  concerning  this,  262-266 :  mystic 
flageolet,  266 ;  courting  blanket,  267; 
DsJcota  type  of  thought, 


Vol.  XVIII.      JANUARY  — MARCH,  1905.     No.  LX VI II. 


AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 


THE 

^       JOURNAL  OF 

MERICAN  FOLK-LOI 

EDITOR 

ALEXANDER  FRANCIS  CHAMBERLAIN 


CONTENTS 

1.  Disenchantment  by  DECAPiTAXiON.    George  Lyman  Kittr edge  i 

2.  African  Institutions  in  America.   Hubert  H.  S.  Aimes  15 

3.  The  Passover  Sono  of  the  Kid  and  an  Equivalent  from  New  England. 

William  Wells  Newell  33 

4.  Some  Traditional  Songs.   Phillips  Barry  49 

5.  Record  of  American  Folk- Lore.   A.  F.  C.  and  /.  C.  C.  60 

6.  Sixteenth  Annuaju  Meeting  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society  ...  74 

7.  Local  Meetings  and  Other  Notices  76 

K  filBUOGRAPMICAL  NOTES  77 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

¥^ublt^()tb  for  €f)c  Smrrican  f  olk^Horc  ^»orictp  bp 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
LONDON:  DAVID  NUTT,  270,  271  STRAND 
LEIPZIG:  OTTO  HARRASSOWITZ.  QUERSTRASSE,  14 


Copyright,  1905,  bjr  Tm  American  FoLic-Lon  Socnrr 
SINGLE  NUMBERS.  Sl.OO  ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTION,  $3.00 

Entered  at  the  Pott  OScc  at  Boston  u  lecoad-daM  luttcr 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  (Quarterly:  Ed- 
itor, Alexander  F.  Chamberlain  ;  Associate  Editor,  William  W.  NeweU), 
issued  by  The  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  is  designed  for  the  collection 
and  publication  of  the  folk-lore  and  mythology  of  the  American  Continent 

The  subscription  price  is  Three  Dollars  per  annum.  A  limited  number  of 
copies  of  the  completed  volumes  (Vols.  L-XVIL,  1 888-1904)  remain  on  hand« 
and  may  be  procured  of  the  publishers,  on  payment  of  the  annual  fee  for 
each  volume.  A  cover,  suitable  for  binding,  is  prepared,  and  will  be  for- 
warded by  the  publishers,  through  the  mail,  on  receipt  of  30  cents  a  vo^ 
ume. 

The  American  Folk-Lore  Society  was  organized  January  4,  1888. 
Society  holds  annual  meetings,  at  which  reports  are  received  and  pap 
read.    The  membership  fee  is  three  dollars,  payable  on  the  ist  of  Janu 
in  each  year.    Members  are  entitled  to  receive  the  Journal  of  Ameri 
Folk-Lore.    Subscribers  to  the  Journal,  or  other  persons  interested  in  th 
objects  of  the  Society,  are  eligible  to  membership,  and  are  requested  t 
address  the  Permanent  Secretary  to  that  end. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY  (1905). 

President  —  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  Washington.  D.  C. 

First  Vice- President  —  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Second  Vice-President  —  William  A.  Neilson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Council  —  Franz  Boas,  New  York,  N.  Y.  ;  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Cambridge^ 
Mass.  ;  JGeorge  A.  Dorsey,  Chicago,  111. ;  JCharles  L.  Edwards,  Hartford 
Conn. ;  ^Livingston  Farrand,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  ^George  Lyman  Kittredgc, 
Cambridge,  Mass.;  Alfred  L.  Kroeber,  Berkeley,  Cal. ;  James  Mooney,  W^ash 
ington,  D.  C. ;  fFrederic  W.  Putnam,  Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Frederick  Starr 
Chicago,  111. ;  Alfred  N.  Tozzer,  Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Anne  W.  UTiitney,  Bal ' 
more,  Md. ;  fHenry  Wood,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  James  H.  Woods,  Boston,  Mas 

Permanent  Secretary  —  William  Wells  Newell,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Treasurer —  Eliot  W.  Remick,  300  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

t  As  Presidents  of  Local  Branches, 
X  As  Past  Presidents  of  the  Society  (withm  live  years). 


Address  of  Editor 

ALEXANDER  F.  CHAMBERLAIN, 
Worcester,  Mass. 


AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY 

VOL.  VIII.  1904 


TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SKIDI  PAWNEE.  Collected 
and  Annotated  by  George  A.  Dorsey,  Curator,  Department  of  An- 
thropology, Field  Columbian  Museum.  With  Introduction,  Notes 
and  Illustrations.  Boston  and  New  York :  Published  for  the  Amer^ 
lean  Folk-Lore  Society  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.   Pp.  xxvi,  366. 

This  gathering  of  traditions  was  begun  in  1899,  under  a  special 
grant  made  by  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  and  completed  with 
funds  provided  by  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington.  The 
Trustees  of  both  Institutions  have  kindly  consented  to  the  publica- 
tion in  its  present  form.  ^ 

The  tales  are  ninety  in  number,  classified  under  six  categories 
namely;  "Cosmogonic,"  "  Boy  Heroes,"  "  Medicine,"  "Animal  Tales  " 
"  People  Marry  or  Become  Animals."  and  "  Miscellaneous."  Neces- 
sary explanations  are  given  in  Notes,  while  an  Introduction  notices 
the  mode  of  life,  habitations,  and  ceremonial  religion  of  the  Pawnee. 
The  language  of  the  tales  follows  the  form  employed  by  the  Indian 
interpreters,  save  as  respects  correction  of  grammatical  errors. 

Among  the  narratives  is  especially  to  be  noted  an  account  of 
origins  with  which  the  series  opens,  reciting  the  separation  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  establishment  of  gods  as  stars  in  the  sky, 
the  descent  of  the  Pawnee  from  divine  couples,  the  revelation  made 
by  their  ancestress  the  Evening  Star,  the  charge  given  to  impart 
this  sacred  knowledge,  and  consequent  establishment  of  a  rite  at 
which  the  several  villages  encamp  after  the  celestial  order  of  their 
stellar  patrons.  Although  Pawnee  legends  have  not  been  elaborated 
into  a  consistent  mythology,  yet  other  tales  continue  the  history 
with  accounts  of  the  deluge,  the  destruction  of  monsters,  the  war 
between  earth  and  heaven,  the  introduction  of  death,  and  journey 
of  spirits  on  the  Milky  Way,  as  the  path  of  souls  toward  the  south- 
ern home  of  the  departed. 

Price,  $6.00,  mt;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society. 
$5  00.  nef.  ^ 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FOLK-LORE  SOCIETY. 

Vol.  I.   FOLK-TALES  OF  ANGOLA. 

Fifty  Tales  with  Ki-mbundu  text,  literal  English  Translation,  Introduction, 
and  Notes.  Collected  and  edited  by  Heli  Chatelain,  late  U.  S.  Com- 
mercial Agent  at  Loanda.    1894.    Pp.  xii,  315.    (With  two  Maps.) 

Vol.  II.    LOUISIANA  FOLK-TALES. 
In  French  Dialect  and  English  Translation.     Collected  and  edited  by 
Alcee  Fortier,  D.  Lit.,  Professor  of  Romance  Languages  in  Tulane 
University  of  Louisiana.    1895.    Pp.  \i.  122. 

Vol.  III.    BAHAMA  SONGS  AND  STORIES 

A  Contribution  to  Folk-Lore,  by  Charles  L.  Edwards,  Professor  of  Bio- 
logy in  the  University  of  Cincinnati.  With  Music,  Introduction,  Appen- 
dix, and  Notes.    Six  Illustrations.    1895.    Pp.  xiii,  iii. 

Vol.  IV.    CURRENT  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Collected  from  the  Oral  Tradition  of  English-Speaking  Folk.  Edited  by 
Fanny  D,  Bergen.  With  Notes,  and  an  Introduction  by  William 
Wells  Newell.    1896.    Pp.  vi,  161. 

Vol.  V.    NAVAHO  LEGENDS. 

Collected  and  translated  by  Washington  Matthews,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Major 
U.  S.  Army,  E.K-President  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  etc.  With 
Introduction,  Notes,  Illustrations,  Texts,  Interlinear  Translations,  and 
Melodies.    1897.    Pp.  viii,  299. 

Vol.  VI.  TRADITIONS  OF  THE  THOMPSON  RIVER  INDIANS 

OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA. 
Collected  by  James  Teit.    With  Introduction  by  Franz  Boas,  and  Notes. 

1898.  Pp.  X,  137. 

Vol.  VII.    ANIMAL  AND  PLANT  LORE. 
Collected  from  the  Oral  Tradition  of  English-Speaking  Folk.    Edited  and 
annotated  by  Fanny  D.  Bergen.    With  Introduction  by  J.  Y.  Bergen. 

1899.  Pp.  J  80. 

Vol.  viii.    TRADITIONS  OF  THE  SKIDI  PAWNEE. 
Collected  and  Edited  by  George  A.  Dorsey,  Ph.  D.,  Curator,  Departpv  r'^ 
of  Anthropology,  Field  Columbian  Museum.    With  Introduction,  N 
and  Illustrations.    1904.    Pp.  xxvi,  366. 

Prices  of  each  volume  of  the  Memoirs  :  Vols.  I.,  II.,  III.,  IV.,  VI.,  VII., 
53.50,  net ;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-Lore  Society,  $3.00,  r  ' 
Vols,  v.,  VIII.,  56.00,  net ;  to  members  of  the  American  Folk-I^re  Society, 

?i;.oo.  net. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY', 

Boston  and  Nrw  York. 


I 


I 


« 


Digitized  by  GoogI<. 


I 


TOZZER  UBRARY 


I 


3  2044  041  986  886 


This  book  is  not  to  be 
taken  from  the  Library